The fastest flying animal. The fastest aquatic animals. The fastest snake is mamba

Pronghorn. This elegant creature is the fastest land animal in North America, reaching speeds of under 90 km/h. In a short distance, the pronghorn would not be able to overtake the cheetah, but would easily break away from him on any long track. Hardiness allows pronghorns to migrate hundreds of kilometers each year.

Brazilian fold-lip. The fastest of bats, accelerating to almost 100 km / h in a dive. Fold-lips live in large colonies in caves, under bridges, and in old buildings. In the evenings, they simultaneously fly out to hunt, forming a stunning "cinematic" picture.

Sailboat and swordfish. A curious example of a draw - different sources they call either a sailboat or a swordfish the fastest fish in the world, reaching speeds from 100 to 130 km / h. One study giving victory to swordfish found, using MRI, that the fish has an oil-releasing tonsil in its upper jaw. Spreading around the fish head, the oil reduces friction on the water and increases speed.

Calyptus Anna. The top speed limit for this bird is 80 km/h, which doesn't seem like much of an achievement until you appreciate its size. Biologist Christopher Clark University of California at Berkeley, he calculated that at this speed the hummingbird covers 385 sizes of its body per second, experiencing the strongest overloads of 10G.

Cheetah. Far from the fastest animal on Earth, inferior to birds, fish and even insects, but still the fastest land and the fastest mammal. Reaches speeds of more than 100 km / h, accelerating from 0 to 100 in three seconds.

Black marlin. According to the BBC, the maximum speed developed by black marlin is 130 km/h. It was measured by how quickly the line was reeled off the rod when a fish was caught, which is a somewhat controversial method. Was the boat moving at that moment, was the fish swimming in a straight line? Either way, it's no surprise that at this rate, black marlin are very popular with sport fishermen.

horsefly. If you've ever been chased by one of these biting creatures, you know how fast they are. Jerry Butler, an entomologist at the University of Florida, states that an adult male Hybomitra horsefly can reach speeds in excess of 144 km/h. True, it is difficult to accurately measure the speed of an insect due to size, non-linearity of flight, and other factors.

Needle-tailed swift. This bird has a speed of almost 170 km/h, making it the fastest flying animal. It lives in Asia and Australia, occasionally flying to Europe.

Mite. If we take the fastest animal in the world in relation to the length own body, then no one will keep up with the tick of the species Paratarsotomus macropalpis. In a second, it covers a distance of 320 of its own dimensions - the same as people would accelerate to 2090 km / h.

Peregrine falcon. Although the peregrine falcon flies slower than the needle-tailed swift, in a dive for prey it accelerates to 390 km/h. The claw strike after acceleration is so strong that it can tear off the victim's head.

Man is the most smart creature on the ground. However, he cannot boast of the strength and speed that many animals on our planet possess. They will easily defeat a person in a fight and overtake at any distance. The fastest animals will become the heroes of our article.

Every living organism that lives on our planet adapts to its conditions. Some have learned to merge with environment, others skillfully hide from enemies, and some have to catch up or run away. For many animals, the ability to move quickly is the only way to survive. In the air, on land and in water, there are speed record holders.

Hyena

Many people know about these animals. Their length is up to 1.7 meters and height is up to 0.8 m. The hyena prefers hot countries, so it most often lives in Africa. It's a predator though for a long time it was believed that the hyena feeds on carrion and is not able to hunt on its own. This beast is famous for its death grip. Her jaws close under pressure of 70 kg per sq. cm. The predator is able to easily gnaw through a thick bone.

Hyenas have powerful and strong limbs, which allows them to develop tremendous speed - up to 60 km / h.

gray fox

The fastest animals in the world live on different continents. For example, rare gray fox lives in America. It is similar to its European relative, but differs greatly in fur - it is gray on top and reddish-yellow on the abdomen. The huge tail can reach the size of the animal itself. The height of the fox is no more than 40 cm. She is very dexterous, knows how to run fast. Speeds up to 65 km/h. In addition, she remarkably climbs trees. The fox lives only in a warm environment, it can die in frosts, since its undercoat is poorly developed.

Coyote

Coyotes are animals that are common in America and belong to the canine family. At first glance, they are very reminiscent of wolves or dogs. They live, as a rule, on plains or in deserts, but coyotes do not like forests. Sometimes they can be found in the suburbs. During the day, the animal is rare, more active at night. Feeds on small rodents. It has a fairly high running speed (65 km / h).

