Fast as a Housefly

Cheetah ~ Petrified Wood

Cheetahs... the fastest animal on land! At top speeds of 70 miles per hour, cheetahs put our Olympic track stars to shame. However, there are a few surprising competitors in the race for fastest animal on the planet. The cheetah holds the record for the fastest land animal hands down but when we leave the land for the sky we also leave the cheetah in the dust.

One of our competitors in this race is the housefly. The housefly beats the cheetah with top speeds of 90 miles per hour! Yet there are still faster fliers out there.

Like the cheetah the peregrine falcon is built for speed. The peregrine falcon's nostrils are adapted to break up high speed air turbulence. Jet engines have a similar design. Characteristics like this allow them to hold the record for fastest animal on the planet. Peregrine falcons clock in with speeds over 240 miles per hour!

Peregrine falcons, houseflies, and cheetahs may be fast but if cheetahs are going to make it in the race against survival they are going to need something more than speed. These fantastic felines are one of the primary targets for poaching. I don't want to see cheetahs loose the race. Which is why I am proud to announce that on January 12 I will be leaving for Africa to work with the Cheetah Conservation Fund. I will be interning at the cheetah field station and I can't wait to get started!

Cheetah Family

The paintings above are part of my WCN 2018 Fall collection. This collection is featured in the first release of my calendar. You can purchase a calendar on my Shop Painiting page. Whether you buy a calendar or not, please help me tell the world about protecting our endangered species.