The cheetah is the fastest predator on the planet (from land animals). Its maximum speed can be 120 kilometers per hour. True, this speed is very short-lived. But at a speed of 80-90 km / h, he can run for several minutes. From standstill to a speed of one hundred kilometers per hour accelerates in three seconds, faster than sports cars!

2. Pronghorn antelope.

Max Speed- 100 km / h. She must somehow escape from the cheetah! A large heart and lungs allow you to move at such a speed for much longer than a pursuing predator.

3. Wildebeest.

Another animal for which the only defense against a predator is its own speed. They live in the African savannas and are the favorite prey of lions. They live, by the way, up to 20 years or more. Maximum speed 80 km/h.

4. Lev.

The maximum speed is also 80 km/h. Lions do not often use their speed qualities, as lionesses do most of the work of corralling the prey. They prefer to show male ingenuity and cunning in order to complete the chase with a well-aimed jump at the right time.

5. Thompson's gazelle.

Named after explorer Joseph Thompson. Fleeing from its main enemy - the cheetah, it develops a speed of up to 80 km / h. It can withstand long distances, exhausting its pursuer.

6. Quarterhorse

The most popular horse breed in the USA. An excellent sprinter, he races at quarter-mile distances, for which he got his name. The maximum speed is 77 km/h.

7. Elk.

The maximum speed is 72 km/h. Many predators prefer not to mess with it. It's very big))

8 Cape Hunting Dog.

Unfortunately, I do not know how the name of these dogs in Russian sounds correctly. They hunt in packs. They attack mainly small animals, although sometimes they can overwhelm a zebra or wildebeest. Maximum speed 70 km/h. The usual capture scheme looks like this: one dog bites its teeth into the tail of the victim, the other into upper lip. Everything. The others help finish the job.

9. Coyote.

American wolf develops speed up to 65 km/h. Coyote is omnivorous and extremely unpretentious in food. However, 90% of its diet is animal feed: hares, rabbits, prairie dogs, marmots and ground squirrels (in Canada), small rodents. Attacks raccoons, ferrets, opossums and beavers; eats birds (pheasants), insects. It swims well and catches aquatic animals - fish, frogs and newts. Rarely attacks domestic sheep, goats, wild deer and pronghorns. At the end of summer and autumn, it eats berries, fruits and peanuts with pleasure. In the northern regions, it switches to feeding on carrion in winter; follows herds of large ungulates, eating the fallen and cutting down the weakened animals. People do not touch, in the suburbs sometimes rummages through the garbage.

10. Gray fox.

A species of the wolf family that lives in northern Canada, throughout the Lower and Central America up to Venezuela. The gray fox is very agile and agile, for its family, it can climb trees (it was also called the Tree Fox). It hunts rabbits, small rodents and birds. Speed ​​- up to 65 km / h.

Remaining:

11. Hyena (60 km/h)

12. Zebra (60 km/h)

13. Greyhound (59 km/h)

14. Hound (56 km/h)

15. Hare (55 km/h)

16. Deer (55 km/h)

17. Jackal (55 km/h)

18. Reindeer(51 km/h)

19. Giraffe (51 km/h)

20 people

Donovan Bailey. On the Olympic Games ran at a speed of 43 km/h. In general, on average, a person can reach speeds of up to 30 km / h.

You can endlessly admire wild cats, but guessing who is faster - a cheetah or a leopard, is not easy. Both animals run excellently, but among them there is an undisputed leader.

The maximum speed of a cheetah

The maximum jump of a cheetah can reach 6 m

The cheetah is considered the fastest land animal. It can reach speeds of up to 110 km / h, while in 2 seconds after the start it reaches 65 km / h! However, he is not a stayer, but rather a sprinter. A cheetah's run is a series of throws, the distance of each of which is just over 400 m. After running a mini-distance, the animal must rest in order to gain strength.

