I was discussing hiking with my dad earlier and I wondered aloud if I could outrun a black bear if it came down to it. This led to some searches online and the discovery of a rewarding table that lists various animals, and the speeds at which they are able to run.
The chart and information was obtained from
Fact Monster and has the following disclaimer:
Quote:
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Most of the following measurements are for maximum speeds over approximate quarter-mile distances. Exceptions—which are included to give a wide range of animals—are the lion and elephant, whose speeds were clocked in the act of charging; the whippet, which was timed over a 200-yard course; the cheetah over a 100-yard distance; humans for a 15-yard segment of a 100-yard run; and the black mamba snake, six-lined race runner, spider, giant tortoise, three-toed sloth, and garden snail, which were measured over various small distances.
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Code:
Animal | Speed (mph)
Peregrine falcon: 200.00+
Cheetah: 70.00
Pronghorn antelope: 61.00
Lion: 50.00
Thomson's gazelle: 50.00
Wildebeest: 50.00
Quarter horse: 47.50
Cape hunting dog: 45.00
Elk: 45.00
Coyote: 43.00
Gray fox: 42.00
Hyena: 40.00
Ostrich: 40.00
Zebra: 40.00
Mongolian wild ass: 40.00
Greyhound: 39.35
Whippet: 35.50
Jackal: 35.00
Mule deer: 35.00
Rabbit: (domestic) 35.00
Giraffe: 32.00
Reindeer: 32.00
Cat (domestic): 30.00
Kangaroo: 30.00
Grizzly bear: 30.00
Wart hog: 30.00
White-tailed deer: 30.00
Human: 27.89
Elephant: 25.00
Black mamba snake: 20.00
Six-lined race runner: 18.00
Squirrel: 12.00
Pig (domestic): 11.00
Chicken : 9.00
House mouse: 8.00
Spider (Tegenearia atrica): 1.17
Giant tortoise: 0.17
Three-toed sloth: 0.15
Garden snail: 0.03
Human is unrealistically high, and I assume the speed of 27 mph was taken from one of the fastest runners, perhaps Michael Johnson. The average human probably would be unable to reach a speed in excess of 20 mph, even in a time of crisis.
It turned out to be both an interesting, and also a humbling, list as I had the distant notion that I might actually be able to outrun a bear while hiking, if it came down to it.