Speed of Animals

A chart displaying the speed of a selection of animals; includes pictures.
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Most of the following measurements are for maximum speeds over approximate quarter-mile distances. Exceptions—which are included to give a wide range of animals—are the lion and elephant, whose speeds were clocked in the act of charging; the whippet, which was timed over a 200-yard course; the cheetah over a 100-yard distance; humans for a 15-yard segment of a 100-yard run; and the black mamba, six-lined race runner, spider, giant tortoise, three-toed sloth, and garden snail, which were measured over various small distances.


cheetah
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Cheetah
wild rabbit
IMSI Master Clips
Rabbit
Animal Speed
(mph)
Cheetah 70.00
Pronghorn antelope 61.00
Wildebeest 50.00
Lion 50.00
Thomson's gazelle 50.00
Quarter horse 47.50
Elk 45.00
Cape hunting dog 45.00
Coyote 43.00
Gray fox 42.00
Hyena 40.00
Zebra 40.00
Mongolian wild ass 40.00
Greyhound 39.35
Whippet 35.50
Rabbit (domestic) 35.00
Mule deer 35.00
Jackal 35.00
Reindeer 32.00
Giraffe 32.00
White-tailed deer 30.00
Wart hog 30.00
Grizzly bear 30.00
Cat (domestic) 30.00
Human 27.89
Elephant 25.00
Black mamba snake 20.00
Six-lined race runner 18.00
Squirrel 12.00
Pig (domestic) 11.00
Chicken 9.00
Spider (Tegenearia atrica) 1.17
Giant Tortoise 0.17
Three-toed sloth 0.15
Garden snail 0.03
Source: Natural History Magazine, March 1974, copyright 1974. The American Museum of Natural History; and James G. Doherty, General Curator, The Wildlife Conservation Society.

antelope
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Antelope
sloth in tree
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Sloth

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