"Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways." Rev. 15:3.
The cheetah which lives in Africa, Asia and India is the world's fastest animal, but uses its speed sparingly. When hunting it takes advantage of all available cover and crawls on the ground to get as close as possible to its prey. Then, tail twitching, it suddenly leaps up and runs with lightning speed—up to 70 miles per hour—scarcely touching the ground between its ten-foot leaps. It usually catches its prey in just a few seconds.
The Creator has provided the cheetah with large nostrils and lungs to draw in great quantities of air while running so fast. However, it cannot run at top speed very long, and if it fails to capture its prey promptly, it must give up and rest. Even if it succeeds it needs to rest beside the slain victim for a while, breathing deeply before eating it.
The cheetah has a small head, yellow-green eyes high on its skull, with "tear mark" coloring running from the inner corners of its eyes down its face. Its fur is a very pretty fawn color with nearly round black spots over its whole body and a long, striped tail adding to its beauty. Its long, thin body, mounted on long legs, measures about three feet high at the shoulders and some five feet in length, plus a two-and-a-half foot tail.
Their natural home is in open grasslands. Given excellent eyesight they spot antelopes, elands and other animals from a tree limb, bare hilltop, or even a termite mound. A special God-given feature enables them to go without water for several days.
They have claws on all four feet, but unlike most of the cat -family they cannot retract them. One claw on each front foot is extra sharp, strong and higher than the others, never touching the ground. This is its main weapon and is called a "dewclaw."
Mother cheetahs may have three or more cubs a year which are blue-gray until three months old. The little ones are playful, stalking and pawing one another. In the hot sun they huddle close to their mother for protection from the heat and for safety from enemies. They nurse several months and then, full grown, they are on their own.
Again we are reminded that the One who can rightfully claim (as in our opening Bible verse) that every beast of the forest and field is His, does not neglect these creatures. Through their whole lifetime they are under His watchful care, and He can see them just as He can see each of us, even on the darkest night.
Sin that came into the world is responsible for animals such as the cheetah killing others. But the time is coming when there will be peace again among all the beasts. At that time (called the millennium) those who accept the Lord Jesus Christ now as their Savior will be with Him in heaven, looking down on that peaceful scene. Will you be there?