These Are the Fastest Animals You’ll Find in the United States

The fastest a human has ever been recorded running was Usain Bolt in the 2009 Olympics. Bolt ran the 100-meter dash in an astonishing 9.58 seconds. This equals 27.78 miles per hour, and the record stands today. While running nearly 30 miles per hour is an amazing feat for a human, it’s not much for many animals. Cheetahs are the fastest land animals in the world and can reach speeds of 70 miles per hour. Some birds can dive for their prey at speeds faster than a Japanese bullet train. From birds to bats to big cats, we rounded up the fastest animals to speed across the land in the United States.

12. Mountain Lion

Mountain lions, also known as pumas, cougars, panthers, or catamounts, live in the western United States. They are adaptable to various habitats and can be found in forests, mountains, deserts, and wetlands. The only mountain lion found east of the Mississippi River is the Florida panther, a subspecies of mountain lion.

Mountain lions are swift runners with powerful hind legs, reaching speeds as fast as a car. They can sprint up to 50 miles per hour and can leap 18 feet into the air. The males are larger than the females, weighing up to 200 pounds. Mountain lions are carnivores and eat only meat. Their diet includes deer, rabbits, rodents, and other mammals.

11. American Quarter Horse

The American Quarter Horse is a breed of horse that can be traced back to colonial times. These speedy horses can sprint up to 55 miles per hour. They are known for their ability to run a quarter mile in under 21 seconds. American Quarter Horses are descended from Spanish Barbs, Mustangs, English stock, and Thoroughbreds.

American Quarter Horses are beloved not just for their speed but for their versatility. They can race and perform well in show events, and they are also excellent workhorses on a ranch or farm. They are known to be cooperative, intelligent, and easy to train.

10. Mourning Dove

Mourning doves can be found across the United States. They are easily recognizable by their mournful cooing calls, small heads, and long tails. Those long tails, along with long pointed wings, give them superior flying ability over other dove species. They may not look it, but they are incredibly powerful fliers, with top speeds clocking in at 55 miles per hour.

Mourning doves mainly eat seeds. If you have mourning doves in your backyard, you will see them walking around often, pecking at the ground in search of seeds. They need to eat 12 to 20 percent of their body weight each day.

9. Pronghorn

Coming in ninth on our list, the pronghorn antelope is the fastest land animal in the United States. Pronghorns can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. That’s not as fast as a cheetah, but it’s pretty close (cheetahs can sprint at 70 miles per hour). Pronghorns also have amazing endurance and can keep going at fast speeds longer than cheetahs.

These unique antelopes are only found in North America. In the United States, you can find pronghorns in the West, with the biggest populations in Wyoming. Pronghorns are herbivores that primarily eat grasses. They will migrate long distances in search of food, but herds tend to stay in place when resources are abundant.

8. Wilson’s Snipe

This migratory wading bird can fly as fast as a pronghorn can run. Wilson’s snipe can reach top speeds of 60 miles per hour. As the most widespread shorebird in North America, you can find Wilson’s snipe up and down the east and west coasts. It may not look it, but this shorebird has powerful pectoral muscles that allow it to fly rapidly through the air in a zig-zag pattern.

Wilson’s snipe feeds on a diet of crustaceans, worms, and insect larvae. They dip their bills into wet, muddy ground, searching for food. They can even slurp up their meal while their bill remains buried in the ground.

7. Red-Breasted Merganser

Not only are red-breasted mergansers good swimmers, but they are also excellent fliers. Though they need a running start to take flight, once in the air, they can reach 81 miles per hour. That’s nearly as fast as the highest posted speed limit in the U.S., which is 85 miles per hour on a stretch of road in Texas.

These diving ducks are identified by their shaggy head of feathers. They are common in the northern United States, living in rivers and lakes. They eat a diet of fish, insects, mollusks, worms, and plants.

6. Magnificent Frigate Bird

These odd-looking birds are found mainly in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. The males are easily identified by their glossy black feathers and striking red gular pouch on their throats. The gular pouch is a featherless sac of skin used to catch fish. Males inflate their gular pouches during mating season to impress females. The magnificent frigate bird can reach impressive speeds of 95 miles per hour. With a wing shape that is similar to airplanes, magnificent frigate birds can fly for long distances, using a system called dynamic soaring, which requires minimal energy.

