How Cheetahs Prosper

A few minutes ago, I was playing with Basement Cat. She wanted to play Swatties, with some biting thrown in. When I hold my hand up just right in a position I call The Claw, she is compelled to strike. I can see her watching, her pupils dilate a split second before she lunges, and there is not time for me to pull away first. I tell her she's a fast pussycat; I've always admired the feline machine.

Original image credit: Freeimages / chadmula

Basement Cat's distant cousin is way over yonder in the Serengeti region of Africa. The cheetah is the fastest runner on Earth, and even a cursory examination reveals that this critter was built for speed. 



Cheetahs must use their speed, since they are not all that powerful at keeping their kills. No bits and pieces of Darwinian evolution here, Hoss. Everything in place at the same time, or nothing works or makes sense. 

Cheetahs are the fastest land animals alive; everyone knows that. Everyone also knows why they run so fast—to catch their dinner. But before the Fall, there were no carnivores, so why would God design cheetahs for speed?

The simple answer is, all of today’s cats descended from the two members of the cat kind that were on the Ark. The cheetah’s phenomenal speed is one example of the variety God placed within cats to meet new challenges in a fallen world.

To read the rest or download the audio version with my favorite reader, click on "Speedsters of the Serengeti".