Bones
A cheetah skeleton
The cheetah has a body built for chasing down its prey. Long muscular legs, an agile torso, a flexible spine, a long tail, blunt paws, and padded toe cushions all are adaptation for speed. A long set of legs plus a flexible spine increase the stride of the cheetah when it is on the run. The tail, which has 28 vertabrae in it, is used for balance. It is also used like a rudder on a boat, to make sharp turns. The blunt claws act like metal cleats, and dig into the ground to gain traction. Also the toe cushions provide shock absorbance and traction. The toe cushions are significantly thicker than most cats' cushions. They soften the natural pound of running. The pads contain grooves that act like tread on a car tire to give traction.
Muscles
A running cheetah
At the start of the chase, the cheetah propells its self by pushing down on its hind legs. The cheetah exponetially gains speed and only uses one side of its body at first, then uses the other side. Within the 2 first second the cheetah can accelerate to 45mph. This is when the hind leg muscles start to work in unison. The hind legs push down to thrust forward while the forelegs step alternately.
