The Fastest Diving Animal

How do you clock a speeding bird? You jump out of an airplane with it! In 1999, falconer Ken Franklin took his six-year-old falcon, Frightful, up in a Cessna to 17,000 feet. He attached a tiny skydiver’s microchip to her tail feathers.

When they leaped from the plane, Ken tossed out a fake prey target. Frightful instantly locked onto it, tucked her wings, and plummeted out of the sky like a feathered bullet before pulling up safely.

The computer chip recorded a mind-blowing speed of 389.46 km/h. While some scientists debate if wild falcons naturally dive from such extreme altitudes, the physics are undisputed: Frightful is the fastest living creature on Earth.

How Is That Even Possible?

To achieve this massive speed in a hunting dive—known as a "stoop"—peregrine falcons fold their wings tight against their bodies to create an aerodynamic shape just like a fighter jet. This perfectly streamlined posture allows them to slice through the air, letting gravity accelerate them to unbelievable terminal velocities.