Cheetahs are known for being the fastest land animals, capable of reaching speeds over 60 mph when chasing prey across the African savannas. However, with their sleek, aerodynamic bodies evolved for acceleration and their sharp, fragile teeth suited for slicing into flesh, cheetahs face limitations in what they can eat to survive.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: Cheetahs can’t effectively digest grass and plants due to their highly specialized carnivorous gastrointestinal tract and nutrient requirements as obligate carnivores suited for a meat-based diet.
Cheetahs Have a Carnivorous Digestive System
Stomach Acidity Levels Geared Towards Meat
As obligate carnivores, cheetahs have evolved digestive systems finely tuned for a meat-based diet. Their stomach acidity levels are extremely high, with a pH between 1-2, which allows them to kill potentially dangerous pathogens from rotting flesh and break down protein chains efficiently.Compare this to cows and sheep which have stomach pH levels around 5.5-7, suitable for digesting fibrous grasses and plants.
If a cheetah was to eat grass, the cellulose fibers would remain largely intact through the stomach, providing little nutritional value.
Also, with such highly acidic digestive juice, the cheetah’s stomach lining has adapted to withstand these harsh conditions. If non-meat food was consumed regularly, it would erode the stomach wall leading to gastritis, ulcers and detrimental health issues over time.
Lack of Digestive Enzymes to Break Down Cellulose
In addition to stomach acidity, another reason cheetahs can’t effectively process grass and vegetation is due to lacking the enzymes needed to chemically break down cellulose and access nutrients locked within plant cell walls.
Unlike ruminant grazers, cats do not produce cellulase to break glycosidic bonds in cellulose, amylase to metabolize starches, or various proteases like trypsin and chymotrypsin to fully digest vegetable proteins.
Without these carbohydrate and protein digesting tools, a cheetah eating grasses would gain extremely minimal nutritional value. At best, some fermentable sugars and minerals may be absorbed but the bulk of the meal would pass through undigested.
For sustenance and survival cheetahs biologically rely on a carnivorous diet centered around digestible animal tissue. Attempts at feeding vegetation can lead to severe malnutrition and organ damage over time due to the ineffective absorption of nutrients.
Carnivore Teeth and Jaws Unsuited for Plant Chewing
Sharp, Blade-Like Teeth Meant for Slicing Flesh
Cheetahs have evolved sharp, blade-like teeth optimized for slicing through flesh and tendon. Their teeth are similar to knives, with non-serrated edges perfect for swiftly puncturing and gripping prey. This allows them to rapidly suffocate prey like gazelles or impalas.
However, these knife-blade teeth are completely unsuited for chewing and grinding tough, fibrous plant matter like grass.
Specifically, cheetahs have small premolar and molar teeth compared to herbivores. Research shows their premolars lack complex ridges and cusps for shearing plant material. Their molars have remained simple and compact.
Consequently, attempting to chew and breakdown grass would be extremely inefficient and difficult for cheetahs.
- Canine teeth length: 2.5 inches – longest relative to body size of any cat
- Carnassials (Shearing teeth): Highly specialized for meat slicing
- Reduced premolars/molars: Simple and compact to keep jaws light
In essence,Specialized carnivore chewing teeth mean a grass-based diet remains impossible for cheetahs from an evolutionary perspective.
Jaws Lack Lateral Motion for Grinding
Additionally, the big cat’s entire jaw and skull structure lacks the lateral motion and musculature required for plant grinding. A herbivore’s lower jaw moves sideways to crush and pulverize tough vegetation.
But a cheetah’s jaws can only move vertically for piercing bites, not the broad grinding motion grazers employ.
| Herbivores | Cheetahs |
|---|---|
| Powerful lateral jaw motion from developed muscles for grinding | Strictly vertical-only jaw motion. Lack wide grinding movement |
| Square, wide back molars for crushing vegetation | Narrow, small, uncomplicated back teeth. Poorly suited for chewing |
Scientists have confirmed that muscle mass and origin points in a cheetah’s skull support rapid vertical attacks on prey rather than slower, crushing lateral movements better suited for plants. Ultimately, the big cat’s jaw morphology remains adapted for speed and carnivorous hunting through evolution rather than any ability to munch on grass and vegetation like other grazers.
Obligate Carnivores Require Nutrients Found in Meat
High Protein Levels Essential for Muscle Power
Cheetahs are obligate carnivores, meaning they need to eat meat to acquire essential nutrients not found in plants. One of the most vital nutrients for cheetahs is protein, which makes up about 70% of their diet.
Compared to omnivores and herbivores, obligate carnivores like cheetahs require extremely high levels of protein to build and maintain their powerful muscles that enable explosive sprinting speeds up to 65 mph.
Grasses and other plants are very low in protein, containing only 2-15% protein compared to the high levels found in meat. Consuming grass would not allow cheetahs to reach the minimum protein requirements of over 65% needed to achieve their incredible muscular performance.
Simply put, without large quantities of protein from fresh kills, cheetahs would experience severe muscle wasting and weakness over time, severely impacting their hunting capabilities in the wild.
Lack Essential Amino Acids Provided by Animal Prey
In addition to high protein content, cheetahs require animal meat because their bodies cannot self-produce nine essential amino acids. Unlike non-essential amino acids made internally, essential amino acids can only come from external food sources.
Meat, organs, and tissues from cheetah’s prey contain complete, balanced sources of all amino acids needed for good health.
On the contrary, proteins found in grass lack several of the essential amino acids obligate carnivores require. For example, grasses are uniformly deficient in taurine, an amino sulfonic acid vital for vision, digestion, heart health, and immune function in cats and cheetahs.
Without the availability of taurine from fresh kills, cheetahs would suffer retinal degeneration, growth inhibition, and other severe medical conditions over time.
Conclusion
In the end, cheetahs evolved as specialist hunters to sustain themselves on meat rather than plants. While their streamlined bodies and rapid speed aid them in catching prey, cheetahs lack the proper digestive system and jaws to effectively break down and chew through fibrous grasses and vegetation.
With their biology fine-tuned for carnivory over millions of years, cheetahs require the rich proteins and nutrients found exclusively in animal flesh to fuel their bodies and survive.
