Animal Olympics

Mrs. TweedieRead Aloud

Hottest, Coldest2009

Animal Olympics

Every four years, top athletes compete in the

Summer Olympics. But guess what? In all sorts of

sports, animals are the real winners!

Speedy Swimmers

A sailfish is the fastest creature in the seas over distances.

It can reach speeds up to 68 miles per hour-as fast as cars

whizzing along some highways. In fact, a sailfish makes

human swimmers look pathetic. The fastest Olympic

swimmers plug along at only about 5 miles an hour.

Speedy Swimmers

How does the sailfish do it? It has a streamlined shape,

like a torpedo. It tucks its long “sail” into a slot in its back.

And, with just a few flicks of its stiff, sickle-shaped tail, the

fish propels itself speedily through the water.

High Divers

What bird dives from the greatest height into water?

Several share the honors, including gannets and brown

pelicans. From 50 feet or more over the water, these birds

plunge headfirst to catch fish.

gannet brown pelican

High Divers

They have especially strong skulls and air sacs, which

work like air bags, in their breasts. So the birds aren’t hurt

when they hit the water.

gannet brown pelican

High Divers

How do humans

compare with these

champs? Olympic

high-divers drop

from a measly 33

feet above the water.

Marathon Records

A gray whale would win the prize for distance swimming. These

fantastic animals swim an amazing 10,000 or more miles a year.

They migrate from their breeding grounds off Mexico to their

feeding areas off Alaska and Siberia, and then back again.

Marathon Records

In the air, the long-distance winner is the arctic tern.

Many of these birds fly more than 20,000 miles a year. They

migrate from the Arctic to Antarctica-and back-catching

summertime in both places.

Weightlifting Wonders

Human weightlifters can lift more than three times their

body weight while standing in one spot.

Weightlifting Wonders

But rhinoceros beetles can lift about 30 times their own

weight and walk at a normal pace at the same time! A person

with that kind of muscle-power could walk carrying a pickup

truck!

Weightlifting Wonders

But what about elephants? Surely, they’re very strong.

An Asian elephant, using just its trunk, can lift more total

weight than any other creature-a ton or more. But compared

to its size, a ton isn’t that much-less than half the elephant’s

weight.

Gymnastic Greats Lots of animals

could be winners in

this category! For

example, tree

squirrels are super

acrobats. They can

leap through the

treetops or run along

thin branches, using

their tails to balance

them.

Gymnastic Greats

Then there are the gibbons, small apes in Southeast Asia.

They swing by their long arms through the treetops-sometimes

letting go and “flying” like a trapeze artist from one branch to

another. In one free-form swop, a gibbon can travel nearly 10

feet.

Gymnastic Greats

And don’t forget those super show-offs, the spinner

dolphins. They leap high out of the water and can do four

complete spins before flopping back down again. That deserves

a gold medal, for sure!

Zoom, Zoom

Cheetahs are super-star sprinters. They can dash as fast as 64 miles

per hour over short distances. How? A cheetah has a super-bendable,

spring-like spine. So, with each stride, the animal can gather its legs

up tightly, then stretch them way out. This helps the animal zoom

across the ground.

Zoom, Zoom

For high speed over the long haul, the pronghorn wins! It

can keep running at 35 miles an hour for many miles. And it

can speed up to 50 miles an hour if it has to.

Zoom, Zoom

The fastest humans can keep up a pace of about 13

miles an hour over many miles. And for short bursts, they

can sprint as fast as 26 miles an hour.

Zoom, Zoom

So, watch the Summer Olympics. But just don’t be too

impressed. After all, most of these human competitors just

can’t measure up to all the winners in the animal kingdom.