One of my favorite big cats, the Cheetah.
A few thing I bet most folks don’t know.
1. On their back feet they have an extra thick pad that helps in braking during high speed pursuits and their claws do not retract, this helps for the super burst of speed that gets them from 0-60 in about 3-4 seconds.
2. On their face there are 2 black lines, these markings help reduce the glare of the mid day sun, like football players that put the black paint below their eyes. Cheetahs are the only big cat that hunts in the mid day heat and glare.
3. And last but not least and the coolest fact, the Cheetahs tail is flat, yep, you read it right, the flat tail helps as a rudder during high speed turns.
Needless to say this cat is made to catch nimble prey in the bush, Gazelles watch out.. 😉
Thoughts From The Road 
Amazing pics and great information! 😀
The cheetah is one of my favorites, too. Fascinating factoids and great photos. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one look like it is smiling like in the second shot.
Ed this is truly one of the most impressive animals. The National Geographic did a program on trying to measure the speed. The short version is https://youtu.be/icFMTB0Pi0g and the long one https://youtu.be/s5blw_5vdp8. Enjoy.
A magnificent animal! A real beauty. Very interesting facts also.