With the Olympics starting on 26 July in Paris, images of human athletes pushing themselves to the boundaries of physical performance come to mind. But let’s take a look at the animal kingdom and some of the many species which show an extraordinary talent.
Our Wild Olympians
Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus) © Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Discover some of the incredible physical performances in our natural world...
Dung beetle (c) Shutterstock
Weightlifting
The Dung Beetle’s super strength is far superior to a human. Despite its relatively small size this outstanding athlete can lift and transport objects over 1,000 times its body weight. It uses its strength to roll large balls of dung, which serve as food sources and breeding chambers.
Arctic Tern (c) Janet Packham
Marathon
The Artic Tern undertakes the longest migration of any animal, travelling from its breeding grounds in the Artic to the Antarctic and back each year, making a round trip of up to 44,000 miles!
Brown Hare c Jamie Hall
100m Sprint
There are lots of contenders for this fast and furious event in the animal kingdom, with many capable of an incredible burst of speed. But, in our mind, the top spot on the podium goes to the Brown Hare. This animal’s powerful back legs can push it up to speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour when it needs to escape a predator – that’s about 35 kilometres per hour faster than the men’s world record-holder, Usain Bolt!
Stag Beetles © Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Wrestling
Animals often end up in a fight over food, territory or potential mates. Some bite, scratch or kick, but others come together in wrestling matches, grappling and shoving to see who is stronger. Our king of the ring is the Stag Beetle. Males use their large jaws to wrestle with each other when looking for a mate.
Diving
This is another tough field, with lots of contenders but when it comes to the points for style, it’s the Kingfisher who takes the top spot, streaking into the water in a flash of blue.
Common Froghopper (c) Ian Carle
High Jump
The Common Froghopper might be tiny but it steals the show for being nature’s most powerful jumper. It’s able to jump over 70cm in the air which is the equivalent to a human being able to jump over a tower block!
These animal athletes show us that the natural world is full of extraordinary performances happening every day. Discover more about how our wildlife performs and some of the amazing feats it is capable of by checking out our Wildlife Explorer pages here.