Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Which is the fastest animal on land, in the air, and in water, respectively?

 The fastest land animal is the cheetah, which can reach speeds of 100 km/h¹.

There's no record in the water. Killer whales are credited with speeds of up to 55 km/h, but even that figure is far from certain.²

In flapping or self-propelled flight, the white-throated spiny-tailed swift is often credited with reaching speeds of 170 km/h, but this has never been verified. The documented record among birds is for the common swift, at about 112 km/h, while one bat, the Brazilian mastiff, has been measured at up to 160 km/h.

There's no point in commenting about cheetahs and marlins reaching 120 km/h, because that's absolutely not true. And above all, don't mention the peregrine falcon that reaches 390 km/h, because I too can do 250 km/h in free fall. And I have the aerodynamics of a chair. Thanks.