This is due to the habitat and characteristics of the hunting of the animal. The cheetah lives in open areas where there is no possibility to hide in an ambush, so it overtakes prey in pursuit. First, he approaches a potential victim at 10 meters, and then catches her in a high-speed run.

How fast does a leopard run?

Predators can make huge jumps up to 7 m long and 3 m high

Unlike the cheetah, the leopard is a forest dweller. The abundance of tall grass and bushes gives the predator the opportunity to hide and watch the approach of the victim from an ambush. Attacking the prey, he pursues it at a speed of 60 km / h, while running far is not necessary.

Who quickly

The ability to run fast is vital for a cheetah.

Despite their resemblance, the cheetah and leopard live in different conditions so they hunt differently. Their running abilities also differ, with the fastest runner wild cats considered a cheetah.

Despite the fact that the leopard does not run as fast as the cheetah, he hunts no less successfully, and in wild nature this is the main thing.

Pronghorn. This elegant creature is the fastest land animal North America, developing speed under 90 km / h. In a short distance, the pronghorn would not be able to overtake the cheetah, but would easily break away from him on any long track. Hardiness allows pronghorns to migrate hundreds of kilometers each year.

Brazilian fold-lip. The fastest of bats, accelerating to almost 100 km / h in a dive. Fold-lips live in large colonies in caves, under bridges, and in old buildings. In the evenings, they simultaneously fly out to hunt, forming a stunning "cinematic" picture.

Sailboat and swordfish. A curious example of a draw - different sources call either a sailboat or a swordfish the fastest fish in the world, developing speeds from 100 to 130 km / h. One study giving victory to swordfish found, using MRI, that the fish has an oil-releasing tonsil in its upper jaw. Spreading around the fish head, the oil reduces friction on the water and increases speed.

Calyptus Anna. The top speed limit for this bird is 80 km/h, which doesn't seem like much of an achievement until you appreciate its size. Biologist Christopher Clark of the University of California at Berkeley calculated that at this speed, a hummingbird covers 385 body sizes in a second, experiencing the strongest g-forces of 10G.

Cheetah. Far from the fastest animal on Earth, inferior to birds, fish and even insects, but still the fastest land and the fastest mammal. Reaches speeds of more than 100 km / h, accelerating from 0 to 100 in three seconds.

Black marlin. According to the BBC, the maximum speed developed by black marlin is 130 km/h. It was measured by how quickly the line was reeled off the rod when a fish was caught, which is a somewhat controversial method. Was the boat moving at that moment, was the fish swimming in a straight line? Either way, it's no surprise that at this rate, black marlin are very popular with sport fishermen.

horsefly. If you've ever been chased by one of these biting creatures, you know how fast they are. Jerry Butler, an entomologist at the University of Florida, states that an adult male Hybomitra horsefly can reach speeds in excess of 144 km/h. True, it is difficult to accurately measure the speed of an insect due to size, non-linearity of flight, and other factors.

Needle-tailed swift. This bird has a speed of almost 170 km/h, making it the fastest flying animal. It lives in Asia and Australia, occasionally flying to Europe.

Mite. If we take the fastest animal in the world in relation to the length of its own body, then no one will keep up with the tick of the species Paratarsotomus macropalpis. In a second, it covers a distance of 320 of its own dimensions - the same as people would accelerate to 2090 km / h.

Peregrine falcon. Although the peregrine falcon flies slower than the needle-tailed swift, in a dive for prey, it accelerates to 390 km / h. The claw strike after acceleration is so strong that it can tear off the victim's head.

