Campus Connection

UWL student volunteer shares five things about the world’s fastest land mammal

We all know cheetahs are fast. UWL student Hailey Wierzba, a psychology major from Almond, Wisconsin, has learned a lot more about the world’s fastest land mammal while volunteering to care for cheetahs and other animals in South Africa this summer. She shared these fun facts.

1. Purring: When cheetahs are happy, or waiting for food, they will purr just like a house cat.
2. Temperament: Ambassadors are cheetahs with gentle temperaments that can be trained to interact with people in hopes of promoting awareness for the species.
3. Endangered: Cheetahs are endangered and their native lands are decreasing quickly due to farming and urbanization.
4. Spots: Kind of like a fingerprint, no two cheetah spot patterns are the same.
5. Speed: Cheetahs can run from 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds.

Wierzba was selected as part of a small team that volunteered at Feracare Wildlife Centre. Wierzba took a course in the anatomy, behavior, and conservation of big cats such as cheetahs to be better equipped to study and help support the animals at Feracare.