What is the fastest land animal?
Quick answer
The cheetah is the fastest land animal. In short sprints it can reach about 100 to 112 km/h (60 to 70 mph), though it can only keep up that speed for 20 to 30 seconds. The fastest speed measured with tracking collars on wild cheetahs is about 93 km/h (58 mph).
A cheetah’s body is built like a sprint car: lightweight, long-legged and designed for acceleration. It can go from a standstill to highway speeds in just a few seconds.
How cheetahs run so fast
- A flexible spine that bends and stretches like a spring, letting each stride cover up to about 7 meters (23 feet).
- Long, slim legs and a light frame, with less bulk than other big cats.
- Semi-retractable claws that grip the ground like running spikes.
- A long tail that works like a rudder for sharp turns at speed.
- Large nostrils, lungs and heart to take in oxygen quickly.
The trade-off is endurance. A sprint makes the cheetah’s body heat up fast, so it has to stop, and it often needs to rest before eating.
The fastest land animals
| Animal | Approximate top speed |
|---|---|
| Cheetah | 100–112 km/h (60–70 mph) |
| Pronghorn | ~88 km/h (55 mph) |
| Springbok | ~88 km/h (55 mph) |
| Lion | ~80 km/h (50 mph) |
| Greyhound | ~72 km/h (45 mph) |
| Human (Usain Bolt) | ~45 km/h (28 mph) |
Speeds for wild animals are hard to measure, so figures vary between sources.
The endurance champion
The pronghorn, an antelope-like animal of the North American plains, can’t match a cheetah’s sprint, but it can hold high speeds for kilometers. Scientists think it evolved that speed to outrun predators that are now extinct, such as the American cheetah.
Speed isn’t everything in nature, though. Some of the slowest-living animals are also the longest-living ones: see which animal has the longest lifespan.
Still curious?
Jump to a random question from the archive.