Wildlife Olympics

14th February 2012

With the eagerly-anticipated London Olympics and Paralympics seemingly just around the corner, plenty of people seem to be guiltily dusting off the gym membership in a bid to feel a part of what is referred to by many as the greatest sporting event on Earth. But if the spirit of the games is celebrating physical achievement, then the animal kingdom has a whole world of sure-fire winners up their furry, feathered or even scaly sleeves. Our proposed animal 'Dream Team' seems to square up pretty well with their human competitors …

100 metre sprint
Usain Bolt: 9.58 seconds
Cheetah: 6.13 seconds

The tension mounts as the runners take their places, prowling across the plains to their starting positions. The grass snaps into life – a blur of rosettes and pawprints in the dust – the sprint of a hunting cheetah is not to be missed. Grab a glimpse of this beautiful predator on our Classic Kenya Safari .

50 metre pool record
Cesar Cielo Filho: 21.3 seconds
Dolphin: 10.35 seconds

Although the dolphin is swimming in the ocean, we still think they would thoroughly trounce us humans. Catch them on our new Wildlife Encounter: Azores: Whales and Dolphins – or if you fancy going further afield try spotting dolphins in between the Whales and Leopards of Sri Lanka – you won’t have to look very hard.

Diving pool record
Tom Daley: 10 metres
Penguin: 10 metres

This is a dead heat! One to watch for nail-biting photo finishes – try one of our Antarctica photographic departures, the pioneering South Georgia Spectacular. A whole week spent exclusively amongst the vast penguin rookeries, framed by direct flights in and out of the Falklands.

Men’s 400 metre relay record
Jamaican team 2008: 37.10 seconds

The underdogs: Timber (or Grey) wolves have a top speed of over 40 mph – but it is their teamwork which makes them the obvious choice for this category. In small packs of about six, these superb hunters could surely outfox the human runners with only two legs. If these elusive predators are on your wishlist, our Yellowstone Wildlife Trek is the way to go – three vast national parks in fourteen days with the wolf's howl as your alarm clock.

Artistic Gymnastics
Nadia Comaneci: scored the first ‘Perfect 10’ in Olympic history – at just 14 years old

The challengers: Orang-utans are just as graceful as any gymnast. Nadia was the sweet girl who stole the world’s heart at the 1976 Olympics, but we reckon these gentle giants, with their long dexterous fingers and supple strong arms could be set to do the same. Catch a glimpse of their deep chocolate brown eyes blinking out of the rainforest on the Borneo Wildlife Discoverer or Primates & Dragons of Indonesia.