For several months I've been in training for a foot race...Against a cheetah. I'm not sure how it started but somewhere along the line I challenged a cheetah to a running race and I've talked a lot of smack about how I'm going to kick that cheetah's ass!
It's all been set up by 
Ok, clearly that's all a bit of a joke between
I'll cover off on the snakes first and then get into the worlds fastest animals in a bit...Just for some perspective...
Usain Bolt runs the 100m sprint at about 43km/h and mere mortal humans like you and I should have a running speed of somewhere around 11-14km/h depending on age, gender and condition. So...How about those snakes?
- Sidewinder - 29km/h (0.5 to 0.9 metres in length): This pit viper can be found in the southwest of the United States and Northern Mexico. It propels itself through deserts sands using lateral undulation and is venomous. It looks bad-ass too.
- Black Mamba - 19km/h (Up to 4 metres in length): Found in the dry bushlands of Eastern Africa. A combination of speed, toxicity of venom and a bad-ass aggressive attitude makes this one of Africa's most dangerous animals.
- Southern black racer - 16km/h (Up to 2 metres in length): This slow-poke is found in eastern United States and is non-venomous preferring constriction-killing methods. It is able to move incredibly fast in water and land making it reasonably unique.
These are considered the worlds fastest-travelling snakes; Another measurement is strike-speed and the fastest are the cottonmouth viper, diamondback rattlesnake and the Texas rat snake, all found in America with strike speeds of 2.98, 2.95 and 2.67 metres per second respectively. That's fast.
Image taken at Adelaide Zoo through a fence so it's not so good - You get the idea though. It's a lioness y'all. The lions in the Adelaide zoo get rotated out to the Monarto Zoo 70km away which is free-range.
Anyway, that's what got my curiosity going today and I ended up doing some googling and was pretty surprised to see what some of the worlds fastest animals were capable of...Yes, the cheetah features here and no, I have no chance of beating one!
- Peregrine Falcon: A very cool looking bird that climbs to great heights then dives at over 350km/h. Apparently if humans dived at that speed it would cause massive damage to our lungs - These falcons can regulate air pressure and breath due to its specially evolved nostrils though. Note, this is diving, not flying, speed.
- Golden eagle: This magnificent bird is very large and so a bit slower, but still very fast at 240km/h diving. It can cruise at only 50kp/h though. I like eagles - I think I might have been one in a past life.
- Mexican free-tailed bat: This one surprised me as this bat can fly (not dive) at 169kp/h - The fastest mammal in the world. Some 1.5 million of these tiny things migrate to Austin, Texas each year. (Remind me not to be there at the same time - Bats smell.)
Not Mexican free-tailed bats - I took this out the front of the Adelaide zoo...These are flying foxes, a mega-bat endemic to Australia (Not found anywhere else). There are a couple thousand there.
- Pigeon: Yep, the humble pigeon. These miraculous birds fly at 149kp/h and can do so over long distance, 600km or more! No wonder they were used as message carriers back in the day. A Belgian racing pigeon was recently being auctioned with bids up to about $2.3 million. Crazy talk!
- Black marlin: This one is cool as it is fast through the more dense environment of the ocean. It'll travel at 131kp/h, faster than the cheetah on land! They cannot outrun the hook unfortunately though; They're prized sport-fishing trophies.
- Grey-headed albatross: This big bird has a wingspan of 2.2 metres and uses it to great advantage reaching speeds of 127kp/h for up to nine hours at a time. You'll need to go to Antarctica to see them though.
- Cheetah: Here he is...The worlds fastest running animal. Capable of reaching 100kp/h from a stand-still in only 3 seconds and a top speed of 129kp/h. They can only maintain that speed for about 30 seconds though. Unfortunately numbers are declining through loss of habitat, some 90% of it has been taken from them. Thanks humans.
- Sailfish: This fish swims and leaps very quickly, some 109kp/h, although they don't have much stamina. Shortfin mako sharks prey on these fish and they can only hit 50kp/h so they merely wear the faster sailfish down then strike. Whilst on sharks, the Great White can make 40kp/h, the same speed as an elephant. Interesting.
- Pronghorn: Looks like an antelope, but isn't. Native to North America it can run at 98kp/h, still impressively fast. It's closest relative is the giraffe which I found odd.
- Springbok: This agile operator bounds around the Southern African plains and hits 88kp/h at full-flight. They can turn sharply too, an important predator-evasion tactic. Seeing large herds of these in flight is an enduring image from Africa.
- Lion: These big animals are surprisingly fast for the bulk they carry. Unfortunately they can only maintain their top speed of 81kp/h for 200 metres...They need to catch their prey quickly which is why they have greatly evolved stalking skills to get them up closer to their prey. They hunt as a pride using flush-out and ambush tactics.
- Blue wildebeast: Some 1.5 million of these animals migrate across the Serengeti and Masai Mara each year. They like to run and will do so at up to 80kp/h...Unfortunately for some of them they are not quite as fast as the lion.
- Thompsons gazelle: This nimble little thing has the unfortunate luck of being hunted by the cheetah so it's 80kp/h isn't quite good enough. It's very nimble though and often evades its nemesis. Often not too.
- Ostrich: It's a bird, but can't fly. Never fear, it can run! At 72kp/h these big birds would make a good alternative to a horse if you could hang on well enough. If you try it please video it - I want to see!
- African wild dog: Stamina and speed combine with this impressive hunter. Capable of running at up to 70kp/h and an impressive 60kp/h over the distance of 5 kilometres little can escape it. This critically endangered species is an expert pack hunter but is likely to become extinct through loss of habitat. Thanks again humans.
So there you have it, a list of some of the fastest animals on the planet.
I'm always talking about my love of history but I love learning about the planet and animals also. If I was asked who would I like to be if I could be anyone I'd probably say David Attenborough - I think he's lived the most amazing life. The documentary I watched today was one of his and whilst it was fascinating I also noticed how old he was looking. The world will lose an outstanding human being when he departs, don't you think?
I had a great afternoon googling and reading about animals, the fastest, slowest, most deadly, smallest and oddest. The best way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I hope you liked my list too; Feel free to comment below if you like, tell me the animal you like the most or fear the most, or you'd most like to be...Whatever, just feel free to comment. And don't worry, if the cheetah race happens I'll do a post with video.😄
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
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