What does a cheetah use for protection?

It has two defense mechanisms.

Speed - it is the fastest animal on earth. So, no animal can chase and catch an adult cheetah. However young ones aren't as fast and are fairly vulnerable

Camouflage - the skin of the cheetah is golden brown in color with black spots. This is similar to the color of the grasslands where they live and hence it is not so easy to spot a cheetah.