Animal Olympics Mrs. Tweedie Read Aloud Hottest, Coldest 2009

Animal Olympics Every four years, top athletes compete in the Summer Olympics. But guess what? In all sorts of sports, animals are the real winners!

Speedy Swimmers A sailfish is the fastest creature in the seas over distances. It can reach speeds up to 68 miles per hour-as fast as cars whizzing along some highways. In fact, a sailfish makes human swimmers look pathetic. The fastest Olympic swimmers plug along at only about 5 miles an hour.

Speedy Swimmers How does the sailfish do it? It has a streamlined shape, like a torpedo. It tucks its long “sail” into a slot in its back. And, with just a few flicks of its stiff, sickle-shaped tail, the fish propels itself speedily through the water.

High Divers What bird dives from the greatest height into water? Several share the honors, including gannets and brown pelicans. From 50 feet or more over the water, these birds plunge headfirst to catch fish. gannetbrown pelican

High Divers They have especially strong skulls and air sacs, which work like air bags, in their breasts. So the birds aren’t hurt when they hit the water. gannet brown pelican

High Divers How do humans compare with these champs? Olympic high- divers drop from a measly 33 feet above the water.

Marathon Records A gray whale would win the prize for distance swimming. These fantastic animals swim an amazing 10,000 or more miles a year. They migrate from their breeding grounds off Mexico to their feeding areas off Alaska and Siberia, and then back again.

Marathon Records In the air, the long-distance winner is the arctic tern. Many of these birds fly more than 20,000 miles a year. They migrate from the Arctic to Antarctica- and back-catching summertime in both places.

Weightlifting Wonders Human weightlifters can lift more than three times their body weight while standing in one spot.

Weightlifting Wonders But rhinoceros beetles can lift about 30 times their own weight and walk at a normal pace at the same time! A person with that kind of muscle-power could walk carrying a pickup truck!

Weightlifting Wonders But what about elephants? Surely, they’re very strong. An Asian elephant, using just its trunk, can lift more total weight than any other creature-a ton or more. But compared to its size, a ton isn’t that much- less than half the elephant’s weight.

Gymnastic Greats Lots of animals could be winners in this category! For example, tree squirrels are super acrobats. They can leap through the treetops or run along thin branches, using their tails to balance them.

Gymnastic Greats Then there are the gibbons, small apes in Southeast Asia. They swing by their long arms through the treetops-sometimes letting go and “flying” like a trapeze artist from one branch to another. In one free- form swop, a gibbon can travel nearly 10 feet.

Gymnastic Greats And don’t forget those super show-offs, the spinner dolphins. They leap high out of the water and can do four complete spins before flopping back down again. That deserves a gold medal, for sure!

Zoom, Zoom Cheetahs are super-star sprinters. They can dash as fast as 64 miles per hour over short distances. How? A cheetah has a super-bendable, spring-like spine. So, with each stride, the animal can gather its legs up tightly, then stretch them way out. This helps the animal zoom across the ground.

Zoom, Zoom For high speed over the long haul, the pronghorn wins! It can keep running at 35 miles an hour for many miles. And it can speed up to 50 miles an hour if it has to.

Zoom, Zoom The fastest humans can keep up a pace of about 13 miles an hour over many miles. And for short bursts, they can sprint as fast as 26 miles an hour.

Zoom, Zoom So, watch the Summer Olympics. But just don’t be too impressed. After all, most of these human competitors just can’t measure up to all the winners in the animal kingdom.