The fastest mammal. The fastest animals on the planet: top ten. Fastest horse - English racehorses

Despite the fact that man is much smarter than all the animals that exist on our planet, he has never been distinguished by strength or speed. This cannot be said about animals, which can easily overcome a person and overtake him at any distance. Today we will show you the top 10 fastest animals in the world. So, gentlemen, let's begin.

10. Hyena (60 km/h)

Everyone knows hyenas. This is a relatively small animal, up to 1.7 meters long and up to 0.8 m high. It lives in hot countries, including Africa. The hyena is a predator. Unlike many other animals, it does not disdain carrion. Also wild animal famous for its grip - the pressure of the jaws is as much as 70 kg per square centimeter, which makes it easy to chew through bone! There is an opinion that hyenas very often strive to snatch prey from the same lions, although in fact everything happens exactly the opposite - it is the lions that “terrorize” the hyenas. The paws of these animals are powerful, which apparently has a beneficial effect on their speed - it reaches 60 km/h.

9. Gray fox(65 km/h)

And this is a very rare animal that can only be found in America (South, Central and North). The fox has a very interesting appearance, although it is similar to its European relative. But what really differs is the fur - on top it has gray shade, and on the abdomen - reddish-yellow. The tail is huge, often reaching the size of the animal itself. The height of a fox is on average no more than 40 centimeters. She is very agile, can run fast and, most interestingly, is an excellent tree climber. It survives only in a relatively warm environment; in frosts it can die, since the undercoat is poorly developed.

8. Coyote (65 km/h)

Coyotes belong to the canid family and are similar in appearance to dogs and wolves, although smaller than the latter. Distributed in America, you won’t find coits in Europe, except perhaps in a zoo.

The animal prefers to live on plains and deserts, but avoids forests. Oddly enough, it can be found not only in desert areas, but also in some suburbs. Leads night image life, rarely occurs during the day. It feeds on marmots, gophers, hares, rabbits and small rodents.

Among wild canids it has one of the highest speeds. In addition, it has developed sense organs. For example, it is able to see at a distance of 200 meters, and is the same both day and night.

7. Elk (70 km/h)

Elk belongs to the deer family and is the largest animal among its kind. Thus, the mass of males can reach 700 kg, body length - 3 m, height - about 2.5 m. They have huge horns, whose span reaches 200 centimeters, and weight - about 30-40 kg. Found in America, Russia and Europe. Unlike the animals we described above, moose feed exclusively plant foods: grass, moss, bark, berries, leaves, mushrooms and so on.

In addition to the fact that moose are excellent runners, they are excellent swimmers and, you won’t believe it, they even hold their breath underwater! True, they only last for a minute, but this is a great result!

6. Thompson's Gazelle (80 km/h)

Thompson's gazelle is distributed exclusively in Tanzania, Kenya, and South Sudan. It was discovered by a Scottish scientist, after whom it was named.

Gazelle has relatively small dimensions. For example, her Weight Limit barely reaches 30 kg, and height at the withers is no more than 70 cm. However, it has excellent speed, which allows it to avoid encounters with various predators. It is said that there are herds consisting of several thousand animals, although usually a colony contains no more than 100 animals.

5. Lion (80 km/h)

Now we have reached the king of beasts. Today, lions are found in a limited area, but previously this family, a member of the cat family, could be seen over a significant area. larger territory. Alas, persecution by humans has significantly reduced the population of these graceful animals.

Despite their excellent speed, cheetahs are quite weak animals. For example, the same leopards or hyenas can take away their prey, since “runners” need some time to recuperate after a hard race (about half an hour). However, cheetahs are not so stupid. If they cannot eat their prey in one sitting, they drag it up a tree, where they leave it until they become hungry again.

How fast can you run? Research shows that theoretically a person can reach a speed of about 64 km/h, but in practice the average sprint speed does not exceed 20-25 km/h.

You may not think it's that slow, but trust us, 20 km/h is not enough to win a race against any of the ten fastest animals on Earth. Many fauna can move much faster than we can imagine. What animal is the fastest on the planet? Let's find out!

Birds understandably have an advantage when it comes to acceleration. The peregrine falcon is the fastest bird on the planet, capable of reaching speeds of up to 322 km/h while diving for its next prey.

2. Frigate

This impressive bird is slower than the peregrine falcon, but is still capable of reaching speeds of up to 153 km/h, which faster speed most cars on the highway. The frigate has large scale wings and can remain in the air for a long period. Sometimes these birds remain in flight for a week.

3. Sailboat

What is the fastest sea animal? This honor belongs to the sailfish, which is capable of swimming at a speed of about 100 km/h, which is probably faster than you are used to driving your car. Can you imagine a race between a fish and your car? The sailboat is one of the fastest sea ​​creatures. The distinctive fin (sail) is used when the fish is trying to intimidate potentially dangerous animals.

The fastest land animal in the world is, of course, the cheetah. In fact, the cheetah is only slightly faster than the pronghorn, and can reach speeds of over 100 km/h.

