Either an otter, a seal or a penguin would win. I'm not sure how fast seals or penguins are on land, so I'd probably go with the otter.
Either an otter, a seal or a penguin would win. I'm not sure how fast seals or penguins are on land, so I'd probably go with the otter.
The seal does swim very fast. Maybe an otter is the best choice. They can run faster than a seal.The otter can't run as fast as the polar bear but probably can hold him off on the 100.
Haji wrote:
A seal. Could be in and out of the water before man or bear is fully wet. The seal would lose some time in the land portion perhaps, but I think the lead coming out of the water would be to big to overcome by any other animal.
I think a penguin could beat man.
Swim Speeds: ~100m
Michael Phelps ~ 4.7 miler per hour
Polar Bear - 6.2 miler per hour
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_fast_does_Michael_Phelps_swim_in_miles_per_hour
http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/PolarBears/pbadaptations.html
polar bear wrote:
Swim Speeds: ~100m
Michael Phelps ~ 4.7 miler per hour
Polar Bear - 6.2 miler per hour
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_fast_does_Michael_Phelps_swim_in_miles_per_hourhttp://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/PolarBears/pbadaptations.html
Just read that a river otter swims at an average speed of 7 mph (obviously can sprint much faster, and can run on land at speeds up to 15-18 mph. I'd say that definitively ends the thread.
River otter is champ.
polar bear wrote:
Swim Speeds: ~100m
Michael Phelps ~ 4.7 miler per hour
Polar Bear - 6.2 miler per hour
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_fast_does_Michael_Phelps_swim_in_miles_per_hourhttp://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/PolarBears/pbadaptations.html
ding ding wrote:
Just read that a river otter swims at an average speed of 7 mph (obviously can sprint much faster, and can run on land at speeds up to 15-18 mph. I'd say that definitively ends the thread.
River otter is champ.
Polar bear land speed is 25+ mph. Looks like otter sandwich for lunch.
So maybe the moose then.
a Jesus Christ Lizard--you ever seen one of those things speed run over water?!
Sky Bear Running wrote:
a Jesus Christ Lizard--you ever seen one of those things speed run over water?!
Jesus Christ NO!
Crocs and alligators aren't as fast on land as most people think. They're extremely explosive, but top speed is much slower than a human. Besides, 100m is way too far for either animal to keep up any reasonable speed.
Grizzly or polar bears were a good suggestion.
Bear would get owned by the moose.
walks-a-lot wrote:
Polar bear land speed is 25+ mph. Looks like otter sandwich for lunch.
Ya, how long does it take a 1500 lb bear to get up to 25 mph though? It probably accelerates like a cruise liner.
I would say, given a warm water river (therefore including crocs and gators and excluding polar bears):
Brown Bear (including, primarily, Grizzly bears)
Black Bear/other types of bears
Crocodile
Alligator
The following are simply so much faster on land they could make up what they lost in the water:
Jaguar
Cheetah
This is a surprisingly good thread.
The first animal that came to my mind was an otter. It sounds as though the little guy is holding his own.
I agree with the earlier observation that the swim portion of this biathlon is likely to be far more important to the outcome, since it appears that most of the contenders will be in the water for at least three times as long as they will be on land.
If it was a triathlon, I'd have to go with a bear. They can run, they can swim, and I've seen them ride bicycles in a circus.
Sky Bear Running wrote:
a Jesus Christ Lizard--you ever seen one of those things speed run over water?!
I thought of that, too, but apparently it sinks within twenty meters.
some sort of snake that resides both in the water and on land...I can't think of the name off the top of my head...some snakes are lightning fast
alligator swim 20 mph, run 11 mph
http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/alligator-zigzag.htm/printable
ding ding wrote:
Just read that a river otter swims at an average speed of 7 mph (obviously can sprint much faster, and can run on land at speeds up to 15-18 mph. I'd say that definitively ends the thread.
River otter is champ.
Not even close. The correct answer has already been given, and everyone ignored the poster (typical letsrun)
H I P P O. (the name "river horse" should have given it away)
"They have been observed to move at 8 km/h in water." That's 17.6 mph. (They can run on the bottom of the water. It's a half run/swim)
"There are estimates of its actual running speed varying from 30 km/h (18 mph) to 40 km/h (25 mph), or even 48 km/h (30 mph). The hippo can maintain these higher estimates for only a few hundred yards."
I've seen the 30 mph quoted a few other places too. So...
Hippo for the win. All the really fast animals can't do shit in the water.
It might have a shot with those times but can it go the distance.
Sir Lance-alot wrote:
"They have been observed to move at 8 km/h in water." That's 17.6 mph. (They can run on the bottom of the water. It's a half run/swim).
I'm sorry, but I'm a little slow with this higher math. Could you go through the calculation for me?