The short answer to whether a cheetah can run on water is no, they cannot. This idea, sometimes fueled by viral videos, is physically impossible for the world’s fastest land mammal. The cheetah’s anatomy is specialized for explosive speed on solid ground, making it fundamentally incompatible with the physics required to move across a liquid surface. To understand this limitation, one must examine the specific mechanics needed to support weight on water.
The Mechanics of Walking on Water
Moving across a water surface without sinking requires overcoming gravity using either surface tension or hydrodynamic force. Surface tension, the cohesive force between water molecules, supports only the lightest creatures, such as water striders. These small invertebrates distribute their minimal weight across specialized, water-repellent legs. This allows them to deform the surface without breaking it, essentially gliding on the water.
Larger animals, like the Basilisk lizard, must employ a different strategy known as hydrodynamic slapping. This technique requires the animal to strike the water at an extremely high velocity and a precise angle. This generates enough upward force to prevent submerging. The Basilisk lizard uses a “slap, stroke, and retraction” gait, where the foot pushes down, creating a temporary air pocket to push off against. The lizard must maintain a rapid pace, taking up to 20 steps per second, to continuously generate the necessary lift.
Cheetah Anatomy Is Built for Land
The cheetah’s body mass makes both water-walking mechanisms ineffective. Adult cheetahs weigh between 21 and 65 kilograms (46 to 143 pounds), a mass far too great to be supported by surface tension alone. To manage a Basilisk-style run, the cheetah would need to generate a force vastly greater than its lizard counterpart, which is impossible given its size.
The structure of a cheetah’s foot is incompatible with water locomotion. Unlike the wide, fringed feet of the Basilisk lizard, a cheetah’s paws are comparatively narrow and have hard, threaded pads. These pads are designed for maximum grip and traction on the uneven surfaces of the savanna. They cannot create the broad, flat surface area needed to generate a powerful hydrodynamic slap.
The cheetah’s claws are only semi-retractable and blunt, acting like spikes on a track shoe to dig into the earth for purchase during a sprint. This design is perfect for traction on land. However, it cannot be utilized for the precise vertical force application and rapid withdrawal required to run on water. The claws are built for gripping, not for the delicate manipulation of the water surface that prevents sinking.
Specialized Adaptations for Extreme Speed
The cheetah’s entire anatomy is engineered solely for terrestrial acceleration and maneuverability. Their top speed is immense, capable of reaching between 93 and 104 kilometers per hour (58 to 65 mph) in short bursts. This incredible velocity is achieved through specialized features that are counterproductive to water running.
A highly flexible spine acts like a spring, dramatically extending the animal’s stride length and contributing up to 76 centimeters (30 inches) to each bound. While this long stride covers great distances on land, it would only quickly propel the animal into the water column. The semi-retractable claws provide the necessary purchase for this ground-based power, acting as static cleats.
The cheetah’s long, muscular tail acts as a rudder and counterbalance, helping the cat maintain balance and execute sharp turns during high-speed chases. All these adaptations—the flexible spine, the cleat-like claws, and the stabilizing tail—are optimized for the physics of land movement, confirming the cheetah’s specialization as a terrestrial sprinter.