Let’s examine the average cheetah: the fastest land animal in the world, a marvel of evolution, built for speed. Before unleashing its chronic speed, a cheetah uses exceptionally keen eyesight to scan its environment for signs of prey. It knocks its prey to the ground, killing it with a suffocating bite to the neck. According to Defenders of Wildlife, cheetahs are typically solitary animals, although “males sometimes live with a small group of brothers from the same litter.” A cheetah has a heart one-third the size of a human’s, and a brain two-thirds the size.
Have you ever encountered a cheetah outside a safari tour or the zoo? I have. In fact, I have encountered one too many cheetahs in college. They’re keen, they’re charming, and they’re confident. They know their prey too well- they stealthily stalk their victim’s every move and wait for just the right time to go in for the kill. As aforementioned, cheetahs are typically solitary creatures. It’s hard to see them with a partner. Not surprising. Can you find them in a frat house- living with a “small group of brothers from the same litter”? Maybe so. But, that doesn’t speak for all the cheetahs out there.
These cheetahs know their power. They know they’re going to catch their stagnant and “naïve” target, because anyone is slow compared to them. The one thing that remains steady in their lives is their speed- not relationships, reputations, nor self-respect. They sneak up and shock their prey with a swift, unventilated bite, leaving them stunned, defenseless, and impotent. If the victim ever sees it coming, it’s far too late, because who can slow a cheetah down?
Have you ever encountered a cheetah’s prey? I have. In fact, I have fallen prey to a cheetah in my past. I, having the heart 3 times of a cheetah (literally and figuratively), thought that I could domesticate him. I thought that I could slow him down. I fell for the charm, and what appeared to be beautiful and unique on the outside. I didn’t realize I was just another prey to stalk, another notch in the belt. I didn’t have time to run, hide, or prepare myself. The worst part was the shock- the suffocating bite to the neck, the revealing of the truth, and the pain and distrust that followed.
Do cheetahs show remorse after a kill? Just maybe they do. But, it’s too late. The prey is already dead.
If you’re picking up what I’m putting down, the cheetahs I have met in college are not the spotted animals you’re envisioning. They’re a different kind of animal-they’re cheaters. I’ve learned that they can’t be domesticated. I’ve learned that they don’t slow down for anyone. And, they’ll go in for the kill again.
Once a cheetah, always a cheetah.
