Expert: Malcolm B. Sullivan Date: 3/9/2008 Subject: I have an interesting question
Question QUESTION: Hi,
Imagine if there is a 1000 metres race. The following animals will compete in the race
1,siberian tiger
2,african lion
3,snow leopard
4,leopard
5, cheetah
6,jaguar
7,cougar
Who do you think will win the race? and who will come last?
thanks
ANSWER: Hi, Karry
It is really an interesting question! However, 1000 metres might be too much for any of them! Cats run so fast and use so much energy that they get tired very quickly; few cats will chase prey over 100 meters! Even the ultimate running cat, the cheetah, would probably stop before reaching 400 meters.
And I believe the jaguar and the snow leopard would probably stop before all the others did.
So, this would be a very brief race in which all cats would run incredibly fast over a short distance, but I certainly doubt they would reach the 1000 meter mark.
Best regards
Malcolm
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi
Thanks for you previous reply.
What about a 400 metres race between the cats I've mentioned? can you please also tell, which cat will will come 1st, which will come 2nd,3rd,4rth,5th and so on......
thanks much.
Answer Hi, Karry
This is 80% wild speculation, but let's see: on a 400 meter race I would say the cheetah would soon outrun the other cats. It would thus be the first place; cougar would come second. The others are more difficult, for they rarely run more than 100 meters. I would tentatively say that the lion would be third closely followed by tiger, then leopard, then snow leopard and finally, jaguar. I might however be mistaken about the jaguar, for in reality no one has clocked one at top speed.
I hope this gives you an idea of the possible outcome
