Top 10 List:

The World's Fastest Mammals (on land)

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Here is a top-10 list of the World's Fastest Mammals, their speed on land. These maximum recorded speeds recorded for mammals are measured over various short distances. The values and list order is different from the top animal speed list as that list is based over a standard quarter-mile distance.

This list only includes land-based mammals. If it included flying mamals, the list would include some bats. The fastest-flying bat, and the fastest-flying mammal overall, is the Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), native to southern USA, Mexico, Central America and most of South America, with maximum ground speeds of 44.5 metres per second (145 feet per second; 160.2 kilometres per hour; 99.5 miles per hour).

You may notice discrepancies between this list and the World's Fastest Animals list, which just highlights the difficulties in measuring speed, whether average or maximum recorded speeds are used, and averaged over what distance.

Lion at Bali Safari Park, Indonesia
Lion at Bali Safari Park, Indonesia

 

Mammal maximum recorded speed
    (kph) (mph) notes
1. Cheetah - an animal built for speed. The Cheetah is indigenous to south-western Asia and Africa. 114 71 In 2009, a Cheetah from the Cincinnati Zoo set a world best time of 6.13 seconds for 100 meters. See video
2. Pronghorn antelope 95 57  
=3. Blue Wildebeest (brindled gnu) 80 50  
=3. Springbok 80 50  
=3 Lion 80 50  
=6. Brown hare 77 48  
=6. Red Fox 77 48  
=8. Grant's gazelle 76 47  
=8. Thomson's gazelle 76 47  
10. Horse 72 45  

Other fastest animal lists include:

Old Comments

  • How much dogs run faster? (from morake serumola, Jan 2013)
  • What about an ostrich?
  • The cheetah is not the fastest animal in the world you FREAKS!! (from majifarp, Jan 2013)
  • Make horse the fastest animal in the world
  • Is elephant the second fastest animal? (from Sadat, Nov 2012)
  • Where on the list would homo sapiens be?
  • Is it possible to have a cheetah? will it obey u if u raise it from a cub? (from raekwon bouges, Sept 2012)
  • What about the Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)it can fly at 40-45 mph.? (from Jennie, July 2012)
  • Cheates are really fast i never knew that i thought it was the lepord ortiger or the lion (from alyssa, July 2012)
  • I have a greyhound and isn't it 2 or 3 in the fastest animals?? (from Caitlin, June 2012)
    • @Caitlyn, the greyhound is only the second fastest land animal in acceleration not overall top speed (from Sean, July 2012)
  • On world's fastest animals thomsons gazelle can reach 50mph/80kph but on here it reaches 47mph/72kph. What up wid dat? (June 2012)
  • Is it true that a cheetar can round the world in 6 hours? (from Olawale, May 2012)
  • Where does a greyhound dog stand on that list? And what is a lion doing there with a speed of 80kph? I believe their top speed to be 55kph! (from Ikay , March 2012)
  • You forgot the number 1 fastest mammal... the bat :) The new world encyclopedia online says " The fastest bat is the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), which can reach speeds of 40 mph in level flight and 80 mph in dives (65 and 130 kph) " (from karl, Jan 2012)
  • Surely a puma is faster than a lion (from Alastair McDowall, Jan 2012)

 

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