The cheetah is capable of running short distances, but thanks to its agility, it poses a mortal threat to its opponent. They can also accelerate very quickly, and are able to increase their speed four times faster than humans. They also stop very quickly. It is also interesting to note that the cheetah's speed and agility do not match its strength. The cheetah is a rather fragile animal and can suffer in most fights with other large predators. An injured cheetah cannot run fast and is at risk from lions, hyenas and.

Pronghorns have the second fastest running speed among land animals. They can easily reach 95 km/h. Interestingly enough, pronghorn are actually the oldest antelope in North America. Antelopes are quite fast animals, but not as fast as pronghorns. It is also interesting that the pronghorn is much faster than predators living in North America. This indicates that it is possible high speed Pronghorn caused the extinction of American cheetahs.

The pronghorn has a number of features that allow it to reach high speeds, including soft pads on its toes that prevent impact and very large respiratory organs that encourage air intake.

Other fast land animals that also inhabit the plains are the blue wildebeest. They are not as fast as pronghorns, but reach an impressive speed of 80 km/h.

Unfortunately for the blue wildebeest, the lion's speed matches his speed almost exactly. can chase their prey at speeds of about 80 km/h, making these animals extremely deadly plains predators.

This creature is in the same category as wildebeests and lions, also capable of reaching speeds of up to 80 km/h. Chases between lions, cheetahs and gazelles can be quite intense. Unfortunately for Thomson's gazelles, they are the preferred prey of cheetahs, the fastest land animals on our list.

9. Brown hare

One of the smallest animals on our list is the brown hare. The hare can run very fast, reaching a maximum speed of 75 km/h. Hares are truly incredibly fast creatures, and they are capable of outpacing most animals.

There are a number of animals that move faster than wapiti, but it deserves mention because it looks more beautiful than gazelles or antelopes. Wapiti can be quite large, but don't let their size and build fool you. Wapiti is capable of reaching speeds of 72 km/h. Better not make him angry. If he gets angry, he will definitely win!

As you can see, there are some impressively fast animals on land, as well as in the sea and in the air. These remarkable animals demonstrate many different ways of adapting to the role of predator or herbivore. While we're on top the food chain thanks to our features and inventions, we are the losers when we're talking about about speed. Many of these creatures are fast, like the cars we invented to get from place to place. It's humiliating, isn't it?

This beast can reach a speed of 65 km/h in just 2 seconds! And then run at a speed of 110 km/h! The cheetah is the fastest-footed animal terrestrial mammals. A racehorse, for example, can run at a speed of just over 70 km/h, and a greyhound at about 65 km/h. However, unlike them, the cheetah can develop such incredible speed only over short distances

Cheetahs (Acinonyx: the generic name of the cheetah, whose scientific name and patronymic is Acinonyx jubatus.) are representatives of the cat family, although they also have many canine features. For example, they suffer from canine diseases. Like dogs, they sit and hunt. Cheetahs have fur similar to that of smooth-haired dogs. And the vague spots on the skin already resemble cat fur. On the ground, these animals leave completely cat-like footprints and, like cats, love to climb spreading trees (cheetah cubs climb better because adult claws are already blunter because they do not retract for better traction with the ground. On the front limbs there are claws light, large, with sharp ends curved forward and upward. The claw of the first toe is especially large. With a long paw, armed with this claw, like the tip of a spear, the cheetah delivers such a strong blow that the overtaken victim flies somersault. Cheetah babies can retract their claws, like kittens, only up to 10 - 15 weeks, later the claws become almost motionless, and according to this, the metacarpus is more reminiscent of a dog. In general, the structure of the cheetah's body almost repeats the silhouette of a greyhound, and some aspects of behavior are also more characteristic of dogs. The cheetah's muzzle is beautiful and very distinctive. Two black stripes stretch from the eyes to the corners of the mouth, giving the cheetah a sad and even unhappy appearance.The cheetah's fur is short, sandy in color, and the entire skin - except for the light belly - is strewn with small dark spots. Newborn cubs have darker fur, and a thick ashy “mane” stretches along the back from neck to tail. The sounds made by a cheetah are similar to the abrupt chirping of a bird. They can be heard at a distance of two kilometers and allow the cheetah to communicate with its cubs and relatives. The cheetah has a gentle and peaceful disposition. When a cheetah is happy, it begins to purr like a huge house cat. The cheetah gets used to humans very quickly and can be tamed. An adult cheetah can weigh more than 45 kg.

A cheetah is not born a hunter, but becomes one, and only if its mother teaches it an “intensive training course.” Cheetahs born in captivity do not know how to sneak up on prey and chase prey. Joint meals between mother and cubs are very peaceful, without quarrels or fights. There are cases where in arid regions a cheetah fed on juicy wild melons. Tourists who go on African safaris are very surprised that these peace-loving animals are not at all shy. An adult cheetah can come and lie down in the shade of a campervan or jump on the hood of a car and curiously look through the glass at admiring, and sometimes seriously frightened, people. Despite all the similarities with their feline relatives, scientists classify the cheetah for its uniqueness as an independent genus, and some theriologies even into a separate subfamily of felines. There is no consensus yet on the number of cheetah subspecies. Most zoologists agree on seven, some of this seven recognize only two - Asian venaticus and African jubatus, which are translated from Latin as “hunting” and “having a mane.” In fact, this is not a mane, but a short mane, like a comb of slightly elongated hair.