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

Cheetahs (Acinonyx: the generic name of a cheetah, whose scientific name and patronymic is Acinonyx jubatus.) are representatives of the cat family, although they also have many dog ​​features. Sick, for example, canine diseases. Like dogs, they sit and hunt. The coat of cheetahs is similar to that of smooth-haired dogs. And blurry spots on the skin already resemble cat fur. On the ground, these animals leave completely cat-like footprints and, like cats, like to climb spreading trees (cheetah cubs climb better, because in adults, the claws are already blunter, because they do not retract for better grip on the ground. Claws on the forelimbs light, large, with sharp ends bent forward and upward. The claw of the first finger is especially large. With a long paw, armed with this claw, like a spearhead, the cheetah delivers such a strong blow that the overtaken victim flies somersaults. Cheetah babies can retract their claws like kittens, only up to 10 - 15 weeks, later the claws become almost motionless, and in accordance with which the pastern is more like a dog.In general, the construction of the body of a cheetah almost repeats the silhouette of a greyhound, and some moments in behavior are also more inherent in dogs.The muzzle of a cheetah is beautiful and very peculiar. Two black stripes stretch from the eyes to the corners of the mouth, giving the cheetah a sad and even unhappy look. a, and the whole skin - except for the light belly - is strewn with small dark spots. In newborn cubs, the coat is darker, and a thick ashy "mane" stretches along the back from the neck to the tail. The sounds made by the cheetah are similar to the abrupt chirping of a bird. They are heard at a distance of two kilometers and allow the cheetah to communicate with their cubs and relatives. The cheetah has a gentle and peaceful disposition. When a cheetah is happy, it purrs like a huge house cat. The cheetah very quickly gets used to the person, it can be tamed. An adult cheetah can weigh over 45 kg.

A cheetah is not born a hunter, but becomes, and only if his mother teaches him an "intensive training course." Captive-born cheetahs do not know how to sneak up on prey and chase the victim. Joint meals of mother and cubs are held very peacefully, without litter and fights. There are cases when in arid regions the cheetah ate 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 tourist van, or jump on the hood of a car and peer through the glass with curiosity at admiring, and sometimes seriously frightened people. Despite all the similarities with their feline relatives, scientists distinguish the cheetah for its originality into an independent genus, and some theriology even into a separate feline subfamily. So far, there is no consensus on the number of subspecies of the cheetah. 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 run 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 land mammal. A racehorse, for example, can run at just over 70 km/h, and a greyhound 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-in body, long, slender legs and a flexible, arched back. The long spotted tail helps the cheetah run at full speed make sharp turns. On the very high speed The cheetah can run up to 6 meters long. The unique legs help the cheetah develop such exceptional speed, 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 new 100m animal world record

A female cheetah has set a new world record for the 100m animal race 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 was held at the zoo in the US city of Cincinnati. Sarah, an eight-year-old female cheetah, broke the previous world record set in 2001 by a South African cheetah. According to the organizer of the race, Sarah used three attempts to set the record. To keep the cheetah from going astray, the zoo staff used a lure similar to that used at dog races. Note that the cheetah ran a hundred meters three seconds faster than the best runner among people - a native of Jamaica, 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, chasing prey, is able to run at speeds of up to one hundred kilometers per hour for some time. He does not know how to roar like big cats, but only yelps like a dog or emits an amazing, completely bird-like chirp. Three months after mating, a female cheetah gives birth to two to four spotted kittens. The African cheetah is born with a mane on its head and back, as light as a gray streak of mist, but over time it changes, becoming short and stiff. Tear streaks stretch from his eyes to his upper jaw, curving like the horns of a lyre, and give the cheetah a sad expression. At the age of three to four months, young cheetahs already follow their mother during the predawn and evening hunts and learn to sneak up on prey, freeze if the intended victim suddenly becomes alert, get up again and so on until there are a hundred meters left to the herd, and then reddish - yellow lightning to rush forward. Although cheetah cubs, like all kittens, are born with claws as sharp as pins, these claws hardly retract, and become dull with age and no longer serve as a weapon and do not help climb trees. Adult cheetahs climb very poorly and climb trees only if they have nowhere else to hide from more large predators. The teeth and jaws of the cheetah are not as powerful and formidable as those of lions and tigers, and the muzzle is more like a dog than a cat. Therefore, young cheetahs should take over from their mother the throw exactly on the victim's throat. A bite in another place will not knock her down and the blows of deadly hooves and horns will fall on the predator. Standing still, the spotted cheetah looks rather awkward - arched back, wasp waist, thin legs. But as soon as he starts running, in 2 seconds a speed of 70 kilometers per hour is developed, how to become the embodiment of graceful swiftness. Non-retractable claws transform into record runner spikes and allow the cheetah to turn and change direction in the blink of an eye. Rushing alongside a herd of frightened Thomson's gazelles - his favorite prey - he knocks down his intended victim on the run, then jumps and kills him with one bite to the throat. Unlike big cats, the cheetah does not eat carrion. Having eaten his fill of freshly killed prey, he leaves the carcass to the vultures and jackals. Sometimes cheetahs hunt in pairs or family groups, but they do not belong to 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 the age of two. Despite its hunting skill, the cheetah is by nature an affectionate, calm animal, and not a single case is known of him attacking a person. People in relation to him were not so peaceful.

