The more that I swim, the more curiosity I grow about the subject. For instance, if humans have to be taught to swim, how is it that so many animals also know how to swim (when we are supposed to be smarter on the evolutionary chain)?
I guess it comes down to nature or something. But still, I can’t help but be blown away with these creatures. Some of them are so remarkably fast! In this blog, I wanted to feature some of the fastest swimming creatures in the world.
Orca
On average, mammals are not as fast of swimmers as fish. I guess that’s probably to be expected…
But if you had to name the fastest swimming mammal, it might actually be a tie. Most people say that it’s the orca, which can swim over 55 mph.
However, the Dall’s porpoise (North Pacific Ocean) has been timed at 55 mph too.
The Orca is known by many names: orca whale, killer whale, grampus, blackfish, etc. But many of these names are pretty misleading. The orca, surprisingly, actually belongs to the oceanic dolphin family.
Sailfish
Sailfish have a rep for being the fastest swimming fish. They will often swim up to 70 mph.
Some people researched this fish in Long Key, Florida. They tested how far it could travel in just three seconds and were amazed at the results.
The sailfish swam and leapt 91 meters in 3 seconds, equivalent to a speed of 109 km/h. This is amazingly fast! It’s slightly less cool that part of the recorded time was actually measuring a leap in the air. It technically wasn’t measuring strictly swim speed.
But still, this fish knows how to travel fast in the water. For all practical purposes, this still counts.
Gentoo Penguin
How about birds? Some of them swim too. Though not many… Would it surprise you to know that the fastest swimming bird is the same speed as the fastest sea turtle (leatherback)?
The fastest swimming bird prize goes to the Gentoo penguin, clocking in at about 22 mph.
How Can You Swim Faster?
Using the Underwater Audio Waterproof iPod Shuffle can help you achieve your own personal best swim times. Then, maybe, you might be able to keep up with some of these extraordinary animals.
If you have any comments or questions about the Underwater Audio iPod Shuffle, or anything else, feel free to comment in the section below.
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