The pronghorn antelope...
Friday, September 16, 2011 at 12:41PM ...referred to as a "Turbo-charged prairie racer", the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) is the fastest mammal in North America?
According to the Alberta Conservation Association, pronghorns easily lope at 50 km/h, cruises at 70 km/h, and can sprint at 90 km/h for several minutes. They can cover over six meters in a single leap.
"Compare that to a race horse that gallops along at 55 km/h or a whitetailed deer on the run, that bounds away at 40 km/h. A cheetah, the fastest mammal on the planet, can sprint only slightly faster than a pronghorn, attaining speeds up to 110 km/h, but the cheetah must stop running after 300 to 400 metres to prevent its body from lethallyoverheating.
The cheetah also needs to rest for 30 to 40 minutes afterwards to recover. The pronghorn, like the toy bunny on television commercials, just keeps on going."
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