The rarest animals in the world. The largest animal in the world. The heaviest land animal in the world: African elephant

Everyone has heard about dinosaurs, mammoths, pterodactyls and other prehistoric animals, whose size still continues to amaze the imagination of people around the world. Today the world cannot boast of these animals, but even now you can find many interesting and incredible things. We present the ranking of the world's largest animals.

Our world is full of creatures big and small, short and tall. The blue whale is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder baleen whales. At 30 meters long and weighing 180 metric tons or more, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed. The Blue Whale's tongue weighs about 7 metric tons, the size of an average Asian elephant, and its heart weighs about 600 kg and is the largest known in any animal. Not only is the heart similar in size to a mini coupe, but it is also comparable in weight.

The Blue Whale is thought to feed almost exclusively on small shrimp-like creatures called Krill. During summer season feeding The Blue Whale takes flight, consuming an astonishing 6 metric tons or more each day. The whale has a fascinating series of plates lined with bristles to help it filter its main food source, plankton, from the water. At the end of each plate there are what appear to be whisker-like long bristles to help retain minute prey. After removing the water from its mouth, the whale licks these bristles with its fleshy tongue.

1 place - Blue whale The undisputed leader in all ratings continues to be the Blue Whale, whose dimensions leave one speechless. Even the largest prehistoric animals are no rival for him. Its length sometimes reaches 30 meters, and its weight is 180 tons. Given its weight, the mammal can accelerate to a speed of 35 km/h.


Although the blue whale is a deep sea hunter, as a mammal it must come to the surface of the sea to breathe. Blue whales sometimes swim in small groups, but usually swim alone or in pairs. They are believed to form close bonds. The African Bush elephant is the largest living land animal, with males reaching 6-5 meters in length, 3 meters high at the shoulder and weighing 6 tons. The mature African bush usually has no natural predators due to its large size, but calves are vulnerable to attacks by lions and crocodiles, as well as attacks by leopard and hyena.

2nd place - Sperm whale Today, only one species of sperm whale is known to the world. They can reach 20 meters in length and weigh about 50 tons. Female sperm whales are significantly smaller than males. Despite its threatening appearance, the animal has practically no enemies in the depths of the ocean. The only exception is killer whales, which often attack females and offspring.

The elephant's brain is the largest of all land mammals, weighing over 5 kg. It is similar in structure to the human brain. Like humans, elephants must learn important behaviors as they grow. The African Booster Elephant Has Amazing Memories. The matriarch and other older women remember important information, such as the location of water bodies that allow elephants to survive long dry periods on the plains.

The Largest Bats in the World: The Giant Flying Golden-crowned Fox

They communicate with everyone through touch, sound and smell. They use a wide range of sounds to talk to each other and even communicate at the infrasound level. The African Bush Elephant is able to recognize itself using mirrors. Self-awareness indicates a very high level awareness. So far, only cetaceans, magpies, humans and other primates have been found to recognize themselves in mirrors. There is substantial evidence that elephants mourn consensus. They even recognize the skulls of other elephants long after they have died, and even after their tusks have been removed.


3rd place - African elephant At the same time the most dangerous and largest land creature on the planet. It can reach 3.5 meters in height, while weighing about 12 tons. The large mass does not allow the elephant to sleep in a lying position, so you can often find the animal dozing while standing. Despite its enormous weight and dimensions, it can easily overtake a person.

Elephants carefully touch the skulls and tusks of dead people with their chests and feet. Giraffes are the tallest mammal in the world. Their long legs and neck help them eat leaves at the top tall trees that other animals cannot reach. They have long tongues and no teeth on the front of the upper jaw, which helps them tear leaves from branches. Male giraffes use their necks to fight, swinging them from side to side to pounce on their opponent.

The largest amphibian in the world: the Chinese giant salamander

Giraffes' long legs and necks make them the tallest of all mammals; about six feet, only the legs are taller than people. They have a distinct spotted coat, with no two giraffes having the exact same pattern. This means that giraffes can be individually identified from their coats, which is often used when studying wild giraffe populations. Giraffes live in the open plains, grasslands and savannas of Africa. They are most common in South and East Africa, but some smaller, more isolated populations live in western and central Africa.


4th place – Indian elephant The Indian elephant is slightly smaller in size than its African relative. They live mainly in forests, easily crossing dense thickets and viscous swampy terrain. Animals can reach a height of 3.5 and a weight of 5.5 tons.

The largest living predators are polar bear and the Kojak bear, a subspecies of brown bear. Since they have similar body sizes, it is unclear which is definitively larger. Bears are incredibly smart animals. They have far superior navigation skills to humans; great memories; big ratio between brain and body; and use tools in a variety of contexts from play to hunting.

