Introduction Athletes compete in many different ways Some are strong Others are super-fast Still more are great at jumping swimming or boxing Others are great at hitting a target Just like people many animals are athletes too But while people usually compete to win a game or just have fun animal athletes have a different goal Many animals use their athletic skills to survive An animal that is a fast runner or a strong fighter has a better chance of staying alive Strong fast animals can catch prey Other animals use their speed or skill to stay away from predators and escape death We’ve put together a list of the Top Ten Animal Athletes Take a look and see why these animals are the fastest strongest and most athletic creatures on Planet Earth 4
And the Winners Are Here are our choices for the Top 10 Animal Athletes Turn the pages to find out more about each of these Olympic-worthy creatures 10 The Chameleon 9 The Spinner Dolphin 8 The Desert Locust 7 The Pronghorn Antelope 6 The Gannet 5 The Jaguar 4 The Kangaroo 3 The Horned Dung Beetle 2 The Froghopper 1 The Cheetah 8 2 9 5
10 The Chameleon Some people are sharpshooters They try to hit a target with an arrow or a gun The chameleon may be the best sharpshooter of the animal world And this creature’s weapon is its tongue Chameleons are lizards with some very interesting body parts One of the most interesting is the animal’s tongue A chameleon is one to two feet 30 60 cm long but its tongue is about twice that long The chameleon keeps its tongue curled up in the back of its mouth But when an insect flies past zap The chameleon uncurls its tongue and shoots it out of its mouth at lightning speed 6
power words The chameleon’s sticky tongue grabs an insect and yanks it back for a tasty snack Chameleon is a word with Greek and Latin roots meaning ground lion Some thought the lizard’s neck flap looked like a lion’s mane 7
