14 DAY TRIAL // Researcher Robyn Hetem at the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School claims that, contrary to popular opinion, cheetahs overheat after a hunt because they are stressed somebody might steal their prey, and not because the running has proved too much for their bodies to handle.
Together with other researchers, Robyn Hetem monitored six cheetahs in a Namibian rehabilitation camp for several months in a row.
They scientists found that, while stalking and chasing after their next meal, the felines did not experience any increase in their body temperature.
As long as the hunt was unsuccessful, that is.
“A cheetah’s body temperature after the chase is the same as its mean daily body temperature,” Robym Hetem said, as cited by Mongabay.
According to these researchers, cheetahs only overheat after successful hunts. They do so because they fear some other predator will show up and claim their prey.
Robyn Hetem also maintains that, since an increase in body temperature cannot be what causes cheetahs to abandon the chase after a while, these predators probably quit running after a certain point because of a built up of lactic acid in their muscles.