Savannah or African elephant

Bears deeply upset others. Cubs are known to moan and cry when separated from their mothers. This can last for several weeks if their mothers are killed by hunters. Bears have excellent senses of smell, sight and hearing. They can smell food, young, mate or predators from miles away. Their excellent vision allows them to detect when fruits are ripe. Some species of Asian bears build nests in trees. They can use them for hiding, eating and even sleeping. Bears care deeply about family members.


5th place – Sea Elephant

According to official data, the elephant seal is by far the largest pinniped in the world. They can grow up to 6 meters and at the same time have a mass of 6 tons. They spend almost their entire lives in the ocean and rarely come to land, mainly to reproduce.

They will risk their lives and even fight to the death to save a cub or sibling from danger. Bears were frequently noted in the cultures of many early civilizations. They were seen as a symbol of strength, power and love. The Vikings and Celts have many legends about the strength, security and valor of bears. The bear is a common national personification for Russia and Germany. The brown bear is the national animal of Finland.

The saltwater crocodile is the largest of all living reptiles. It is found in suitable habitats from Northern Australia through Southeast Asia on East Coast India. The saltwater crocodile is an opportunistic apex predator, capable of taking almost any animal that comes into its territory, either in the water or on land. The name saltwater crocodile water is misleading. They can live in brackish waters along coastline, as well as in freshwater rivers and swamps.


6th place – Hippopotamus

One of the most dangerous African inhabitants for humans is among the ten largest animals on the planet. An adult hippopotamus can reach 1.6 meters and weigh from three tons. It lives mainly in water, where during the day it hides from the annoying sun. Only in the evening does it come out onto land in search of food.

The heaviest land animal in the world: African elephant

Saltwater crocodiles raise their young in freshwater areas. The locations of Australian crocodile nests are sometimes used as an indicator of how much rain can be expected in the upcoming wet season. Unfortunately, crocodiles don't always get this right. Many nests are flooded every year, killing the embryos. The eggs take 90 days to hatch. The sex of young saltwater crocodiles is determined by incubation temperature. When saltwater crocodiles about to hatch, they make chirping noises from their eggs.


7th place – White rhinoceros

Despite the fact that the rhinoceros is a herbivore, its appearance continues to inspire fear in many. It can grow up to 2 meters in height and weigh 3 tons. There are individuals that significantly exceed the figures given.

The largest rodent in the world: Capybara, or guinea pig

Their mother helps them by digging them out of the nest. As soon as they hatch, she takes them to the edge of the water in her mouth and from there she watches over them until they can look after themselves. The runaway ostrich is the largest bird in the world. Ostriches have three stomachs. Unlike all other living birds, the ostrich excretes urine separately from feces. Ostrich exercise is aided by having only two toes on each foot, with a large nail on the big inner toe resembling a hoof.

Ostriches' wings have a span of about 2 meters and are used in mating displays, chick shades to cover the exposed skin of their upper legs and sides to retain heat, and as "rudders" to help them change direction while running. When threatened, although ostriches are powerful, their long legs can be formidable weapons, capable of killing a person or potential predator, like a lion with a forward strike.


8th place – Walrus

One of the few “fossil” animals that inhabit our planet to this day. The remains of fossilized walruses were found in the United States and dated to approximately 28 thousand years ago. The animal is truly striking in its appearance and size: an adult grows up to 2 meters in height and weighs about 2 tons.

The largest animals in the world

Ostriches usually spend the winter months in pairs or alone, and during the breeding season and sometimes during extreme periods of no rainfall, they live in nomadic "herds" of five to 50 birds, led by an apex hen, who often travel with others grazing animals such as zebras or antelopes. Territorial fights between males for a harem of two to seven females usually last only a few minutes, but they can easily result in death by slamming heads into opponents.

Ostriches perform a complex mating ritual consisting of alternating wings until they attract a mate as they head into the mating area and he drives away any intruders. They graze until their behavior is synchronized, then feeding becomes secondary and the process takes on a ritualistic appearance. Then the rooster will excitedly again cover his alternating wings and begin to shake his count on the ground. It will then flap its wings sharply to symbolically clean out the nest in the dirt.


9th place – Black rhinoceros

The black rhinoceros, unlike the white one, weighs significantly less. And he usually doesn’t reach the size of his “brother.” Thus, the average height of an adult black rhinoceros is 1.6 meters and weight is 2 tons. It has no enemies in nature, and therefore becomes a very easy prey for hunters.

