They can obtain speeds of 65-70 miles per hour and can reach 45 miles per hour in 2 seconds. Their long slender legs, streamlined body, enlarged heart, air passages, lungs and adrenals, and its specialized muscles are all adaptations for pursuit. Their feet have pads that are hard and sharp. When the animal breaks or turns sharply, the pads act as cleats digging into the ground aiding in traction. The individual digits of their feet are separated more than any other cat.
Cheetahs also lack webbing between their toes.
Their blunted claws and sharp pads provide traction that allow them to stay on the tail of a turning, twisting victim like a heat-seeking missile chasing an airplane. It swats its prey off balance with its front paws and when the prey falls the cheetah pounces clamping down on the victims throat, which dies of suffocation. Littermates of both sexes remain together for several months after gaining independence. A proportion of males form lifelong associations. Limited trophy hunting.