5. Mexican Free-Tailed Bat

These migratory bats live in Mexico and Central America during the winter. In the summer, they fly north and can be found in the southern United States, with a large population living in Texas. Mexican free-tailed bats roost in caves, although they will also roost in other places such as hollow trees, bridges, and buildings.

Mexican free-tailed bats are incredibly fast. A research study using an airplane tracking device clocked their top speed at 100 miles per hour. What’s even more remarkable about their speed is that it was measured at level flying. This means, unlike falcons and other fast-flying birds, the free-tailed bat is reaching high speeds flying horizontally, rather than using gravity in a dive to help it gain momentum.

Not only do these bats fly far during migration, but they may travel over 30 miles away from their home roost to hunt for food. Mexican free-tailed bats eat a diet of flying insects, including beetles, mayflies, and moths. They eat their body weight in food each day, providing pest control for crop farmers in the south.

4. Golden Eagle

When a golden eagle dives straight down, it reaches speeds about as fast as a human sky diver. Golden eagles can reach diving speeds of 120 miles per hour as they hunt for food. Golden eagles hunt for small animals, such as jackrabbits, rodents, squirrels, foxes, and prairie dogs. However, they are also known to kill larger mammals, including cranes, lambs, and young deer. They search the landscape for prey using their incredible 20/4 vision, which can see five times farther than a human. They are also able to rotate their heads 270 degrees around, surveying the entire area.

Golden eagles are protected in the United States under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. They are found in the western United States, where they live in a variety of habitats including forests, deserts, canyons, and shrublands. The biggest threat they face is habitat destruction.

3. Gyrfalcon

It’s the largest falcon in the world, and it can dive at speeds of 130 miles per hour. The gyrfalcon is a formidable bird of prey that lives in the Arctic. It’s the national bird of Iceland, and in the U.S., gyrfalcons live in Alaska and are very rarely seen in the northernmost United States in winter. Its diving speed matches that of an F2 tornado or a category four hurricane. These large raptors have a four-foot wingspan and are close to two feet long. The females are larger than the males, which experts believe might be to defend their nests.

Gyrfalcons mate for life. The male does most of the hunting when the female is sitting on the nest, and brings the family food. Gyrfalcons mainly eat a type of grouse bird called the rock ptarmigan. They also eat waterfowl and small mammals.

2. Bald Eagle

Even faster than golden eagles, bald eagles can dive at an astonishing 200 miles per hour. An iconic symbol of America, the bald eagle has been on the national seal of the United States since 1782. Interestingly, it was only adopted as the country’s official national bird in 2024 when President Joe Biden signed the legislation to officially recognize it as America’s official bird. Bald eagles can be found living across the U.S., usually near large bodies of water.

Bald eagles are large birds of prey with a wingspan of five and a half to eight feet. Though their average soaring speed is 30 miles per hour, they can gain incredible speeds when diving for prey. Bald eagles mainly eat fish, but will also eat small mammals and waterfowl. Bald eagles are known as opportunistic hunters and will steal prey from other animals or eat roadkill and other dead animals. They can carry food that weighs around two to three pounds, which they bring back to their nest to feed their young.

1. Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine falcons are not only the fastest animal in the United States, but also in the world. They can reach astonishingly fast speeds in their dives of 240 miles per hour. In order to reach this speed, a peregrine falcon will soar high in the sky and then dive straight down. This is faster than China’s CR400 “Fuxing” train, which runs at commercial speeds of 217 miles per hour. They can be found living throughout the United States.

Peregrine falcons are perfectly suited to hunt for their food in the air. Adaptations have made them aerodynamic as they dive for prey. They eat a variety of birds, including songbirds, shorebirds, ducks, and gulls. Peregrine falcons nest high on cliffs where most predators can’t reach. Young peregrine falcons have to watch out for great horned owls and golden eagles. But once they reach adulthood, peregrine falcons have few natural predators.

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