Legs, wings, fins? They can all be super-quick

Peregrine falcon

This handsome bird of prey is the fastest-moving animal on Earth, flying at 80km/h and diving to make its kill at a stunning 322 km/h.

Peregrine falcons live all over the world, except in the frozen poles and in rainforests. They usually live near water where they hunt ducks, doves and songbirds. When pushed, it will settle for snacking on rodents, rabbits, and other small mammals.

DDT and Dieldrin pesticides in the US and UK destroyed local populations in the 1960s but with captive breeding and reintroduction programmes, the peregrine is no longer an endangered species.

Sailfish

Sailfish live in warm and temperate seas all over the world.

Sailfish are very easy to recognise because of their exotic looks.

They have a long spear that extends past their nose, and a huge dorsal fin that looks like a giant sail.

Although they normally swim with their sails folded neatly against their side, they raise it to make themselves look much bigger when hunting or fighting.

Stretching up to 3.4m in length and weighing 90kg, the sailfish holds the record as the world's fastest sea animal, preying on smaller fish and squid at up to 109 km/h.

Red-breasted Merganser duck

The red-breasted Merganser lives in freshwater lakes and rivers in Canada, Greenland, northern Europe and northern parts of Asia.

The ducks dive for their dinner, eating fish, frogs, insects and small crustaceans.

At first sight there is nothing special about these birds. But when winter frost strikes, and they migrate south for the winter, this cute duck with the punk hairstyle skims through the skies at 160 km/h! This tremendous speed puts the red- breasted Merganser among the fastest living animals in level flapping flight.

Cheetah

The cheetah is the poster cat for speed, holding the title for the fastest land animal running at a speed of 105 km/h.

This fast cat likes to eat springbok, impala and gazelle.

Cheetahs used to live in Africa, the Middle East, India and other parts of Asia. Today there are a few dozen living in northern Iran and less than 12,000 living in Africa.

The remaining cheetahs are vulnerable because of habitat loss, poaching, and illegal trapping and shooting.

Pronghorn

The second-fastest animal on land is the pronghorn that lives in North America.

Pronghorns live in grasslands, brushlands and deserts, munching on grass, plants, and even chewy cacti.

Weighing 60kg and standing about 1m at the shoulder, these creatures make ideal dinners for hungry wolves, coyotes and bobcats.

However, as pronghorns can run at top speeds of 98km/h and leap almost 6m in the air, catching them isn't easy!

fab fact!

The three-toed sloth that lives in South American forests is said to be the world's slowest animal moving at a top speed of 0.24km/h.

compare!

Two of the fastest humans are Asafa Powell (above) and Justin Gatlin (below), who have both run 100m in 9.77s. As that's 36.84km/h, how would they do against cheetahs, sailfish and other animal athletes?

Build your vocab

When you're reading you don't always need to know every word to understand the sense of every word. But do you remember new vocabulary when you come across it?

Build your word power by finding appropriate synonyms for the following words and phrases in the text. Want an extra challenge? Try completing this exercise from memory first!

Spectacular

Travel

Hunt illegally

Perfect

Unusual

Answers:

stunning, migrate, poaching, ideal, exotic