03x03 - Maximum Cheetah Velocity

[bunniefuu]

The cheetah's
the fastest land
creature.

How do you catch up
with these creatures?

[Chris]
we're racing to answer that.

[Martin]
we know a cheetah is fast, but--

I want to know what else
can get going that fast.

[Martin]
don't worry.

We're going to do everything
we can to find out.

[Chris]
fasten your seat belts...

We have liftoff!

[Chris]
as we answer the question,

"Can humans reach
maximum cheetah velocity?"

That's what
we're going to find out

On this episode
of kratts' creatures.

Come on!

Iarriba! Iandale! Iandale!

Not bad.

Welcome
to the african
savanna--

Where we're checking out

The fastest land animal
on the planet--
the cheetah.

We'll be exploring
how they fit

Into the african
animal landscape,

And we'll get
into all aspects

Of the cheetah's
creaturnality.

But first, let's see
how fast chris can run.

[Allison]
cheetahs?

Did they say cheetahs?

Now, that's one cool cat.
Cats are amazing.

Some zoologists think they're
the most efficient hunters

In the creature world.

They may have
a point.

Big cats have managed
to adapt and survive

In a ton
of different habitats--

Deserts, frozen tundra,
mountains.

I mean, there are big cats
all over the world.

Check out
the jaguar,

One of the world's
biggest cats.

He roams mostly
in the tropical forests

Of central and south america,

Which is also home
to the margay.

He's barely bigger
than a housecat,

But this feline's
fleet of feet.

He hangs out in the trees,

Hunting birds
and reptiles,

Unlike the ocelot,
who sticks to the ground,

Chowing on victuals

That vary from rodents
to small monkeys.

Whoa! Talk about
a toothy tabby.

It's the lynx.

He's a northern cat

Who loves to tear
through the snow after--

What else?
Snowshoe hares.

The lynx has
a neighbor, though--

The cougar,
although he might not know it.

The cougar is north america's
master of stealth.

With his size
and stalking ability,

He has no problem
taking down creatures

As big as deer, elk,
and even bobcats.

Don't be fooled
by this cat's small size.

He's tough,
quick, adaptable,

And he eats
just about anything.

Go to asia
and you'll find

The biggest cat in the world--
the tiger.

If you really want
to check out big cats,

Go to africa.

He's big.
He's strong.

He's got a fierce reputation
among cats.

He's the lion!

He might not be
the king of the beasts,

But he's one effective hunter

And the only one who lives
in groups, called prides.

Talk about
strength in numbers.

Sometimes it pays to grab
your groceries on your own,

Which is what
the leopard does.

She hunts
and eats alone.

Stalking, pouncing,
and operating solo

Under cover of night

Are some of the leopard's
prime strategies.

You take a look
at all these cats,

And one thing becomes
very clear.

They've all developed
special skills to survive.

The cheetah's honed in
on some serious superskills.

They are the fastest
land animal on earth, right?

Not too shabby,
if you ask me.

Cheetahs are different
from any other cat in the world.

As masters
of the chase,

They prefer
wide-open country,

Where they have plenty of room
to run their prey down.

Even with the cheetah's
amazing speed,

He still needs to get close
to his prey.

That's where
his spots come in.

They help him blend
into the savanna grass.

His quarry won't know he's there
until he makes his move.

The cheetah is
kind of an oddball

In the cat family.

While they're
obviously catlike

In their looks, habits,
and features,

They have
some characteristics

Which make them
very special creatures.

[Chris]
with long legs,

A small head,
and a long tail,

Cheetahs are molded
for speed.

[Martin]
unlike most big cats,

Their body design
is slender and light

Because the smaller your frame,
the faster you go.

[Chris]
not just their body shape

Distinguishes them.

Check out
the black eye marks.

[Martin]
if you hunt during the day,

You have to reduce
the sun's glare, right?

That's what some people think
those marks are for.

[Chris]
it's the same trick

Baseball players use.

