In nature, the rule is simple. The faster you are, the less likely you are to be captured by a predator. For this reason, there are many animals on land, in the sea and in the air that move at very high speed. Here they are.
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The fastest animal on earth
The fastest animals on earth, no animal today can dethrone the cheetah. This mammal of the Felidae family indeed develops exceptional physical performance. According to studies, this animal has an average speed of 93 km/h, reaching in just three seconds.
In captivity, he can get a record speed of 112 km/h, but on the other hand, at this rate, he can only hold 400 meters. If he performs long distances in terms of endurance, his speed will remain around 50 km/h.
Another swift animal is the dorsal pocket gazelle, also called the Springbok, mainly in Africa. It is one of the very few animals that can compete with the cheetah in terms of speed. On average, it can reach 80 km/h during a race. At maximum, its speed peaks at 95 km/h. In addition to being fast, the Springbok is also a very agile jumper and can jump from 15 meters to a height of two meters.
In the air, who flies the fastest?
In the category of the fastest birds in the world, many are competing for the title. Among the best sailing ships in the world, the black swift is in pole position. This bird hardly ever lands on land except for brooding. In the air, its speed quickly reaches 200 km/h.
If we only consider the steep descents, we can say that the peregrine falcon outshines the entire animal kingdom. Its maximum recorded speed is 389 km/h. But on average, it is 180 km/h.
Another majestic animal whose performances align with the peregrine falcon is the golden eagle. In dive, it dives at 320 km/h maximum to capture its prey. The average speed is 241 km/h.
High-speed marine animals
In the waters, speed is the key to capturing prey or escape predators. One of the lightning-speeding species is swordfish, which can swim at speeds of 90 km/h. It is closely followed by the Marlin, which delivers a rate of 80 km/h. Then, we find the black mackerel, also called Wahoo, which is to be differentiated from the barracuda to which it looks a lot. Its swimming speed is 86 km/h on average. Bluefin tuna is also very fast, especially when hunting since their top speed is 100 km/h. But in endurance, he travels at 10 km/h.
On the predator side, a few share the podium. First place goes to the Mako Shark, which has an endurance speed of 50 km/h. Its top speed quickly reaches 110 km/h. There is also the white shark and the Orca, which have an average speed of 48 km/h.