Inglés para niños: 10 amazing facts about the world's largest and fastest animals

Te invitamos a leer 10 datos asombrosos sobre los animales más grandes y rápidos del mundo en inglés: 10 amazing facts about the world's largest and fastest animals. Una lectura muy entretenida, de la mano de la revista para aprender inglés I Love English Junior. 

Los niños conocerán datos muy interesantes y divertidos. Además, aprenderán nuevo vocabulario y practicarán la lectura en inglés.

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Inglés para niños: 10 amazing facts about the world's largest and fastest animals

1. Among land animals, the cheetah is the fastest in the world, reaching 112 km/h in just three seconds! Their long legs, elongated spine and long muscular tail with a flat shape for balance and steering enable cheetahs to be adapted for speed. Sprinting at such a fast speed requires a lot of energy, so their chase is usually limited to 200-300 m. That is why cheetahs are considered sprinters, not long distance runners.

2. The Pronghorn antelope is the second fastest land animal, sprinting at 98 km/h. It can sustain high speeds longer than cheetahs. Another of the fastest antelope species in the world is the Blue wildebeest, which can run at about 80 km/h, almost matching the top speed of a lion or a gazelle, and not only when being chased.

3. 88 km/h is the top speed of the world's fastest horses. Quarter horses have reached this speed, the fastest recorded of any horse ever. This horse breed originated about the 1660s as a cross between native horses of Spanish origin used by the earliest colonists and English horses imported to the United States.

4. Kangaroos are the only large animals to use hopping as a means of locomotion. They can cover a distance of 9 metres in just one hop. Their strong legs and their long and muscular tail help them for such an incredible leap and proper balance. The hopping speed for a kangaroo is about 21-26 km/h, but speeds of up to 71 km/h can be attained over short distances.

5. Among the fastest land animals, although very small compared to cheetahs, antelopes, horses and kangaroos, we also find the Brown hare, which can reach speeds of up to 77 km/h, the same speed as their predator the red fox. Its long and powerful back legs enable them to be such good runners. Brown hares live aboveground and do not build burrows in the ground like most rabbits do.

6. Among birds, the Spur-Winged goose is the world's largest bird and can fly at 142 km/h. They are different to other geese because they have spurs on their wings. The Frigatebird reaches speeds of 153 km/h thanks to their long and pointed wings, which can span up to 2.3 metres. Frigatebirds spend most of the day in flight hunting for food. Golden Eagles are incredibly fast when diving to catch prey, reaching almost 321 km/h!

7. Finally we have to mention the Peregrine falcon, which is considered the fastest animal on the planet when diving steeply, reaching speeds of over 322 km/h. Horizontally, it can fly at 90 km/h. Their wings are long, pointed and dark blue. They also have excellent vision, eight times better than humans. Peregrine falcons are usually solitary and may travel widely. In fact, their name Peregrine means "Pilgrim": someone who travels to foreign lands.

8. Among aquatic animals, we find the Blue marlin and the Sailfish as the largest and fastest fish in the world. The main characteristic of the sailfish species is their dorsal fin known as a sail, which often stretches the entire length of the back. Sailfish can speed through the water at 110 km/h!

9. Blue marlinsspend most of their life alone, in the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They can swim long distances for hundreds and even thousands of miles, reaching speeds of about 80 km/h. They are called Blue marlins because of their cobalt blue and slivery white bodies.

10. Just as a reminder, Usain Bolt's top speed is only 45 km/h! As you can see, animal kingdom breaks by far this record. Some animal species are even faster than many supercars!

Now it is your turn to do a little bit of research: What speed can ostriches reach? (En el siguiente número, la respuesta a esta pregunta: Ostriches are the fastest-running birds, reaching speeds of up to 70 km/h).

Gema Marcos (redactora revista I Love English Junior)