[Ttark]
ah, cheetahs.

If you ask me,

It's just good to see
they're still around.

Things didn't look
so good

For them


According to my info,
cheetahs weren't only in africa.

They were
all over asia, too.

Then something happened,
and they started to die out.

They came close
to becoming extinct.

Well, a few of them hung on
and made a comeback,

But at no small price.

It was such a small group
to start over with

That before
they knew it,

Everyone was related
to everyone else.

If all the cheetahs
are related to one another,

That makes them
genetically weak,

Not good news
for any species.

It makes the cheetahs
more susceptible to diseases.

[Ah-choo]

One illness--
one crummy little flu bug--

And they could all be
wiped out.

At least they're still around
in africa.

Accessing current
cheetah population.

Wow.

There are now


Spread over 22 countries
in africa.

Of course,
that still doesn't mean

Their life's
a piece of cake.

[Martin]
when you think about it,

It's not easy
being a cheetah.

For a mom with cubs,

The thr*at of danger
is ever-present, like hyenas.

[Chris]
she has to keep

Her eyes, ears,
and nose

On constant
red alert,

Checking out
for any signs of danger

To her
or her young.

[Martin]
if she thinks a hyena

Knows where her cubs are,
she moves them.

[Chris]
then they settle in again.

[Martin]
without their mother,

The cubs
would never survive,

But they may not
know that.

Being a cub
means playtime.

Check out the cub
playing with her mom's tail.

[Chris]
I wonder if these cubs know yet

How crucial a cheetah's tail is
to their survival.

It's the key
to maintaining balance

During high-speed
prey-chasing.

[Martin]
this mom cheetah

Has to rear
her cubs alone,

Caring for them until
they're about 18 months old.

[Chris]
that might not seem like long,

But it's a real handful
when you realize

A cheetah mom has an average
of three to four cubs.

[Martin]
that's a full-time job.

There's hardly
any time to rest.

[Chris]
besides keeping them
safe from danger,

This mom has to
constantly groom her cubs,

Keeping them
free of parasites

Or anything else that could
endanger their health.

[Martin]
feeding her cubs is

A cheetah mom's
main concern.

[Chris]
to keep them fed,

She has to have
a successful hunt every day.

[Martin]
when she's not with the cubs,

She's out looking
for food.

[Chris]
it looks like

That's what
she's doing now.

[Martin]
she's heading out.

[Chris]
she's found some gazelles.

They didn't even
see her coming.

Amazing.

[Martin]
she's chosen her quarry.

She's making her move!

[Chris]
she kicked right into high gear.

[Martin]
oh, wow! She caught it.

Amazing.

If you ask me,

We need to see that again
in slow motion.

Watch how she uses her tail
for balance

As she takes
the corners.

[Martin]
check out that stride.

Her hind paws
are actually moving

Way out in front
of the front paws.

Her stride must be
at least 22 feet.

[Chris]
talk about rushing

To put food
on the table.

[Martin]
and here they come,

Right on cue--
the little cheetahs.

[Chris]
there's no time to waste.

Holding on to dinner
is a big concern for cheetahs.

[Allison]
holding on to dinner?

What are you guys
talking about?

The problem is that
the cheetah uses

So much energy
during the chase

That after the k*ll,
she's wiped out

And has
no energy left.

It's sort of like

Cheetahs made
a trade-off for speed.

Their slender bodies
and lack of sharp
claws

Are perfect
for running,

But mean they
can't fight off
a lion or hyena.

All cheetahs can do
to prevent being ripped off

Is eat as much as they can
as fast as they can.

[Chris]
mom's had her fill.

She keeps an eye out for danger
as her cubs eat.

[Martin]
danger comes in many forms.

Where there's vultures...

[Chris]
there's hyenas, who followed

The vultures
to the k*ll.

[Martin]
hyenas are major trouble.

Mom calls her cubs.
They scamper to safety.

[Chris]
the big question is,

Are we in
for a hyena/cheetah standoff?

