For decades, we've pictured miracinonyx, or the American cheetahs, as fleet-footed prairie hunters who chased down pronghorns and were among the fastest animals on Earth. But recent studies have shaken that belief to the core. Thanks to fossils found in rocky canyons and subarctic lands, and studies on their diet, we're beginning to get a clearer picture of what these majestic animals actually were. 00:00 Rebranding the American Cheetah 00:39 The Original "American Cheetah" Assumption 02:00 Ice Age North America & Megafauna Competitors 02:54 Grand Canyon Fossils: Mountain Climbers, Not Flatland Sprinters 04:29 DNA Breakthrough: Sister Species to the Puma 05:35 Natural Trap Cave & Diet Isotopes 06:36 Debunking the Pronghorn Arms Race Myth 07:11 Sprinter Legs, Grappler Wrists: Anatomical Differences 09:00 Brain Scans: Puma Intelligence vs. Cheetah Speed 09:43 Yukon Discovery: The Arctic "Fish-Eating" Cat 12:03 Extinction at the End of the Pleistocene 12:54 What Should We Name It? Examining the nature of the beast. From apex predators to the planet's strangest creatures, Animalogic goes deep into the science, behavior, and biology of the animal kingdom, one species at a time. ───────────────────────────── 📗 GET THE BOOK ───────────────────────────── "Strange Creatures" — animal facts and original illustrations from the Animalogic team: http://bit.ly/animalogicbook ───────────────────────────── JOIN THE COMMUNITY ───────────────────────────── 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@animalogic 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalogicShow 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalogicshow/ ───────────────────────────── SUPPORT ANIMALOGIC ───────────────────────────── 👕 Merch: https://bit.ly/3SXGrXL ❤️ Member perks: https://bit.ly/AnimalogicMembership 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/animalogic ───────────────────────────── MORE FROM UNDERKNOWN ───────────────────────────── 🔬 What If – Science Hypotheticals: https://bit.ly/youtube-What-If 🧠 Aperture – Philosophy & Psychology: https://bit.ly/aperture-show 🆘 How to Survive – Survival Science: https://bit.ly/how-to-survive-show ───────────────────────────── 📩 Brand partnerships & collaborations: [email protected] Produced by Underknown: https://underknown.com #cheetah #cat #cats #animals #wildlife #nature #animaldocumentary #naturedocumentary #evolution #extinct