Move over Olympians, Australia’s wildlife are incredible athletes
By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University,
27 days ago
Now that the Paris Olympics and Paralympics have disappeared from our screens, let’s get back to watching animal videos.
But seriously, have you ever paused to think about the athletic abilities of Australian wildlife?
In my research as an ecologist, I’m constantly amazed by the strength, speed and resilience of our native animals. Their prowess is testament to the wonders of evolution, and the necessity of species having to adapt to challenging and changing environments in order to survive.
Let’s take a closer look at some of our best competitors and how might they fare, against humans and overseas entrants. On your marks, get set… swim, hop, dig, dance, glide!
Swimming
Australians are renowned for being strong swimmers. But what is the fastest swimmer in the animal kingdom?
For perspective, the fastest human to swim the 50 metres freestyle is American Caeleb Dressel , completing this in a time of 20.16 seconds. That’s roughly 9km/h – faster than many people jog, but still no match for a sailfish.
As in humans, swimming speed in fishes tends to increase with body length . Larger species that challenge sailfish for the fastest swimmer title include blue or black marlin. Shorter, torpedo-like bluefin tuna are also in contention. All are found in Australian waters, though not exclusively.
Kangaroos can clear heights of up to 3m , so would perform well in the high jump. But they’d finish behind bottlenose dolphins , which can jump over 7m in the air, just for kicks.
Scaled for body size, though, both species would be embarrassed by a tiny insect known as a froghopper . It jumps to heights of more than 140 times its body length .
And yet, horned dung beetles might still only claim silver. Another invertebrate Aussie, the tiny tropical moss mite , is perhaps the world’s strongest animal. It can pull more than 1,180 times its weight.
Packing the fastest, deadliest punch
In terms of combat sports, bigger is not always better.
Peacock mantis shrimps – invertebrates found in Australian marine waters and elsewhere – have the swiftest and most powerful punch in the lightweight crustacean division.
They kill prey by punching them with strong, club-like appendages. They deliver blows at up to 23m per sec , akin to the speed and force of a .22 calibre bullet being fired.
In terms of free-diving and flying, there’s really no contest. Cuvier’s beaked whale can dive nearly 3000m and peregrine falcons can reach over 320 km/hr . These animals are found across the globe, however – not just in Australia.
I’d love to see a shooting contest between Australia’s archer fish and Madagascar’s panther chameleon . But finding the right arena for both aquatic and land-based sharpshooters would be tricky.
They include the incredible oolacunta – also known as the desert rat kangaroo. It’s powers of endurance in the desert are the stuff of folklore. As legendary Australian mammalogist Hedley Herbert Finlayson wrote in 1931 :
Its speed for such an atom, was wonderful, and its endurance amazing … when we finally got it, it had taken the starch out of three mounts and run us 12 miles; all under such adverse conditions of heat and rough going, as to make it almost incredible that so small a frame should be capable of such an immense output of energy.
Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society, and President of the Australian Mammal Society.
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