Elk

If you have decided that the fastest animals on Earth are predators, then you are mistaken. Elk, belonging to the deer family, is its largest representative. Its weight reaches 700 kg, height - more than 2.5 m, body length - 3 m. The elk's head is decorated with huge horns, the span of which reaches 200 centimeters, and their weight exceeds 30 kg. This giant lives in America, Russia and Europe. Unlike the animals we talked about earlier, moose eat plant food: moss, grass, berries, bark, etc.

Despite their impressive size, moose run great (70 km / h), they are excellent swimmers.

Gazelle

This graceful animal lives in Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan. It was first discovered by a Scottish scientist.

Thompson's gazelle is a small animal. Her maximum weight is less than 30 kg, and her height at the withers barely reaches 70 cm. This does not prevent her from developing tremendous speed (80 km / h) while running. This allows you to avoid meeting with predators. Quite often, herds of gazelles number several thousand heads.

a lion

If you ask our readers: “What is the fastest animal?”, For sure, many will answer: “Lion”. And this is natural, because this is the king of beasts and he must surpass his “subjects” in everything. However, it is not.

Lions today are found in a very limited area. The uncontrolled destruction of this predator has significantly reduced the livestock.

These are very strong animals. They live in small groups and attack herds of antelopes or zebras, which do not always manage to escape death, despite the fact that antelopes are very fast. Lions have excellent acceleration (80 km / h). At the same time, they exhale very quickly.

Kulan

It is not the fastest animal in the world. Although the speed of its movement is quite high (80 km / h).

Despite the fact that the kulan is the closest relative of the horse, outwardly it resembles an ordinary donkey. Previously, it was widely distributed on Earth, but today it can only be seen on the territory of Turkmenistan. Prefers to settle in flat deserts and semi-deserts. Despite his "toy" appearance, he is an excellent runner.

Antelope

Probably, someone, reading our article, will doubt that the fastest animals on the planet can develop such speed. For example, wildebeest, belonging to the bovid family, weighing more than 250 kg and about 1.5 meters high, can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h.

Antelopes live in Africa. They eat plant foods. Often attacked by predators.

Pronghorn

This animal also belongs to the antelopes. Distributed in Canada and North America. Outwardly and in size, the pronghorn resembles a roe deer. The pronghorn gains tremendous speed (up to 100 km / h) because it has a very large heart and a thick trachea. These organs are twice the size of sheep.

Cheetah

The fastest animals will seem unintelligent kids, next to our next hero. This, of course, is a handsome cheetah. There is no other animal on earth capable of developing such fantastic speed when running. This is beyond the power of either tigers or lions.

Even outwardly, the cheetah looks like a real athlete. Looking at his graceful body, it may seem that he is too thin. However, this is not the case - he does not have body fat. The speed of the fastest animal on Earth depends not only on its powerful paws, but also on general structure his body. A small head with rounded ears enhances the streamlining of the animal while running. Weight adult does not exceed 67 kg with a body length of 1.5 meters.

The tail of this luxurious cat is very massive (up to 80 cm). The cheetah looks very nice. This is largely facilitated by the sandy coat color with bright black spots.

As a rule, the fastest animals hunt from ambush. In contrast, cheetahs pursue their prey. With this method of hunting, a powerful throw with further development speed. This is the fastest animal in the world with a speed of up to 120 km/h. True, it maintains this pace only at a distance of up to 400 meters, but even such a distance requires a huge expenditure of energy, strength and oxygen. This cat gains speed of 75 km/h in 2 seconds.

Despite the fact that these are the fastest animals, cheetahs are much weaker than other predators. The same hyenas or leopards can easily take their prey from them, since the “runners” after such a hard run need time to restore their strength and breath. Usually it's half an hour. However, cheetahs are very smart. If they understand that they cannot eat their entire prey, they drag it onto tall tree and leave it until the time when they are hungry again.

The fastest Living being on the planet - peregrine falcon. Its top speed is 322 km/h.
Well, in general, that's all. There is nothing more to talk about. All other runners against his background are miserable snails. But let's be lenient.

The fastest mammals

Of the land animals, the fastest - cheetah and some antelopes. Predator and prey. Naturally, the predator is faster, otherwise, he would also have to become a herbivore. At a short distance, the cheetah is able to make a dash at speeds up to 110 km/h. Up to 75 km / h, it accelerates in 2 seconds and rushes with giant jumps 6-8 meters long. This requires a huge amount of energy from the cheetah, so the sprint lasts only a few seconds.

