Jim Rasmussen, age 9, of Nampa, Ida., for his question:

CAN THE CHEETAH RUN FAST?

Cheetah is a distinctive African species of the cat family. Its bogy is adapted for taking prey by runing rather than by leaping from ambush, as the leopard does. The cheetah hunts by sight rather than by smell. Over short distances it is the fastest ground animal on earth, being able to attain speed of up to 70 miles per hour.

A cheetah weighs between 110 and 130 pounds and is about tour and a half feet long. Its legs are much longer than a leopard's. It hunts by day, feeding mainly on antelope.

The cheetah was formerly trained and used for hunting in India, where it is now extinct. In tropical Africa, where it lives on open plains, the cheetah is now an endangered species.

The cheetah's coat is yellowish brown with black spots. The cub also has a spotted coat but over the back and head is a mantle of long, silky, gray hair that remains for about three months. Cheetahs are solitary animals, except for the female with her cubs. Mature males generally travel alone, joining females only at mating time.