It’s a known fact that the cheetah is the fastest land mammal on Earth, clocking in at top speeds of 93 km/h. While your nightmares may be filled with having to escape one of the spotted beasts, with an inevitable result of death, there is a way to beat a cheetah at its own game.

Springbok winger Bryan Habana once tried to race a cheetah, and while he came close, there was really only going to be one winner. So, how do you get the edge on the speediest beast around? Make it change directions.

One of the fastest NFL players, Devin Hester, managed to “beat” a cheetah in a there-and-back race, where the opponents had to touch a half-way line and then run back to the start (check out the video above).

Humans are able to anticipate turns and slow their speed down in order to do so effectively, but a cheetah doesn’t make sharp turns too easy for itself, and this particular cheetah couldn’t maintain traction and overran the turns.

This is just one of the many amazing facts about cheetahs, and there’s a whole lot more to learn. Getting up close and personal with the majestic ceatures is a great way to find out more about them.

Did you know there’s a place situated only two-and-a-half hours outside of Cape Town, which offers a good opportunity to get to know the furry guys? Inverdoorn provides the chance to visit the cheetah conservation and rehabilitation centre, where once getting to know the baby cubs, can keep up to date with their progress and Inverdoorn’s new happenings via their blog.

Check out some pics of the Inverdoorn lodge and cheetahs below:

You may even get to race them one day.