Question

Fastest land animal is
a. Cheetah
b. Lion
c. Tiger
d. Panther

Answer 1

Hint: There are different types of animals found in the earth with several different types of characteristics. Speed is one of the most important characteristics of the animals which is required either for locomotion or as a process that helps different other processes such as catching a prey, migration etc. The speed of the different animals varies greatly depending on several biological characteristics of the organism. The speed of animals in the wild is far more.

Complete answer:
In the list of the fastest land animals, the cheetah bears the top position. It is the recorded fastest speed among land animals. The cheetahs are able to sprint at top speed for around one minute only. Cheetahs belong to the family Felidae and it bears several adaptations which enables them to attain such speed. The various adaptations for speed are light build body, long thin legs and presence of a long tail. The speed helps the cheetah to chase down its prey and it is predominantly found in the Savannahs, Sahara mountains and the desert terrain in Iran.

The lion is a muscular, heavy bodied, round headed animal with a tuft of hair on its tail. The lions are not very fast runners. They are important predators of the food chain.

Tiger is recognised due to the presence of stripes on the body and is considered as an apex predator. In the case of a tiger, it can reach the speed only in small bursts and while praying must be very close to their prey.. The speed of a panther can reach up but for only short periods. Their spines are curved enough which enables them to speed up their run but the speed is not maintained for a longer duration.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Additional information:
There exist different types of animals ranging from a simple unicellular organism to complex multicellular. Locomotion or movement is an important feature in the animals particularly the land animals. They move to execute their various purposes including catching prey, escaping from different situations and migration. There are different types of methods used to make the rank according to their speed. The speed is measured and is compared to the body length of the animals.

Note: There are different types of animals present at a different speed. The speed of the animals depends on their body weight. According to the rank of speed, the cheetah has the fastest speed. Several adaptations such as curvature of the body, strong legs, and a supporting tail helps the cheetah to attain and maintain its running speed. These factors make the cheetah the fastest land animals.