[Martin]
I'm not sure.

The mom's making sure
she's standing

Between her cubs
and the predators.

[Chris]
this is all good news

For the vultures.

With everyone distracted,
they've just scored

A scavenger's dream--
a big free meal.

[Martin]
but not for long.

The hyenas have chased
the cheetah away,

And now they're coming
to reclaim the k*ll.

[Chris]
mom and her cubs

Are out of luck
this time.

Despite their speed
at chasing,

They sometimes need
to move even faster

When it comes
to eating dinner.

What a rip!
Imagine if that happened to you.

[Chris]
so I've decided to have

A picnic
on the savanna.

I've got my ingredients
together.

I'm doing my usual brilliant
culinary preparations,

Which can be pretty tiring,
let's face it.

Then, next thing
I know...

Oh, no!

Why does the cheetah
put up with this?

The reason is a cheetah
can't fight back

Because if he were
to make a stand

Against a lion
or a hyena,

He'd wind up dead.

It's simple.

If you're the fastest
creature around...

You can't also be
the strongest.

[Martin]
that means our cheetah cubs

Have to learn
how to utilize

The skills they do have.

[Chris]
that means speed, stealth,

Leaping, and pouncing
ability.

[Martin]
if you want to bone up

On those skills,

You can use brothers and sisters
as practice prey.

[Chris]
the whole idea

Is to keep
your eyes open.

Check out everything
going on around you.

[Martin]
at the most opportune moment,

Pounce and bite them
on the neck!

[Chris]
all this goofing around

May look like
it's just for fun,

But rest assured
the cheetah cubs

Are honing skills
they'll need

In order to survive
in the wild.

[Martin]
and mom, of course,

Does become part
of the game,

Whether
she likes it or not.

[Chris]
hey! There goes mom.

She's off
on the hunt again.

Sounds like
a perfect time

To clock how fast
a cheetah can run.

[Martin]
mom has staked out her quarry--

A herd
of thomson's gazelles.

They see her,
maybe with time to escape.

She's making her move.
The gazelles bolt.

Whoa. Look at her move.

Oh, that gazelle
didn't stand a chance.

Did you see
how fast she was going?



Wow! Imagine
if humans could go
that fast.

Think of all
the cool things
we could do

If we had the speed
of a cheetah.

Yeah. Now, that
would be amazing.

[Ttark]
dream on, guys.

You humans could never
get going

As fast as
a cheetah.

You know why?

Because you're not
built like one.

His lungs and heart
are huge.

Without them,
he'd run out of breath

And couldn't even
get close to top speed.

It doesn't hurt that his bones
are superlight,

So he's not weighed down.

And he has the ultimate
flexible backbone,

So he can stretch out
when running.

Talk about
making great strides!

And don't forget,
the tail lets him make turns

Without losing speed
or balance.

I, uh, meant to do that.

The fastest human alive

Couldn't match that sort
of speed, or could they?

This sounds like a challenge
for the guys.

What would you guys need
to go as fast as the cheetah?

Good question.
That's what we're
going to find out.

What do humans
have to do

To achieve
the maximum velocity
of a cheetah?

We know a cheetah can
go 70 miles an hour.

What I want
to know is,

What else can get
going that fast?

That's easy.

Something that can go


Would be...a slap sh*t!

[Chris]
sure. A slap sh*t can go


Definitely a bow and arrow
could do it.

[Chris]
a bow and arrow
can clock

At least


If you're a master archer
like me.

[Martin]
and don't forget
grandma kratt's fastball.

When she's hot,
she can fire one in

At a good 65 miles per hour.

You're out.

[Allison]
so a slap sh*t
can do cheetah speed,

So can a bow and arrow,

And so can
grandma's fastball.

That's cool.

Wait. None of those
examples will work.

They're all
inanimate objects.

The challenge
was to find out

How humans could go
as fast as cheetahs,

So if we can't
do it by running--

[Martin]
ready?