King cheetah - Acinonyx jubatus. In 1981, at the DeWildt Cheetah Center (South Africa), a new cheetah mutation called the king was noted. Cheetahs with this coloration are extremely rare in nature. That year, the 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 coloration contains especially large marks, 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 variety of cheetah. Only 50 years later, in 1974, the first photograph was taken ( national park Kruger). At first it was thought that it was a hybrid of a cheetah and a leopard, but genetic tests disproved this theory. King cheetahs can interbreed with ordinary cheetahs, resulting in a full-fledged offspring. A royal-colored cub can be born from normal-colored parents. In the diet of cheetahs, the main place is occupied 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.

During a fast-paced hunt, a member of the feline cheetah accelerates to 120 km / h, being the fastest animal on Earth. True, the predator manages to maintain such a speed for only a few seconds, although this time is usually enough for a successful fishing.

Unique body structure

To achieve such excellent results in sprinting (no more than 900 m), the cheetah is helped by anatomical features . A small round head and a streamlined, lean body without fat deposits have caused the speed of the beast to reach 75 km / h within two seconds after the start.

While running, the predator constantly maneuvers, changes direction of movement and makes jumps up to 8 m long, spending 0.5 seconds on each of them.

Sprinting talent is also facilitated by long thin legs and a strong muscular tail, which serves as an additional balance for mammals. Compared to other felines, the lungs of the cheetah have a larger volume, and the structural features of the trachea help the animal to keep the trophy in its mouth for a long time and at the same time breathe normally.

Thanks to binocular vision, the sprinter of the world of fauna can accurately determine the distance to the victim.

Interestingly, cheetahs are not born hunters, but become hunters through maternal training. Animals born in captivity do not know how to chase prey.

Cat or dog?

A graceful predator with its silhouette looks like a graceful dog greyhound breeds. Many scientists tend to distinguish it as a separate subfamily or an independent genus of cats. The main difference from a tiger or a leopard is that the cheetah does not retract its claws, and, accordingly, does not climb trees well.

The sounds made by a cheetah are similar to abrupt barking - a cat with a dog's body is also unable to growl like a lion, it also cannot hunt from an ambush. Taste preferences also differ - a swift runner will never touch carrion.

And finally - Interesting Facts about swift hunters:

• Cheetahs have a peaceful disposition and quickly get used to humans. They can even replace a devoted dog.
• In the East and in Ancient Rus', rich residents had fun by hunting with tamed predators.
• To quench the thirst of an animal, one consumption of water for three days is enough; without food, it can live for five days.

In the 20th century, the number of cheetahs decreased everywhere. If earlier these graceful sprinters were widespread in Asia and Africa, today the situation is depressing. AT Saudi Arabia mammals disappeared completely, and in India the last animal was destroyed in 1950.

Now the cheetah is listed in the Red Book, like the fastest, which we have already talked about.