Have you ever wondered what the fastest animals in the world are? Well, you might think it is the Cheetah at the top, but it doesn’t make it into the top 3! Why? Because speed is not always about going in a straight line, sometimes it is straight down…
10 – Elk (Fastest Recorded Speed:44 MPH)
Wiki Info: The elk, or wapiti is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, in the world, and one of the largest land mammals in North America and Eastern Asia. This animal should not be confused with the still larger moose.
9 – Brown Hare (Fastest Recorded Speed:45 MPH)
Wiki Info: Like other hares, they run fast. The only predator which is capable of outrunning them is the cheetah. All other predators are ambush and/or opportunistic hunters; examples of these are leopards, caracals, and black-backed jackals.
8 – Thomson’s Gazelle (Fastest Recorded Speed:47 MPH)
Wiki Info: Thomson’s gazelles can be found in numbers exceeding 550,000 in Africa and are recognised as the most common type of gazelle in East Africa. The Thomson’s Gazelle can reach speeds of 50 miles an hour. It is the second fastest animal on earth (when running in a straight line)
7 – Lion (Fastest Recorded Speed:50 MPH)
Wiki Info: In the wild, males seldom live longer than 10 to 14 years, as injuries sustained from continual fighting with rival males greatly reduce their longevity. In captivity, they can live for more than 20 years. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats.
6 – Blue Wildebeest (Fastest Recorded Speed:51 MPH)
Wiki Info: The blue wildebeest was first described by English naturalist William John Burchell in 1823 and he gave it the scientific name Connochaetes taurinus. It shares the genus Connochaetes with the black wildebeest and is placed in the family Bovidae, ruminant animals with cloven hooves.
5 – Pronghorn Antelope (Fastest Recorded Speed:60 MPH)
Wiki Info: It is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae. During the Pleistocene period, about 12 antilocaprid species existed in North America. Three other genera existed when humans entered North America but are now extinct.
4 – Cheetah (Fastest Recorded Speed:61 MPH)
Wiki Info: Classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the cheetah has suffered a substantial decline in its historic range due to rampant hunting in the 20th century. Several African countries have taken steps to improve the standards of cheetah conservation.
3 – Sail Fish (Fastest Recorded Speed:68 MPH)
Wiki Info: Sailfish are a genus Istiophorus of billfish living in warmer sections of all the oceans of the world. They are predominantly blue to grey in colour and have a characteristic erectile dorsal fin known as a sail, which often stretches the entire length of the back. Another notable characteristic is the elongated bill, resembling that of the swordfish and other marlins. They are therefore described as billfish in sport-fishing circles.
2 – Frigate Bird (Fastest Recorded Speed:95 MPH)
Wiki Info: Able to soar for weeks on wind currents, frigatebirds spend most of the day in flight hunting for food, and roost on trees or cliffs at night. Their main prey are fish and squid, caught when chased to the water surface by large predators such as tuna. Frigatebirds are referred to as kleptoparasites as they occasionally rob other seabirds for food, and are known to snatch seabird chicks from the nest.
1 – Peregrine Falcon (Fastest Recorded Speed:200 MPH)
Wiki Info: As is typical of bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, females being considerably larger than males. The peregrine is renowned for its speed recorded at 200 mph during its characteristic hunting stoop making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom.