What animal wins a race that's 100m in water then 100m on land

Well if you want to go the flying route a sloth reentering the atmosphere in a space shuttle could cover 200m in 2 hundredths of a second.

But following the rules, I like the hippo. The people bringing up accelerations have a point, but I think it is being exaggerated. Here's a Hippo with a short charge out of a shallow pool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCjMO3YxwR0

That looked like decent acceleration right out of the water, which would be ideal for this event.

I dont see how my flying fish loses. It swims 100m at fish speeds, prolly covers it in just a few seconds, and then right when it reaches the 100m mark it flys out of the water and glides at 30mph or so for the land portion of the 100m. It cannot be matched.

I'd also put in for an Anhinga Bird. It is called the "snake bird" as it can dart through the water maybe faster than the flying fish, then breach the water at 100m and fly 40mph easily for the land portion.

Nothing mentioned could beat either of these two animals.

If the fish is 'flying' it cannot count for the land portion. If that were the case you could go for some kind of falcon or something that can fly over water and land at higher speeds. Flying don't cut it.

I'm sticking with my seal for the win.

Yeah, the definition of the race, both in the thread title and original post, is on land. Flying is typically done over land, not on it.

No way, river otter or cheetah wins flat-out because of acceleration. Cheetahs are way more explosive than any of the listed animals; the only way the otter can compete is by virtue of its swimming prowess.

8 km/h is NOT equivalent to 17.6 mph. Assuming you're a runner with experience in distance conversions, this is a very stupid error. And who says the swim section is shallow enough for that stupid hippo to run in. Fat turd would probably sink.

categorically wrote:

Human:

100m dash world record 9.69 sec

100m freestyle swim WR 46.94 sec

total: 56.63 sec (even for a relay of fastest ever humans).

Sorry none of your data is correct. You're using top speed data for animals, and uncomparable data for humans. Bolt using top speed must be around 8.6, and the 100 free is from a pushoff...in this case there would be no turns i would imagine..and again you are using animals top speeds vs humans total time. They'd still lose though.

I'm sticking with my moose. Here is more quality footage that proves the moose reigns supreme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WvMVxjHqp8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McD6JtB3Trw&NR=1

Moose can haul ass. More ass than any other animal can haul. Period.

Good thread.

Point to note about the Polar Bear, his top end speed will be hampered by being wet. How fast is a wet polar bear?

The transition time is key, animals with a large mass will struggle to haul themselve sout of the water. Snakes and otters will be out quick and carry some speed into the run.

Sea lions have been said to out run man, and wouldn't be outswum by many.. they could be a contender.

I would have to go with the River Otter.

In particular the Giant River Otter that lives mostly in the Amazon Basin. They can swim an average of 11mph while traveling (and could burst faster for a short period, whereas a moose and a polar bear could not burst in water. Acceleration is important at the start of the swimming phase too). These Otters have an incredibly long powerful tail that provides most of their propulsion. The surprising thing is they can also run 25mph on land. They do alot of crossing on land. In the Pantanal region there are drought periods where they have to trek from one drying body of water for miles and miles to a decent river. I can't find a link but I'll get back on this...I know someone who studies these critters in Brazil.

Here is a link about otters in general.

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/otters/adaptations.htm

Note it says that giant otters (I'm not sure what they are referring to) swim 9 mph. But, this site says river otters can run 29mph !!

So, no matter how you slice it, river otters and most likely the giant river otter would win, no problem.

jeanette wrote:

Good thread.

Point to note about the Polar Bear, his top end speed will be hampered by being wet. How fast is a wet polar bear?...

Polar bears dry quickly. Same for otters. Not sure about moose. Otters and polar bears spend a lot of their time in the water. They don't get soaking wet. They have adapted well to their environments.

If the swim/run were in very cold water the polar bear would probably win. If the swim/run were in a muddy swamp the otter would probably win.

The conditions of the event would make a huge difference in the outcome.

animal crackers wrote:

I read that deer can swim 13mph. Prongy for the win?

13 mph in the water seems really fast. Were did you read that?

