Athleticism, speed, strength, power, endurance: Humans celebrate these attributes in such events as the Olympic Games, but in the animal kingdom, they are necessary for survival.
Athleticism, speed, strength, power, endurance: Humans celebrate these attributes in such events as the Olympic Games, but in the animal kingdom, they are necessary for survival. Animals perform amazing feats every day, not with the purpose of winning or being named the best, but in order to eat, mate, escape predators, and endure the elements.
Sprinting
The Cheetah is said to be the fastest-running mammal on earth, with a top sprinting speed of 70 miles per hour (mph). Why does it run so fast? To catch the fleet-footed gazelles and antelopes on which it feeds. In its natural habitat in Africa, the Cheetah can outrun its fleetest prey. Like human sprinters, it cannot sprint at top speed for long and must take down its prey within a distance of about 300 yards. If the Cheetah lived in North America, it might meet its match. The Pronghorn antelope has been clocked at close to 70 mph and can run for long distances at 30 to 45 mph. Interestingly enough, these two animals run these top speeds for different reasons: the Cheetah runs in pursuit, while the Pronghorn runs to escape.
The Peregrine Falcon is widelyacknowledged to be the fastestmoving bird, achieving astonishingspeeds when it dives for prey.Some sources say it can top200 mph, while others putthe figure at about 120 mph.Either way, it would be hardfor any other bird to escapeit. On foot, the fastest birdis the Ostrich, which canrun about 40 mph. It outpacesthe Greater Roadrunner, North America's fastest running bird, which tops out at about 25 mph. Coyotes, incidentally, can also outrun roadrunners with a cruising speed of 25-30 mph and a top speed of 40 mph.
Marathon
The Olympic Marathon, a paltry26 miles, doesn't come closeto the marathons some animalsendure. Take the Arctic Tern,for instance. It migratesbetween the North and SouthPoles, covering a distanceof as much as 30,000 mileseach and every year. Somebirds spend most of theirlives in flight. Swifts, forexample, have very underdevelopedlegs and live almost entirelyon the wing. Some seabirds,such as the Sooty Tern, fly for years without landing. The Wandering Albatross is named for its propensity to fly thousands of miles on feeding trips.
Fish can make long-distance migrations as well. Some salmon, swimming between the ocean and the rivers in which they spawn, cover 2,000 miles. European Eels are said to swim up to 3,700 miles to reach their breeding grounds in the Sargasso Sea located in the Atlantic Ocean.
The great annual migrationof wildebeests and zebrasin the African Serengeti coversabout 2,000 miles. But thelongest annual migration bya mammal is the 10,000-milecircuit made by the Gray Whale from the Arctic to its warm winter calving areas and back again.
Diving
The Sperm Whale is generally acknowledged to be the deepest diving mammal, but the Northern Bottlenose Whale is not far behind. The Sperm Whale is known to dive a mile (5,280 feet) or deeper and to stay under for more than 2 hours. The Bottlenose is said to dive at least 5,000 feet and is also able to remain submerged for 2 hours. If the two were competing in an Olympic event, the odds would be about even.
There is little competitionfor the deepest diving bird,the Emperor Penguin, whichcan dive to a depth of 1,770feet. Outside of the penguinfamily, the Thick-billed Murre may be one of the Emperor's nearest competitors; it is thought to dive to 600-700 feet. Dovekies (300 feet), Loons (250 feet), Atlantic Puffins (160 feet), and Long-tailed Ducks (130 feet) are all superb divers but are no match for the Emperor Penguin.
Jumping
Some types of kangaroos canleap a distance of 30 feet.White-tailed Deer, when bounding,can cover almost the samedistance. But the long-jumpchampion is probably the inch-longSouthern Cricket Frog, which makes leaps of more than 60 times its body length.
As for the high jump, the Red Kangaroo can hurdle a 10-foot fence. North America's White-tailed Deer can hurdle an obstacle 8 1/2 feet high. Those leapers have got nothing on the lowly spittlebug though, which jumps 115 times its body height. The deer and kangaroo would have to jump about 600 feet to compete with the spittlebug!
Weight-lifting
No animal on earth can liftas much weight as the AfricanElephant, which can pick upa one-ton weight with itstrunk. Relative to body size,however, the elephant doesn'teven come close to the strongestanimal on earth. What is it?The Rhinoceros Beetle. This rather strange-looking little creature can carry 850 times its own body weight. The elephant, carrying only one-fourth of its body weight, isn't even close in this contest.
At the Olympic Games, the fastest runners, highest jumpers, and most skillful divers win medals and worldwide acclaim. In the animal world, no medals are awarded, and individuals don't often achieve fame for their accomplishments. Rather, the amazing athletic feats performed by animals enable them to escape danger, catch food, impress a mate . . . and to live another day.
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