Cheetah — the fastest animal on land uses its incredible acceleration and manoeuvring rather than speed when it comes to hunting down its prey, scientists have found.
The animal gets this acceleration by exerting nearly five times more power than that of famed sprinter Usain Bolt during his record-breaking 100m run, researchers found.
Professor Alan Wilson of the Royal Veterinary College in Hatfield, UK and his team at the college’s Structure and Motion Laboratory followed five cheetahs in the wild for a year using tracking collars fitted with movement detectors and GPS systems.
In 367 predominantly hunting runs, they found that the cheetahs indeed run very fast at times — close to 60mph but only occasionally.
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Jellyfish sting ends swimmer’s record attempt
Havana: Australian long-distance swimmer Chloe McCardel abandoned her quest to become the first person to make the 103 mile (166 km) swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, after she was severely stung by a jelly- fish on Wednesday night.
McCardel, 28, gave up the attempt after 11 hours in the water due to a “severe debilitating jelly fish sting,” her support team said in a statement.
“Chloe is now on one of the support vessels heading to Key West. She will spend the next 24 hours recuperating before deciding on her plans going forward,” the statement said.
McCardel, who plunged into a calm, crystal-clear sea early on Wednesday, had hoped to swim through the Straits of Florida in about 60 hours and reach Key West on Friday night.
She had a team of scientists in the US to help guide her through the powerful and unpredictable current. — Reuters