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FastestThings

Mammals

African wild dog

African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is listed at 70 km/h in Garland's 1983 compilation of maximal running speeds, method U.

Also known as Lycaon pictus
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Top speed

Published as 70 km/hPublished as 70 km/hPublished as 70 km/h

Garland 1983 Table I maximal running speed, method U (Schaller 1972). Not a new trial on 2026-10-06.

EstimatedJournal of Zoology (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 1.9× Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • 67% of a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 4.7 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

This list

Why it's so fast

A mammal is fast when its legs, lungs and muscles can keep a stride going. Most of the speeds on this list are compiled estimates, not a fresh stopwatch trial.

  1. A stride, not an engine

    Speed here is how fast the limbs can cycle and how much ground each cycle covers. A longer leg helps only if the animal can still swing it quickly.

  2. Estimates and trials

    Garland's 1983 review gathered older reports and marked how each one was made. A timed run and a field estimate are not the same kind of evidence, which is why the cheetah's ranked figure is a separate trial.

The timed exception on this list is the cheetah.

This is how the category works. A note written for this entry appears here once it is in the database.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 70km/h43.5mph19.4m/s37.8knRanked figure

    Garland 1983 Table I maximal running speed, method U (Schaller 1972). Not a new trial on 2026-10-06.

    Estimated
    Journal of Zoology (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Species
Lycaon pictus
Source table
Garland 1983, Table I
Method code
U

Head to head

Compare African wild dog

Open the speed race

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Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.