World's Fastest Land Animal Has Died -- Learn About Sarah The Cheetah's Speed Records, Canine Friends, & All-Around Amazing Life!

She lived such an amazing — and fast — life!
The Cincinnati Zoo announced on Friday that their world famous cheetah Sarah was euthanized due to a “diminishing quality of life” at 15 years old earlier this week.
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The average lifespan of a cheetah is 8-12 years, so Sarah lived a very long life — but it was all about what she did with that life that’s making headlines!
In 2009, she set the world speed record for land mammals, when she was clocked sprinting 100 meters in just 6.13 seconds!
For a frame of reference: the fastest human in the world, Usain Bolt, set the mark at that same distance for people at 9.58 seconds, so Sarah was FAST!
The amazing cheetah got going as fast as 61 miles per hour on that record-setting run — but she wasn’t done yet!
Three years later, she destroyed her own record, and re-set the land mammal record at 100 meters by running it in just 5.95 seconds!
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Ch-ch-check out video of her doing it (below)!!!

So elegant!!!
Sarah was also notable as being one of the very first cheetah cubs on record to be raised with puppy companions.
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One of her lifelong best friends as an Anatolian shepherd named Lexi!
Ch-ch-check them out together as youngsters (below):

And then, years later, as grown adults (below):

SO. CUTE.
Lexi died several years ago, according to the zoo.
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Cathryn Hilker, the founder of the Cincinnati Zoo’s Cat Ambassador program, raised Sarah and Lexi together from birth, and wrote a touching remembrance of Sarah’s life:

“She will be remembered by thousands of school children who heard her loud purr or heard her nails clicking on the table top. My memories are imprinted in my heart and mind of a tiny brave little cheetah … the claw marks from her tiny little claws when she was a cub remain on my bedspread to this day.”

Awwww!!!
We are getting so emotional just reading this, Sarah was SO cute!!!
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At least she — and Lexi — lived an amazing life.
Such a graceful animal!
RIP
[Image via Cincinnati Zoo.]