From special devices for fast running, one can note non-retractable claws, a kind of spikes, and a long, up to 80 cm, heavy tail, which helps to maintain balance during sharp turns at speed.
The outstanding speed qualities of the cheetah were noticed back in Ancient Egypt- predators were tamed and used for hunting. This pleasure was not cheap, only the pharaohs and their entourage could afford to have a domestic cheetah.
refined pronghorn antelope considered the second fastest after the cheetah, they reach speeds of up to 100 km / h.

Wildebeest not so beautiful, and the sounds they make are reminiscent of nasal grunts. But cruising speed wildebeest herds - 50 km / h, and when the animals are frightened, they are able to accelerate up to 90 km / h.

Almost as fast are small ones, up to 28 kg, Grant's gazelles. They are able to run at a speed of 80 km/h.

King of beasts, a lion, is famous for its laziness, but lionesses, who still have to get food for the family, lie in wait for the victim in an ambush and can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h in a short distance.
Not only exotic animals can move quickly. Wild donkeys living in our country kulans

and seeming rather clumsy moose, can run at a speed of about 70 km/h.

The fastest birds

Unattainable record holder - peregrine falcon. In justification of all other slug-movers, we can say that it develops an incredible speed - 322 km / h, in a dive flight, where the law of universal gravitation also works for it.

In horizontal flight champion - swift, develops a speed of 111 km / h. It has very long wings, and the legs, on the contrary, are small and weak, so swifts cannot take off from a horizontal surface; to start flying, they need to jump down from some kind of support. But swifts spend almost their entire lives in flight, descending to the surface only to hatch their chicks. In the air, they feed by catching insects, drink by rushing on the surface of the water and scooping up water with their wide-open beak, and even sleep. A swift can fly 1800 km per day.

The fastest fish

Water is much denser than air, and offers tremendous resistance to movement. Despite this, sailfish in pursuit of prey, it develops speeds of up to 100 km / h. The official speed is 109 km/h. When swimming fast, the chic dorsal fin is retracted into a special recess on the back, and the ventral fins are also hidden. The fish got its name for the way it swims close to the surface of the water, exposing its fin like a sail.

Man is accustomed to consider himself the crown of nature, but it must be admitted that in terms of movement, the achievements of people are very modest. The fastest sprinter to date, Usain Bolt, reaches a top speed of 45 km/h for a few seconds.

Speed ​​of movement is the key to survival. Many animals in the course of evolution and in the struggle for survival have developed incredible abilities in themselves ...

peregrine falcon

Most people think that the fastest creature is the cheetah, but this is not true. Many birds are able to develop much more high speeds than a spotted predator. by the most fast birds rightfully considered representatives of the falcon family. The absolute record holder for the speed of movement is the peregrine falcon. This bird is capable of speeds 200 km/h when flying in a straight line. And in a dive flight during a hunt, the peregrine falcon is able to accelerate to 325 km/h (this is even faster than many famous sports cars)!

Cheetah

The cheetah is the fastest runner and generally the fastest land animal. Speed ​​in 100 km / h is the norm for this beast, almost every cheetah reaches this speed during the hunt. There are also cases when individual individuals picked up speed in 120 km/h But here it should be noted that running at such a speed greatly depletes the animal, and it is simply impossible to run at such a speed for a long time, a distance of 350-400 meters is considered the maximum. By the way, cheetahs do not know how to retract their claws, as all cats do, which probably helps them develop such incredible speed, providing good grip on the ground.

sailboat

The sailboat is recognized as the most fast fish, and indeed the fastest representative underwater world. This fish is able to develop speed in 110 km/h Outwardly, the sailboat looks a bit like a marlin, and it got its name due to its dorsal fin, which is very similar to a sail.

pronghorn antelope

The pronghorn antelope (or as it is also called the pronghorn) is considered the fastest herbivore. Over short distances pronghorns can reach speeds of 85 km / h, there is also a case when a pronghorn antelope ran at a speed of 98 km / h. But most of all, the pronghorn antelope is distinguished from the rest of the "sprinters" by endurance, at a speed of 55 km / h it is able to run up to 6 kilometers.

Ostrich

And back to the birds. Yes, ostriches cannot fly, but their sprinting abilities more than make up for this shortcoming. Ostriches are able to run at a speed of about 80 km/h By the way, ostriches are the largest birds, they can reach 2.5 meters in height and weigh up to 130 kilograms.

Kulan

The fastest animal among the odd-toed ungulates is the kulan. This is a small animal that looks like a mule or donkey. At short distances, the kulan can reach speeds up to 70 km / h, and on long ones - about 50 km / h.