Guys? What's going on?

Get set!

Go!

Come on, chris!
You can do it!

You're picking up speed.
Keep pumping!

Come on, bro!

The wind's right, and you've
got gravity on your side.

[Whistles]

Not bad! Uh-oh.

Aah! Aah! Aah!

Are you o.k.?

I think so.

How fast
was I going?

Well, you didn't
make cheetah speed,

But you were going


That's about as fast
as the cheetah's
favorite prey--

The thomson's gazelle.

I was going
as fast as a tommy?

They're quicker
than any animal out here

Besides the cheetah.

Thomson's gazelles
are the cheetah's main prey,

And they're the reason
cheetahs have to be so fast.

A gazelle can move as fast
as 48 miles per hour

For as far
as 2 to 4 miles.

Since tommies
can only run


Compared to
the cheetah's
max speed of 70,

You'd think cheetahs
would get them
every time...

But tommies have a few
tricks up their horns.

[Chris]
they don't have tricks
up their horns

Because they don't really
use their horns for defense.

[Martin]
hey, just a figure
of speech, chris.

But tommies do have
some amazing tricks

When it comes
to evading predators.

Trick number one
is sticking together.

[Martin]
everyone can look out
for everyone else.

[Chris]
and trick number two?

Tommies follow predators
at a distance.

[Martin]
they keep enough space
so that escape is easy...

[Chris]
but they stay close enough
to watch the predator.

[Martin]
trick number three?
It's called stotting.

[Chris]
if a predator's around,

A gazelle will leap
really high.

That says to the predator...

[Martin]
"I'm healthy. I'm strong.
Don't bother trying to eat me."

[Chris]
and trick number four?
Zigzagging!

[Martin]
zigzagging is when the prey
tries to confuse the predator

By running
in a zigzag fashion.

It sounds simple,
but once you've chased prey

That's bopping back and forth
all over the place,

You'll realize it isn't
as easy as it seems.

[Chris]
no kidding.

Whoa! Oh!

It's amazing what a little
zigzagging can do.

All right.
I'll give you that.

But remember,
I didn't have

All the advantages
a cheetah has...

Like a dewclaw,
which a cheetah uses

To trip up its prey
when it gets close.

The dewclaw
is that special claw

On the cheetah's
front leg.

It doesn't
touch the ground,

And it's sharper
than any other claw.

The cheetah uses it
to knock its prey off balance,

But it wasn't just the lack
of a dewclaw that got me.

Here's another
disadvantage I had.

Look at these treads.

I mean, they're o.k.,

But they're not
nearly the traction
of a cheetah.

Yeah. Cheetahs have
special claws.

Their claws are strong

And designed for digging
into the earth.

That's great for running.

[Chris]
and now for another amazing...

Chris and I are going to
have a little race.

The only difference

Is that I'll be
wearing soccer cleats

And chris will
be wearing bowling shoes!

Great.

We'll go
to the tree and back.

[Martin]
oh, wow!

With this music,
it really makes the point,

And winning
against chris is great.

[Chris]
all right!

So martin's got music

And soccer cleats
on his side,

But even
with that traction,

He still didn't have
cheetah speed.

We keep talking
about being fast

As if it's the only
way to go.

What about being slow?

I mean, there have got to be
tons of creatures

Who get along just fine
without being fast.

[Bell rings]

Absotively!
Speed isn't the only thing.

Sloths do fine
by staying out of trouble

And in hard-to-reach places
up in trees.

Tortoises have protection
on their back,

So they don't need
to run anywhere.

They can just
take their time.

Porcupines have quills,

So they don't have to
run from predators.

That's the great thing
about nature.

You have what you need
to survive

And use it
as well as you can.

Just remember to go
at your own pace

And work with
what you've got.

Do that, and things
will be just fine.

Every animal
does its own thing.

For some, speed couldn't
matter less,

But for the cheetah,
it's life or death.

Right, guys? Guys?