A cheetah can really rush like a whirlwind. Incredibly, this beast can reach a speed of 65 km/h in just 2 seconds from a standstill! And then run at a speed of 110 km/h! The cheetah is the fastest-footed land mammal. A racehorse, for example, can run at a speed of just over 70 km/h, and a greyhound at about 65 km/h. However, unlike them, the cheetah can develop such incredible speed only over short distances. The cheetah is an animal with a tucked body, long, slender legs and a flexible, arched back. The long spotted tail helps the cheetah make sharp turns when running at full speed. At its highest speed, a cheetah can rush in 6-meter leaps. The cheetah is helped to develop such exceptional speed by its unique legs, which are more similar in structure to the legs of a dog than a cat. And the claws help the cheetah not to lose stability while running.

Cheetah sets a new world record for the 100-meter dash among animals

A female cheetah set a new world record in the 100-meter race among animals in the United States, running the distance in 6.13 seconds. As reported on Friday, September 11, 2009, on the website of the British newspaper Evening Standard, the race took place at the zoo in the American city of Cincinnati. An eight-year-old female cheetah named Sarah broke the previous world record set in 2001 by a cheetah from South Africa. According to the race organizer, Sarah used three attempts to set the record. To keep the cheetah from going astray, zoo staff used bait similar to what is used in greyhound racing. Note that the cheetah ran the 100-meter dash three seconds faster than the best human runner, Jamaican-born Usain Bolt. His time at this distance was 9.58 seconds.

The elegant, swift cheetah is a cat that doesn't look like a cat at all. He is the fastest runner on earth and, when chasing prey, is capable of running for some time at speeds of up to one hundred kilometers per hour. He does not know how to roar like large cats, but only yelps like a dog or emits an amazing, completely bird-like chirp. Three months after mating, the female cheetah gives birth to two to four spotted kittens. African cheetah is born with a mane on the head and back, light, like a gray strip of fog, but over time it changes, becomes short and harsh. Tear stripes stretch from his eyes to his upper jaw, curving like the horns of a lyre, and give the cheetah a sad expression. At three to four months of age, young cheetahs already follow their mother during predawn and evening hunts and learn to sneak up on prey, freeze if the intended victim suddenly becomes wary, approach again, and so on until there are a hundred meters left before the herd, and then turn reddish. - rush forward like yellow lightning. Although cheetah cubs, like all kittens, are born with claws as sharp as pins, these claws hardly retract, and with age they become dull and no longer serve as weapons or help in climbing trees. Adult cheetahs climb very poorly and climb trees only if they have nowhere else to hide from more large predators. The cheetah's teeth and jaws are not as powerful and formidable as those of lions and tigers, and the muzzle is more like a dog's than a cat's. Therefore, young cheetahs must take over from their mother the throw directly at the victim’s throat. A bite to another place will not knock it down and the predator will be struck by the blows of deadly hooves and horns. Standing motionless, the spotted cheetah looks rather awkward - an arched back, a wasp waist, thin legs. But as soon as he starts running, reaching a speed of 70 kilometers per hour in 2 seconds, he becomes the embodiment of graceful swiftness. The non-retractable claws turn into record-breaking runner's spikes and allow the cheetah to turn and change direction in the blink of an eye. Racing alongside a herd of spooked Thomson's gazelles - his favorite prey - he knocks down his intended victim as he runs, then leaps and kills him with a single bite to the throat. Unlike large cats, the cheetah does not eat carrion. Having eaten his fill of the prey he has just killed, he leaves the carcass for the vultures and jackals. Cheetahs sometimes hunt in pairs or family groups, but they are not social animals. What may seem like a pride in a cheetah is in fact most often a female with grown cubs that will leave her when they reach two years of age. Despite its hunting skills, the cheetah is by nature a gentle, calm animal, and there is not a single case known of it attacking a person. People were not so peaceful towards him.

King cheetah - Acinonyx jubatus. In 1981 at the DeWildt Cheetah Center ( South Africa) a new mutation of the cheetah was noted, called royal. Cheetahs with this coloration are extremely rare in nature. That year, a king cheetah was born in captivity for the first time. In terms of body structure, it is no different from an ordinary cheetah, but its coloring contains particularly large markings, and all the spots are connected in a pattern. The first king cheetah was discovered in 1926 in Zimbabwe and was initially mistaken for a new species of cheetah. Only 50 years later, in 1974, the first photograph was taken ( National Park Kruger). At first it was believed that it was a hybrid of a cheetah and a leopard, but genetic tests disproved this theory. Royal cheetahs can interbreed with ordinary cheetahs, resulting in full-fledged offspring. A royal-colored cub can be born from normal-colored parents. The diet of cheetahs is dominated by small prey - Grant's and Thompson's gazelles, impala antelopes, hares and birds. They eat only that part of the prey that they can eat at one time and do not return to the remains of the carcass because they are not able to defend it. He is fast, but not strong.