Human

Naturally, a person is a living being belonging to the class of mammals, so the achievements of a person also need to be included in this kind of rating. The average man can run at a speed of about 22-26 km / h for short distances (women's averages are slightly lower). The record belongs to a Jamaican runner. Usain Bolt. At the competition in 2009 in Berlin, Usain set a new world record in the 100 meters, running a distance of 9,58 seconds, which is approximately 37,5 km/h

It's hard to believe, but the leatherback turtle is the fastest reptile in the world! She is also the heaviest turtle. Leatherback turtle can swim at speed 35,5 km/h Agree, the fact is very interesting, because it is generally accepted that speed and turtles are not compatible concepts.

black iguana

Among all reptiles, the fastest is the black iguana. Its habitat is exclusively Costa Rica. The achievements of this lizard are even listed in the Guinness Book of Records, the recorded record is 34,9 km/h

Each of the inhabitants of our planet in its own way adapts to its conditions. Some learn, some hide, and many have to run away or catch up. The ability to move quickly becomes for many animals the only way to survive. On land, in the air and in water there are speed record holders.

land animals

Everyone has probably heard about the cheetah as the fastest animal on Earth. Its speed, reaching 120 km∕h, cannot be surpassed by any living being. But a cheetah can run so fast for a very short distance - about 100 m, for a few seconds. With a lower speed (80-90 km∕h), he can move for several minutes. However, this is quite enough to get food for themselves and their cubs.

On the part of the evaders, there is also a record holder - the pronghorn antelope. Its maximum speed is 100 km∕h, and it can run for quite a long time. The pronghorn antelope is also able to overcome emerging obstacles, up to 2 m in height and up to 6 m in length.

Successfully escapes from the cheetah - his most terrible enemy - Grant's gazelle (90 km∕h). Further places are occupied by wildebeest and Thompson's gazelle. Very quickly - up to 80 km∕h - can move, only he does it for a short time and quite rarely.

List of the most fast mammals complemented by dogs, moose, zebras, hare, coyote, fox, tiger. On average, a person can reach 30 km∕h while running, which is less than the speed of any of the named animals.

Interesting animal wombat. He spends most of his life underground and has a completely unsportsmanlike appearance, but in danger he can reach speeds of up to 60 km∕h. His survival abilities are not limited to this - the wombat can swim quickly, deftly climb trees and burrow into the ground.

Very quickly - up to 72 km ∕ h - a flightless ostrich bird can move. In case of danger, he does not hide his head in the sand, as the well-known proverb says, but prefers to run away quickly.

The value of talent is not measured by the size of the body. The American cockroach travels 50 times its body length in one second. The numerical expression of its speed - 5.4 km∕h - does not seem very large. But it is worth comparing the sizes of a cockroach and a person, and it becomes clear that the speed of movement of an insect is incredible: the speed of a person would have to be equal to 330 km ∕ h.

Water is not the most favorable environment for demonstrating speed qualities. But here, too, there are creatures that reach tremendous speeds.

Sailfish, the owner of a wonderful dorsal fin, from which he got his name, can reach 109 km∕h. This fish grows to huge sizes: length 3.5 m, weight 100 kg.

The swordfish, whose maximum speed is 130 km∕h, and black marling - 120 km∕h, contest the palm of the sailfish.

Mammals are not as easy to move in the water as fish. The champions among them are the blue shark (up to 68 km∕h), the white-winged porpoise (60 km∕h) and the killer whale (55 km∕h). High speed they need for effective hunting. The ability to move quickly and intellectual abilities make them dangerous.

flying animals

Incredible speed can be developed by a peregrine falcon - 350 km ∕ h. It turns out that he does this only in the peak used in the pursuit of prey.

In direct flight, the gray-headed albatross moves very quickly. It can maintain a speed of 130 km∕h for 8 hours.

Amazing bird black swift prefers to live in flight. He practically does not stop and even sleeps while flying. Max speed black swift - 150 km ∕ h.

And the earthen cuckoo, on the contrary, likes to run more, although it can fly. Its usual speed is 20 km∕h, but cases have been recorded at 29, and even 40 km∕h! It takes off only to visit the family in the nest, which is usually located at a height of about 4 meters.

The story about the fastest animals can be continued, because the variety of wildlife is endless. and smart, strong and weak, and - animals live their own lives, often hidden from human eyes. Many of them have powers far beyond those of humans.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.