Editing Cheetah (section)

==Physical characteristics==
Comparable in size to the [[leopard]] (about 50 kg in weight), the cheetah has a more slender body, longer and thinner legs than any other feline, and a smaller head. Excluding the tail, it measures from 1.1 to 1.5 m in length. It has a yellowish coat with a lighter belly and circular black spots; even the cubs have a spotted coat, but, until four months of age, it is long, silky, and gray on the back and head.

The cheetah has short claws without sheaths, which makes them non-retractable. This characteristic, like others that distinguish the cheetah from most other felines, gives it an advantage in running: the [[claw]]s remain exposed and therefore favor greater stability on the ground. Other adaptations of this formidable predator for fast running include a particularly efficient respiratory system, a highly developed heart, paw pads shaped to facilitate sudden braking, and a very flexible spine, which allows the animal to lengthen by about 11% while running. Furthermore, it has proportionally smaller canine teeth than other felines; The adaptive advantage of this characteristic perhaps lies in the fact that the nasal cavities can consequently be wider, thus improving the efficiency of breathing.

All these peculiarities contribute to making the cheetah an excellent sprinter, unbeatable in speed and power in the first 200-300 meters of a run; after this limit, however, the endurance of its prey – mainly [[gazelle]]s and [[antelope]]s – prevails in a hunt.