WHAT IS THE FASTEST FOUR-LEGGED ANIMAL

WHAT IS THE FASTEST FOUR-LEGGED ANIMAL?
Man is very proud of his speed. After all, don't we zoom through space faster than sound itself can travel? Don't we fly across oceans in a few hours?
What man should really be proud of in these cases is his brain, which has enabled him to develop machines that can go at fantastic speeds. For when it comes to his body, he is very far indeed from being the speed champion among mammals. In fact, he ranks quite low.

Let's take a look at the speeds at which some four- legged creatures can travel. We must remember, however, that many animals capable of great speed cannot sustain this speed for a long time. Man himself, who can run 22 to 25 miles (35 to 40 kilometer) per hour, can hold this during a race such as a 200 metre dash, but not in a longer race! Also, these speeds are not scientifically exact. They are based on reports and observations which various people have made at different times. But they give you a pretty accurate idea of how animals compare in speed.

The champ of them all is the cheetah, a kind of leopard; it has reached 70 miles per hour! The black-buck comes next at 65 miles per hour. At about 60 miles per hour, we have the Mongolian gazelle and the Pronghorn antelope. Any of these animals mentioned would outdistance all other mammals is a race of over a mile or so.

The lion, surprisingly enough, can change after his enemy at a speed of 50 miles, but he can't keep it up. A deer which most of us consider a very fast animal, only goes at about 45 or 50 miles an hour, and that's about the speed of a race horse!

Another animal that is used in racing, the Greyhound, goes at about 35 to 40 miles- only a few miles faster than a grizzly bear! And an elephant has been known to make a dash at 25 miles an hour!