Animal Olympics

This page shows some of the speeds of the animal world – on land, in the sea and in the air. These are for short distance sprints over about 200 m.

Remember that the animals may not be able to maintain these top speeds for long periods.

Land

Animal	Speed (km/hr)	Speed (mph)
Cheetah	112	70
Proghorn antelope	97.6	61
Lion	80	50
Thomson's gazelle	80	50
Cape hunting dog	72	45
Horse (max)	71	44
Greyhound	62.4	39
Ostrich	59.2	37
Elephant	40	25
Human	37.5	23.5
Black mamba snake	32	20
Pig (domestic)	17.6	11.0
House mouse	12.8	8.0
Giant tortoise	0.27	0.17
Garden snail	0.048	0.03

Sea

Animal	Speed (km/hr)	Speed (mph)
Sailfish	104	65
Wahoo	80	50
Blue shark	70	43
Killer whale	48	30
Dolphin	40	25
Penguin	36	23
Leatherback turtle	35	22
Salmon	32	20
Human	8	5

Air

Bird/Insect	Speed (km/hr)	Speed (mph)
Peregrine falcon (dive)	over 320	over 200
Spin tailed swift	170	105
Frigate bird	70	43
Ring necked duck	105	66
Pheasant	96	60
Red grouse	88	55
Humming bird	64	40
Dragonfly	58	36
Seagull	40	25
Honey bee	32	20
Wasp	19	12
Butterfly	14	9
Housefly	8	5