Everyone knows that the Cheetah is the fastest mammalian predator, at least over a short distance. What species would come in second place?
Lions can hit 40-50 mph over short distances, according to Wikipedia.
According to multiple Google results it’s the pronghorn antelope.
eta: which can reach 57mph
Since when is the antelope considered a predator? 
Since I was a shrub :smack:
I’d be tempted to say humans. We may not be fastest in a dead sprint, but over a distance there are not many animals, mammal or not, which can outrun us.
Plus, we’re the only species that has mastered the use of motor vehicles.
The OP did not specify running so I feel obliged to point out that in the long run, there’s a whole bunch of birds that easily outstrip us puny humans when it comes to endurance.
Link. I’d like to see the human who can cross 240 km. every day for 3 months straight, on foot.
Didn’t know they reclassified birds as mammals
:smack:
Well, they didn’t, and the OP did ask for faster mammal (mammalian predator, to be exact, which I think would disqualify humans), but SmashTheState writes that
So between what the OP did not specify (running) and what SmashTheState leaves open (mammal or not), I do feel that my little comment adds something 
Referring to the OP’s question re. “fastest”, do you know what “fastest” actually means?
Anyway, what about bats in flight?
Humans are mammals. Are you claiming they’re not predators?
Humans are the top of the food chain - coup de gras predator.
Excluding humans I’d say the fasted mammalian predator would be of the feline variety…
Elvis FTW!
Of course, if you count motor vehicles, that technically makes the Cheetah the 2nd fastest. Though, I did see a bear on a motorcycle once. I wonder if that counts?
However, I suspect that the answer the OP is indeed looking for is the Lion. At least if THIS SITE can be trusted.
I’m quite aware what “fastest” means. Which is why I didn’t write what you so disingenuously quoted by selectively bobbiting the comment. You quoted me saying “We may not be fastest,” when what I said was, “We may not be fastest in a dead sprint, but over a distance there are not many animals, mammal or not, which can outrun us.” You DID follow the link to the article (and video) on persistence hunting, right?
Almost certainly it will be some wild canid. The African Wild Dog would be a good candidate, with an average hunting speed given as 50 kph/30 mph. Some sites give the speed of the Gray Wolf as 30-35 mph as well.
The Cheetah is the only cat adapted for high speed running. Many canids are also adapted for cursorial hunting (pursuit by running), but are generally endurance runners rather than sprinters like the Cheetah. Hyenas are also runners, but I doubt any would exceed a canid. Other carnivores (bears, raccoons, civets, skunks, badgers, etc) are not generally built for speed.
There’s a huge difference between running and gliding. I don’t think the two can be compared. A cheetah can run about 40 mph while an Indian swift can fly about 120 mph. It’s obvious that flight requires considerably less strength and muscle than running.
Well, not in the same way a lion or a cheetah is, or a shark, for that matter. Right? I’m about as close to being a biologist as North-Korea is to being a prosperous liberal democracy, so I’m kind of out of my depth here
I think what you’re looking for is a coup de grace (of grace), not de gras (of fat). But I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong before.
How fast does a killer whale swim?
[Moderator note]
Both these comments are unnecessarily snarky for GQ. Let’s not squabble, and get back to answering the OP.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator