Top 10 Fastest Land Animals The World

Top 10 Fastest Land Animals The World

Top 10 Fastest Land Animals The World

Speed can be a matter of death or survival in the natural world. The fastest land animals in the world listed below are all either prey or predators, and it’s their speed that gives them the edge in the wild. The list looks at all land animals worldwide, and six of these top ten fastest land animals are endemic to Africa.

There are different ways to rank the speed of animals – some lists look at speed compared to body length, which results in insects being included as some of the fastest land animals, and some lists look at acceleration, which would put some of these snakes as the fastest. This list of fastest land animals in the world simply looks at the top recorded speed of a species and ranks them one to ten.

It’s also interesting to note that if we looked at ranking the speed of all animals in the world (land, sea, and air), the cheetah would not even make the top ten, due to the many birds that can move faster. With that said, read on for the full list of the top 10 fastest land animals in the world:

Top 10 Fastest Land Animals The World

1. Fastest land animal: Cheetah

120.7 km / 75 m per hour
The cheetah can accelerate from a standing start to over 95 km per hour in 3 seconds, and hit a top speed of around 120 km per hour – by far the fastest land animal in the world, and streets ahead of all other wild cats. This fast speed is limited to very short bursts, however, with cheetahs able to sprint at this speed to around 60 seconds only.

Top 10 Fastest Land Animals The World

2. Pronghorn

88.5 km / 55 m per hour
Ranging from Canada to California the pronghorn is not only fast but has the stamina to run at pace over long distances, with the ability to run at 56 km per hour for 6 km.

3. Springbok

88 km / 55 m per hour
The springbok is a smallish gazelle that lives in herds across southern Africa. Aside from their speed – which they can maintain only for short distances – their special skills are 3 meter high bounce-like jumps and sharp turns whilst running at pace, enabling them to lose chasing predators.

4. Wildebeest

80.5 km / 50 m per hour
There are two species of wildebeest found in East and Southern Africa – the blue wildebeest and black wildebeest – both of which are surprisingly fast for their size. Their build lends then to endurance running rather than sprinting, which helps them in their epic continual overland migration. Learn more about wildebeest.

5. Lion

80.5 km / 50 m per hour
The only member of the big five animals to make this list of fastest land animals, the lion is the fastest big cat in the world (a cheetah is not a big cat!) with a top speed of 80 km per hour. Like the cheetah, the lion can only manage their top speed for short bursts, meaning they need to stalk close to their prey and work as a team to ensure a successful hunt.

6. Blackbuck

80 km / 50 m per hour
The blackbuck (aka the Indian antelope) is found across southern Asia in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. They are able to maintain their top speed of 80 km per hour for over 1.5 km, helped by their huge strides of 6.5 meters. Because of the male’s impressive horns, blackbuck is sadly a popular trophy animal for hunters.

7. Hare

80 km / 50 m per hour
Hares have long, powerful hind legs that help them reach speeds of up to 80 km per hour to evade predators in their grassland habitats. Similar in form to common rabbits, hares have longer ears and live solitarily or in pairs above ground, hence the need for their speed.

8. Greyhound

74 km / 46 m per hour
Greyhounds belong to a family of hunting dogs called sighthounds and have been bred over hundreds of years to become the fastest dogs in the world, with a recorded top speed of 74 km per hour.

9. Kangaroo

71 km / 44 m per hour
Kangaroos are large marsupials found only in Australia and some New Guinea islands. Their long, strong back legs and muscular tails are made for speed, and they’ve been recorded hopping at 71 km per hour in short bursts, considerably faster than their cruising speed of around 25 km per hour.

10. African wild dog

71 km / 44 m per hour
The endangered African wild dogs are impressive in their successful hunt percentage of over 60% – a result of their speed and stamina, amongst other things. They can sprint at 66 km per hour in short bursts, and run for longer distances at 60 km per hour. African hunting dog walking through water

And that’s our list of the top 10 fastest land animals on earth. Any that surprise you? Let us know in the comments section below.