Amongst all of Earth’s living creatures, there lie animals with incredible abilities. Today, we will discuss animals that could reach speeds as fast as a car. The speed of these animals ranges from 70 km/h up to over 120 km/h.
Each of these animals has unique characteristics that make it possible to achieve certain speeds.
Some of the animals are huge, while some others are as small as a rabbit. Can’t wait to learn more about the fastest last animals ? Let’s get to down below.
- Elk
First, up on our list, is a four-legged mammal originating from North America. Though it is large, don’t let an elk fool you into believing that it cannot chase you down.
An elk is equipped with its majestic and strong horn that can be used to charge its predators and protect itself from harm. Its speed of 72 km/h is just the right speed to ramp over any other animal that bothers it.
- Brown Hare
Similar to a rabbit, a brown hare has adapted to its harsh surroundings making it one of the Earth’s fastest animals. Not only known for its astounding muscle strength, but it is also known for its speed. The back legs of a brown hare are the main reason for its speed and agility.
With that in mind, these mammalians can reach a speed of up to 77 km/h, allowing it to run way faster than most animals. In addition to its speed, the lightweight and small size of this animal is also a factor to consider.
- Blue Wildebeest
The blue wildebeest is also known as a “Brindled gnu” due to the black stripes observable near the feet. This vertebrae has similar characteristics to a cow but can run twice as fast as a cow.
Even with weights reaching up to 290 kilograms, this animal has no problem in reaching speeds up to 80 km/h. Its muscles located near the thigh enables it to sprint across the plains to escape its predators or charge towards any threat it faces.
Although it weighs 290 km/h humongous animals like ta blue wildebeest are very susceptible to things such as venom. There are several venomous animals in the world that could kill such beasts.
- Lion
Who doesn’t know the king of the jungle? Beasts with brute force, and knows no fear for other animals. This animal is so popular, there’s even a movie called The Lion King. Speaking of the movie, here are the list of animals portrayed in The Lion King.
On top of that, lions are also animals that are capable of reaching a speed of 81 km/h. Despite its large head and short legs, lions can hunt for its food, and prey upon other animals.
The distinct observable difference between a male lion and a female lioness is its mane of hair around its neck. Speaking of lions, do you know the differences between a lion and a tiger?
- Gazelle
Ever wonder which animals can escape their predators? Well one of them is a gazelle. This animal can outrun its predators depending on the size and also its age.
This animal is also most often preyed upon by lions and also cheetahs. In situations where the gazelle is being preyed by a cheetah, there is no escape for this animal.
Whereas if it is being chased by a lion, the speed of 87 km/h generated by this gazelle will most of the time be enough to escape incoming danger.
3. Quarterback Horse
Its name says it all about this animal. The quarterback horse gets its name from its ability to outrun other animals within a quarter-mile.
Unlike any other animals on this list, we won’t be able to find this species wandering in the wild. This is because the horse is a special breed between Spanish native horses and English horses, which were then brought to America. There also newer horse species from horse breeding progress.
Throughout time, the animal became popular and often used in horse racing due to its ability to reach 88 km/h. This particular type of horse only specializes in short distance horse races, so it is not able to sustain its speed for over a quarter-mile.
- Pronghorn Antelope
Here comes a rival for the cheetah. The pronghorn antelope gets its name from its horns that are shaped like prongs or a fork. Though the speed of this animal has only been marked down at 98 km/h, this animal has the potential of running faster than a cheetah.
This is due to the pronghorn antelope having bigger vital organs, such as its heart or lungs. This empowers the antelope to not only run but also sustain its speed at a longer period in comparison to a cheetah.
- Cheetah
We have saved the fastest for last. The one and only cheetah, it is identical with the spots on its body. Being able to run up to 120 km/h makes this animal a serious threat to any other animal living in its habitat.
This as a result positions the cheetah on top of the food chain. Using its lightning bolt speed to hunt down any prey it chooses to.
Those are the 8 fastest land animals on Earth, you might want to know about the slowest animals on Earth, check it out on another article.