Which are the fastest animals In the air, on land and in water?
Here is a clear list with the 18 fastest animals in the world. We also have exciting background information for you – for example, how their speed is measured in the first place, and why animals don’t always move at maximum speed.
Would you have thought that a Peregrine falcon in a dive almost as fast is like a Formula 1 race car? And that a Cheetah, the fastest land animal, probably too fast for an ordinary speedometer would be?
The fastest animals by type of locomotion
To clarify right away which animals are the fastest fly, run and swim, here come the absolute ones Top 3:
| Fastest animal in the air | Peregrine falcon | 322 km/h |
| Fastest animal on land | Cheetah | 90-120 km/h |
| Fastest animal in water | Fan fish | 75-110 km/h |
The 18 fastest animals in the world
| Fastest bird (in a dive) | Peregrine | 322 km/h |
| Fastest mammal (when flying) | Bulldog bat | 160 km/h |
| Fastest bird (when flying) | Gray-headed albatross | 127 km/h |
| Fastest land animal (short distance) | Cheetah | 90-120 km/h |
| Fastest fish | Fanfish | 75-110 km/h |
| Fastest land animal (long distance) | Mexican. Forkbuck | 88 km/h |
| Fastest bird (while running) | Ostrich | 70 km/h |
| Fastest dog | Greyhound | 70 km/h |
| Fastest hare | Field hare | 70 km/h |
| Fastest marine mammal | Orca | 65 km/h |
| Fastest marsupial | Kangaroo | 55 km/h |
| Fastest insect (when flying) | Dragonfly A. costalis | 50 km/h |
| Fastest seal | California. Sea lion | 40 km/h |
| Fastest bird (in water) | Gentoo penguin | 36 km/h |
| Fastest reptile (in water) | Leatherback turtle | 35 km/h |
| Fastest reptile (when running) | Black iguana | 34.9 km/h |
| Fastest insect (while running) | Sand runner | 9 km/h |
| Fastest starfish | Sun star | 3 m/minute |
Cheetah – Photo: Stuart G Porter/Shutterstock
Average or maximum speed
Animals that are on the Escape or on the Hunt be very fast for a short time move. If you’re running a little late because you’ll miss the bus or the first lesson at school, you’ll run much faster than usual.
But: You certainly won’t run around all day at this speed. That would be much too strenuous. This is also the case with animals. The speeds mentioned here are therefore only valid for short distances.
How to measure the speed of animals?
For example Cameras Used also in road traffic to flash speeding motorists.
There are also Stopwatches used or collars in which a speedometer is inserted. Some scientists follow the animals by car and read the speed from the speedometer. But what do all these techniques have in common?
The speed can not absolutely accurate are measured. Therefore there are always different statements and everybody claims to be right. It’s not uncommon for this to cause controversy among scientists. animal world.de therefore specifies speeds as “from to”. So z. B. 90-120 km/h.
Example cheetah:
Driving a car next to it would be pointless, because it changes direction often and quickly, and as a wild animal it cannot be trained to run along a long, straight stretch of road.
To measure its speed, you put a collar on it and wait for it to hunt for prey. But that still means a long time not, that the cheetah as fast as POSSIBLE runs. To keep up with its forces, it runs only as fast as NECESSARY. And that too only 400-500 m.
Fun Facts
Cockroaches are faster than you think
It is also amazing that some animals are only supposedly slow. A cockroach can easily keep up with a human being marching at full speed, even faster is the sand beetle. And if you don’t pedal your bike fast enough, you could be overtaken by an iguana!
More articles about fast animals: Here’s everything you need to know about the fastest land animals, the fastest birds in the world, and the fastest fishes.