Head to head
Cheetah vs Pronghorn
The cheetah is the fastest land animal over a short sprint; the pronghorn is the fastest land animal over a long distance. They live on different continents and have never been predator and prey — yet the pronghorn's speed is usually explained as a "ghost of predators past."
| Cheetah | Pronghorn | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The fastest land animal (sprint) | The fastest land animal over distance |
| Top speed | 93–104 km/h | ~88–98 km/h |
| Sustained speed | Only ~20 seconds before overheating | ~65 km/h for several km; 45 km/h for many km |
| Acceleration | 0–100 km/h in about 3 seconds | Very quick, but built for cruising |
| Why so fast | To catch gazelles before they escape | Thought to be adapted to escape extinct American cheetahs |
| Body adaptations | Flexible spine, semi-retractable claws, long tail rudder | Huge windpipe, lungs, and heart; light bones; cushioned hooves |
| Range | Africa and a tiny population in Iran | Western North America |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable | Least Concern |
Cheetah vs Pronghorn: common questions
Is the pronghorn faster than the cheetah?
Over distance, yes. The cheetah is faster for the first few hundred metres, then has to stop. The pronghorn is slightly slower at absolute top speed but can sustain very high speeds for kilometres, so in any race longer than about half a kilometre the pronghorn wins.
Why is the pronghorn so fast if nothing in America can catch it?
The leading explanation is that it evolved alongside the American cheetah (Miracinonyx) and other fast predators that went extinct at the end of the last ice age, around 12,000 years ago. The pronghorn kept the speed; the predators that made it necessary are gone.
Is a pronghorn an antelope?
No, despite the nickname "American antelope." It is the only living member of its own family, Antilocapridae, and its closest relatives are the giraffe and okapi. It also uniquely sheds and regrows the outer sheath of its horns each year.