Be careful with the cheetah. Cheetahs are not known for endurance and tend to run out of steam pretty fast. How tired will that cheetah be after 100m in the water. It probably does not get anywhere near top speed during that 100m on land.

The moose is a major player on the Diamond League circuit but don't forget about the dealy, elusive and made for both environments..duckbilled platypus!

Easy. An Amphibious Reconnissance U.S. Marine.

[quote]categorically wrote:

Moose: 6mph in water, 35 mph on land

100m swim: 37.3 sec

100m dash: 6.4 sec

total: 43.7 sec

Otter: 6 mph in water, 18 mph on land

total: 49.7 sec

hippo: ?? mph in water, 30 mph on land

I don't see a hippo being much faster than moose in the water as they don't really swim but just run along the bottom - they do not really float.

The Polar Bear has the same stats as the moose.

Human:

100m dash world record 9.69 sec

100m freestyle swim WR 46.94 sec

total: 56.63 sec (even for a relay of fastest ever humans)

Crocodile: 10 mph in water, 7.5 mph on land

total: 52.4 sec[quote]

The human time is so much slower because it is the only one that we know is accounting for acceleration. Additionally how much faster would the 100m freestyle WR be if it was on a straing 100m pool. The turn must cut off significant time via deceleration and reacceleration.

Mrr82 wrote:

Sorry none of your data is correct. You're using top speed data for animals, and uncomparable data for humans. Bolt using top speed must be around 8.6, and the 100 free is from a pushoff...in this case there would be no turns i would imagine..and again you are using animals top speeds vs humans total time. They'd still lose though.

You are correct. Human times would be faster if they were calculated from top speeds but animal top speeds would be faster if there were worldwide competitions to determine the fastest running and fastest swimming animals. I would think you could find a really fast individual animal to enter in this race that would exceed the predictions.

I also assumed that all of the animals could hold top speed for 100m. That might be wrong - only the croc had a note that it tires after 30m or so.

The points on acceleration and transition are good ones. I think the otter would have the best transition time. Though because it is very tall the moose can start running before it gets fully out of the water.

I would hesitate to call any of this "data." It is just rough calculations to give an idea of what the race would look like. It became clear to me after doing the rough calculations that the swim portion would take a lot longer so fast swimmers have a big advantage.

More Closelerly wrote:

The human time is so much slower because it is the only one that we know is accounting for acceleration. Additionally how much faster would the 100m freestyle WR be if it was on a straing 100m pool. The turn must cut off significant time via deceleration and reacceleration.

Good point, but a swim in a 100 meter pool would actually be slower than one in a 50 meter. It's the same reason one swims faster in short course pools(25 yards) than in long course (50 meters)... the push off of the wall gives them significant advantage. Same reason open water swimming is so much slower than pool.

So now the question is, are our animals racing in a pool or open water? Would the pool be a standard 50 meter, a 25 yard or a weird super long 100 meter pool? If it is open water, the zero entry/exit could make a difference for some animals in the transition (running out of the water rather than climbing out). I would think a pool would make it very difficult for some animals just with the transition.

Gentlemen,

After reading the balance of this thread, I believe the time for arguement is over. We now need action. I propose raising a $5000 retainer for the services of Mr. Phelps, and absconding from the the SD Zoo with a river otter, cheetah, hippo, and croc. We can then assemble a course in an unidentified region with forgiving laws for animal cruelty...probably Mississippi, but I'll consult with Mr. Vick first.

Then, we promote the race via facebook and other social utilities for viewing on payperview...I'm thinking 14.95. We call it the "Race for Life," with the promise that the winner will be allowed to feast on the flesh of his tardy opponents.

I'd be happy to write the business plan, but at the outset I can see that we will almost certainly need an excellent litigator, start-up funds, and an experienced animal handler with a background in exotic pets. We will also need blueprints for the SD zoo, as well as a PR firm to handle the qualms of PETA.

Let me know if you are interested, as I am ready to get started.

-Sir Semantics

PS-I do believe that we may be able to forego the necessity of paying Mr. Phelps his retainer, if we are able to get our hands on a few ounces of Marijuana. Don't worry, I know a guy.