The World's Fastest Dog Vs. The World's Fastest Cat [Video] The cheetah the world's fastest land animal can race up to 75 mph for short bursts. The greyhound is the fastest canid and the second-fastest land animal with a peak speed of about 43 mph. Cool facts! Now let's watch them run in super slow motion.
Note that while cheetahs and greyhounds are very very different animals they've independently evolved to have very similar running styles. Both animals use what's called a rotary gallop in which the leg hitting the ground moves in a circle: front left leg then front right then hind right then hind left. This is the natural running style of dogs cats and some ungulates like deer and elk but different than that of horses (which are built for endurance rather than sprinting speed). They also have a similar two-phase gait: in the first the body is elongated parallel to the ground with both pairs of legs extended also parallel to the ground. The spine is stretched out and the animal in slow motion looks like it's flying. Then there's the compression phase in which the front and hind legs actually overlap underneath the animal and the spine is crunched up getting ready to pound the ground and push forward. It's a pretty amazing video of some pretty amazing animals.[via Digg]Note that while cheetahs and greyhounds are very very different animals they've independently evolved ... to clarify ... are greyhounds a naturally selected evolved species or are they selectively bred breed of dog?I thought the second fastest land animal was the pronghorn antelopeThe pronghorn is the second fastest land animal and the African wild dog is the fastest canid. Unless you are referring to rate of acceleration...To be pedantic its not even the 3rd fastest land animal.  After the Pronghorn Antelope the Blue Wildebeest Lion Springbok Grant's Gazelle Tohomson's Gazelle and even the Quarter Horse have all been clocked faster than 43 mph...I am under the impression that the Saluki is actually as fast or faster than a Greyhound.  A Greyhound is a sprinter - good for short distances.  A Saluki is used to hunt Gazelle and is good for distance.  I believe they are the most ancient dog breed and not manmade - as is the Greyhound.  They also have a spine like a Cheetah.It would be MOST interesting to time a Saluki for distance and running style compared to a Cheetah.  I think the results would be much more impressive.  Would anyone be up to prove a point and see if this is true or not?  Just curious!I can tell you the dog looks a lot scarier when he's chasing you.The dog appears much better armed when it actually gets there.I didn't get to hear the audio but did they address why the greyhound bobs his head? Almost looks like he's swinging it like a weight to propel himself faster. The cheetah doesn't do that.The Greyhound is the fastest sprinter but the Saluki wins over a longer course. Afghans Salukis and Borzois were used to hunt tigers.  They hunted as male female pairs.  The female moved in and as the tiger lunged exposing its jugular the male attacked.