Study
Locomotion dynamics of hunting in wild cheetahs
Wilson, Alan M.; Lowe, John C.; Roskilly, Kyle; Hudson, Penny E.; Golabek, Krystyna A.; McNutt, J. Weldon
Nature, 2013
Fitted wild cheetahs with custom collars combining GPS with inertial sensors, and recorded speed, acceleration, deceleration and turning through hundreds of complete hunting runs in the field rather than in staged trials.
- Studied in
- Acinonyx jubatus
- Sample size
- 367 runs recorded from five wild cheetahs
Cheetahs rarely ran near their maximum speed. Most runs peaked well below the species record, and hunting success was associated with deceleration and turning performance rather than with top speed. Deceleration exceeded acceleration in magnitude.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Cheetah hunting is a manoeuvring problem rather than a pure speed problem, and the emphasis on maximum velocity has misrepresented how the animal actually hunts.
How NatureHQ reads it
The measurement that replaces the textbook cheetah. NatureHQ uses it to make a general point about evidence: the famous number came from a handful of straight-line trials with a lure, and when whole hunts were finally recorded, the number turned out to describe something the animal seldom does.
- Five individuals in one population, and collar-based speed estimates carry their own error, which the authors quantify.
- Runs were classified as hunts from the movement record rather than always being observed directly.
Measuring the whole hunt instead of the top speed
The cheetah’s reputation rests on a maximum speed measured in a handful of straight-line trials. What does the animal actually do when it hunts?
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Predation
A hunt is a sequence — detect, approach, attack, subdue, keep — and it can fail at every stage. Where success has been measured properly, most attempts end without a kill.
Ambush and pursuit
When whole cheetah hunts were finally measured, the animals rarely ran near their maximum speed. What separated a successful hunt from a failed one was deceleration and turning, not how fast the cheetah could go.
Published by: Nature PortfolioPublished in a Nature Portfolio journal.
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.