Hey, what are
you doing?

We're still
trying to see

How a human can go
as fast as a cheetah.

Martin might reach
cheetah velocity

If we launch him
out of this catapult.

What?

You'll go
through the air

At a trajectory
of 45 degrees.

When you level off,

You should have reached
cheetah velocity.

Then you'll spontaneously
decrease to zero

When you crash-land.

I got a better idea.

Fortunately,
I just happen to have

Ken the test dummy
in my creature pack.

I just yank him out

And make a few
adjustments and...

Wait a second!

The idea was to see
if we could get
a human

To go as fast
as a cheetah,
not a dummy.

Well, chris,
be my guest.

On second thought,
ken would love
to take this trip.

He's always
wanted to reach
the stratosphere.

Let's load him up.

O.k. Stake's in.

[Martin]
don't worry, kenny.

This will be as safe

As sliding into
the barber's chair.

Protect the haircut
and make a few adjustments...

T minus 5
and counting.



Whoa!

[Chris]
this will be good
for anyone associated with it.

Woo-hoo!



He did great!


[Martin]
is great...

But we still
haven't attained

Maximum
cheetah velocity.

It's a cool idea,
but I don't think

It's possible for a human
to go that fast.

When you're right,
you're right, al.

What cheetahs
do naturally,

Humans have to
manufacture,

And that's part
of our creaturnality.

We're the ultimate
tool-using creatures.

You done yet?

Give me a minute.

How's this?

I guess
it'll do.

[Engine starts]

It works!

I hope this one
gets better mileage

Than the last one
you built.

O.k., So in terms
of matching cheetah speed...

A final kratt brothers
scientific experiment!

Ready, martin?

T minus 5
and counting.



We have liftoff!

[Gears grinding]

[Imitating scotty]
captain, she cannot
take much more!



Uh-oh.


Mean, "uh-oh"?

Don't worry. I think
it's under control.



Look! Chris,
we made it. Look!

We've reached maximum
cheetah velocity!


Now, that's traveling.

And for cheetahs,
that's their key to success.

[Chris]
you're right, al.

For us, getting up
to cheetah speed was fun.

For the cheetah, though,
speed is crucial.

[Martin]
the cheetah cubs are
about 13 months old now...

[Chris]
and it's time for them

To test
their hunting skills.

[Martin]
mom's giving them
a few final instructions.

[Chris]
the other creatures
on the savanna are nervous.

Mom takes the lead.

[Martin]
the two younger cheetahs
have decided

To try their skills
on their own.

[Chris]
mom limbers up.

She keeps a watchful eye.

[Martin]
and there go
the cubs! Whoa!

[Chris]
unfortunately for them,
it's a miss this time.

They're a little
too rambunctious

And didn't wait
to get close enough.

[Martin]
mom's decided to show them
the proper way to hunt.

Watch her.

She's getting as close
as she possibly can.

[Chris]
now she makes her move.

[Martin]
wow! Once again,
mom's successful on the hunt,

And she'll be
providing supper today.

[Chris]
her young will try to make it
on their own again soon.

[Martin]
that's what all cheetahs
are trying to do.

No matter how powerful
cheetahs seem...

Cheetahs are still
an endangered species,

And it'll take
hundreds of generations

For them to regain
their genetic strength.

Until then,
they'll always
be threatened

By that weak
gene pool...

And the challenges
of everyday life.

[Allison]
the cheetah's beautiful,

But it's always living
on a high wire.

The faster it becomes,

The more it loses
other skills.

Is there such a thing

As being too good
at something?

Sometimes it seems like
the most successful creatures

Are those who can adapt
to anything.

You've got
your fast creatures.

You've got
your slow creatures.

You've got creatures
who don't go anywhere at all.

[Martin]
I built the thing.

It was your job
to fill it up
with gas.

Last time,
you forgot to put in
the piston rods.

Hey! We're going
off the road!

Doesn't this thing
have any alignment?

Alignment?