Speeding Animals? Trivia Quiz

It is no surprise that the fastest animal in the world is a bird. The peregrine falcon can dive upon a prey at a speed over 300 km/h (186 mph). Only the golden eagle may approach this top speed.

Peregrine falcons can be found all over the world, except in Antarctica and on remote Pacific islands, usually on rocky plains near water. They hunt mostly on various medium-sized birds.

The gyrfalcon is another bird reaching its top speed while diving for prey. It lives in the arctic regions and hunts for ptarmigan and arctic hares.

Top speed for the gyrfalcon in a dive is about 209 km/h (130 mph).

The frigatebird reaches its top speed of about 153 km/h (95 mph) in horizontal flight.

Frigatebirds may be only as large as a chicken, but they have a wide wingspan (up to 2.3 m or 8 feet) which of course helps to develop a fair top speed.

Frigatebirds live in subtropical and tropical regions, and spend most of their time over sea water. They feed mainly on fish and squid.

Swimming speeds are usually hard to measure, as the swimming animals don't necessary follow a straight track. Nevertheless, the top swimming speed was recorded when a black marlin was hooked and tried to escape, and clocked on a top speed of 129 km/h (80 mph).

Scientists have their doubt about this speed record, and would guess the sailfish reaches a higher speed. But the top speed of a sail fish was recorded when it combined swimming and leaping out of the water, so this top speed (109 km/h or 68 mph) was not a pure swimming speed.

The black marlin lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and feeds on fish and crustaceans. Similar species are the white marlin and the blue marlin.

The cheetah is the fastest running animal, clocked on a top speed of 109 to 120 km/h (68 to 75 mph) in unreliable conditions and 104 km/h (65 mph) in reliable conditions.

Cheetah can however sustain their top speed only for a brief spell, about ten seconds. In that time they can travel almost 300 m (274 yards).

Cheetah can be found in Africa and in sub-Caucasian Asia, between Turkey and India. They feed mostly on medium-sized ungulates, such as impalas and gazelles.

The pronghorn is the fastest running prey - only the cheetah (a predator) can overtake it. On short tracks (up to 800 m or 875 yard) pronghorns may reach a top speed of 88 km/h (55 mph), but they can also run over a large distance at a remarkable speed - for instance up to 56 km/h (35 mph) over a distance of 6 km (3.7 mile).

Pronghorns live in the western half of North-America, mostly the USA (but also the northern part of Mexico and the southern part of the Canadian prairie states).

Pronghorns are herbivores, eating leaves, stems and grasses. Occasionally they also eat onions and alfalfa.

The black rhinoceros can run at a speed of 55 km/h (30 mph), which is about the average of several other African mammals (the spotted hyena, the giraffe, the African buffalo). The Indian rhinoceros also can reach the same top speed.

Black rhinos are critically endangered. A limited number can be found in sub-Saharan and mostly sub-equatorial Africa.

Black rhinos are herbivores, with a predilection for leafy and woody plants.

Blue whales have been recorded at a top speed of 48 km/h (30 mph). This is quite remarkable for such a heavy animal (average 150 metric ton or 165 US short ton, with records to 200 metric ton or 220 US short ton).

Blue whales are found in every of the major oceans, but the species in the Southern Hemisphere grow to be larger than their northern congeners.

They feed on krill, which they sieve from ingested water (about their maximum weight per ingestion).

Wombats are plump Australian marsupials. They can reach a top speed of about 40 km/h (25 mph), which would allow them to outrun a human - but only on a short track (150 m or 490 ft). Even so, a wombat could thus outrun the fastest human.

Wombats live in southern and eastern parts of Australia. They are strict herbivores, mostly grazing on perennial grass - but they also like some roots or legumes once in a while.

The leatherback sea turtle is the fastest turtle alive, swimming at speeds up to 35 km/h (22 mph). The only faster reptiles would be the perentie (about 40 km/h or 25 mph) and the green iguana (running marginally faster than the turtle swims).

Leatherback sea turtles can be found in the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. They are carnivorous, feeding on, for instance, squid and jellyfish.

It seems mindboggling that a turtle could exceed the speed limit around Belgian schools. However, no police officer would qualify a leatherback sea turtle as a "driver" and thus give it a speeding ticket.