how fastis a turtle

Most turtles move at about walking speed, but the fastest species can be surprisingly quick in short bursts.

Quick Scoop: How fast is a turtle?

• On land, many common turtles plod along at roughly 0.5–1 mph (about 0.8–1.6 km/h), similar to a slow human walk.

• Some of the quicker land turtles, like softshell turtles, can sprint up to around 3–4 mph (5–6.5 km/h) for short distances.

• In water, aquatic and sea turtles are much faster, often cruising around 1–6 mph (1.6–9.6 km/h).

• The leatherback sea turtle is the speed champion in water, reaching brief burst speeds of about 22 mph (35 km/h) when fleeing danger.

So: a “typical” turtle is slow on land but can move like a steady jogger in the water, and the fastest sea turtles can outsprint many fish when they really need to.

In everyday terms: think “slow stroller” on land, “casual cyclist” in the water, and a leatherback doing a short underwater sprint when it’s scared.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.