Duma

My name is Duma, and I am a cheetah from the plains of Africa.

Cheetah Facts

Cheetahs are members of the cat kind that God made on Day Six of Creation Week. We have been equipped by our Creator to be the fastest land animals alive on earth today. We can reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (113 km/h)! That’s fast! To run that fast, we need special designs.

My Creator has given me several of these special designs. I have large claws that grab the ground for traction, a wide nose so I can grab air faster, a bigger heart and lungs so more oxygen can get through my body faster, a flexible spine that allows my back feet to come in front of my front feet so I cover more ground in one stride, and a long tail to help me stay balanced as I make quick turns. Together, all of these features give me the ability to run really fast. Next time you see a cheetah at the zoo or in a book or movie, think of my Creator, who has given me special, incredible designs so I can do what I was designed to do—run really fast!

Here are some other cool facts about the cheetah:

  • Lions, tigers, jaguars, and even house cats are in the same created kind as me.
  • You can recognize me by my oval spots and the black lines on my face—they make me look like I’m crying, but I’m not.
  • I can turn in midair while I’m running after my prey.
  • My kind only started eating meat after Adam and Eve sinned. Before that, like all the animals, we were vegetarians.

Class: Mammalia (mammal)
Order: Carnivora (meat-eating)
Family: Felidae (cat kind)
Genus/Species: Acinonyx jubatus
Size: 2–3 ft (0.7–0.9 m) tall; around 4 ft (1.4 m) long
Weight: 110–143 lbs (50–65 kg)
Diet: Antelope, birds, rabbits, and porcupines
Habitat: Grasslands and savannahs of Africa and eastward to India

Character Trait

I have fast feet, but these feet should remind boys and girls to walk with the wise. We need to make wise choices when we choose who will be our friends and who we should be hanging out with. Wise men walk with the wise!

Verse

“He who walks with wise men will be wise but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20).

Learn More

You can learn more about cheetahs like me: