The Garden of Eaden: WHAT IS THE WORLDS FASTEST ANIMAL?

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This is an excellent question specifically designed by children to make their parents look dumb. However, when a question such as this encompasses the whole entire earth you must then consider the skies and the seas. So to begin with, what is the fastest creature in the sea?

The world’s fastest fish is the Indo-Pacific sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus. This sportfish can swim up to 68 miles per hour which is an increadible speed, especially when compared to the fastest living land animal which can reach a top speed of between 70 and 75 mph!

What are Sailfish?

Sailfish are two species of fish in the genus Istiophorus, living in warmer sections of all the oceans of the world. They are predominately blue to gray in color 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.

As fast as that may be, there is a land animal that is even faster, but not by as much as you think!

The Cheetah

The Cheetah is the fastest land animal, reaching a top speed of between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph), but they are only able to maintain this in short bursts otherwise they would quickly overheat!

During their high speed sprints they can cover distances up to 460 m (1,500 ft), and have the ability to accelerate from 0 to 103 km/h (64 mph) in three seconds. That's faster than most super cars! It is amazing statistic like these that confirm the cheetah's status as the worlds fastest land animal.

On the open savannas of Iran and parts of Africa, cheetahs are superb examples of specialization - the evolutionary adaptation to very specific environmental conditions. In this case, the specialization is for speed. Going after impalas, gazelles and small wildebeests, the cheetah is a blur, and the chase is short-lived, typically lasting about 30 seconds. Cheetah moms spend a lot of time teaching their cubs to chase, sometimes dragging live animals back to the den so the cubs can practice the chase-and-catch process.

When a cheetah overtakes its prey, it knocks it down and takes it out with a bite to the neck. It then eats as quickly as possible. If a lion comes along, the cheetah will abandon its catch - it can't fight off a lion, and chances are, the cheetah will lose its life along with its prey if it doesn't get out of there fast enough.

But there is another animal that is faster still and not just a bit faster! To find out which animal is the true king of speed you will need to turn to the skies.

The Peregrine Falcon

For pure, unadulterated speed, nothing can touch the peregrine falcon. Whe it is in a hunting dive, it is the worlds fastest bird and by considerable margin. In fact, it is the fastest animal on Earth!

So far, no bird known can match the flying speed of a peregrine falcon while it is in its hunting dive. As it executes this specialist dive, the peregrine falcon begins by soaring to a great height, after which it dives steeply at speeds of over 300 kilometers (200 miles) per hour!

While the peregrine falcon’s diving speed is truly amazing, it isn't even able to make the top 10 when traveling in a level flight. For that record, studies have clocked the spine-tailed swift, at over 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour.

The Garden of Eaden

WHAT IS THE WORLDS FASTEST ANIMAL?

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