Then, as the chicken circles around him with her wings down, he will spin him around in a spiral. She will fall to the ground and he will begin to mate. The southern elephant seal is the largest carnivore living today. This size of seals shows extreme sexual dimorphism, perhaps the greatest of any mammal, with males typically five to six times heavier than females.

Its members are officially called Carnivorans, and the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating organism. Carnivorans are the most diverse in size of any order of mammals, from the smallest weasel at just 25 grams and 11 centimeters to polar bear and the southern elephant seal. In the cool darkness 2 kilometers below the surface of the Southern Ocean, one of nature's greatest battles is being fought. One of the combatants is the kraken - the largest invertebrate known to exist, a colossal squid more than 12 meters long.


10th place – Saltwater crocodile

It is surprising that the largest reptile in the world is specially raised by humans on crocodile farms for industrial purposes. It's all about the unique leather, which is actively used in light industry. An adult can grow up to 7 meters in length and weigh one and a half tons.

Spermaceti also softens the heads of whales, especially in men, who have much more than in women. This allows men to fight to hurt each other. However, there is no evidence that they take prey. Males have their own method of hunting. A study earlier this year found that females hunt in packs, grazing fat squid in "bait balls" like dolphins with fish. Young men live in "bachelor" pods and so can do the same, but as they get older they become lonely.

Modern animals are in no way inferior to prehistoric dinosaurs and mammoths. And the main task for humans today is the need to protect each of the above species so that they do not suffer the fate of their fossil ancestors.

Instructions

The extinct dinosaur Amphicelia is described from a fragment of one single dilapidated vertebra, so its size and the very existence of this dinosaur are in doubt. According to calculations, its length ranged from 40 to 62 meters, and its weight was up to 155 tons. Scientific classification: kingdom - animals, phylum - chordates, class - reptiles, order - lizards, infraorder - sauropods, family - diplopoids, genus - amphicoelias.

Blue whale is a modern marine animal whose length reaches 33 meters and its weight can exceed 150 tons. Scientific classification: domain - eukaryotes, kingdom - animals, phylum - chordates, class - mammals, order - cetaceans, family - minke whales, genus - minke whales, species - blue whale. It feeds on plankton, filtered through the lamellar whalebone: the basis of nutrition is krill, less often larger crustaceans, small fish and cephalopods. There are four subspecies of the blue whale - northern, southern, dwarf and Indian. They differ slightly in size and range of habitat. The blue whale is found throughout the world's oceans. Whales rarely gather in small groups; single individuals are more common. By 1960, thanks to whaling, the blue whale was on the verge of extinction. Today, their total number does not exceed 10,000 individuals. In blue whales, females are much larger than males; there is an opinion that whales (puking whales) were previously larger than modern individuals. Their vision and sense of smell are poor. Hearing and touch are well developed. The weight of the tongue is 4 tons, and the size of the pharynx is only 10 cm in diameter. Lung volume exceeds 3 thousand liters. Large individuals have a blood volume of over 8 thousand liters. The blue whale's heart is the largest in the entire animal kingdom and its weight is about one ton, and its pulse is 5 - 10 beats per minute. Females give birth once every 2 years, and pregnancy lasts 11 months. However, population growth cannot compensate for its decline. A born baby weighs about 2-3 tons and reaches 6-8 meters in length. The cub feeds on mother's milk for 7 months and grows up to 16 meters during this period. Whales reach physical maturity at 15 years of age and live up to 80–90 years.





When answering the question about the largest animal in the world, many will think of such a giant as an elephant, but this giant, in fact, takes only an honorable second place, significantly inferior in mass and size marine mammal- blue (blue) whale.



The blue whale is the largest animal on the planet

The blue whale is truly a huge creature. He is the largest not only of those living today, but also of all those who have ever lived on our planet. For example, it is twice as heavy as Brachiosaurus, the largest dinosaur that lived on planet Earth. If we compare the blue whale and the African elephant, the first is 5-6 times heavier.

The dimensions and weight of the blue whale are truly amazing: its length can reach 30 meters (which approximately corresponds to the height of a 10-story building), but such specimens are considered especially large, the average whale has a length of 22-25 m. The weight of an adult individual is up to 125-150 , or even 180 tons! The tongue of a mammal alone has a mass of 2.5 to 4 (in large individuals) tons. The weight of a blue whale's heart can reach up to a ton (this, however, is 2-3 times less than that of toothed whales), and the volume of its lungs reaches 3 thousand liters.

The blue whale is a fairly slender animal. The length of its body significantly dominates its width. About a quarter of the body length is in the head.

Blue whales live almost throughout the world's oceans, with the northern and southern subspecies more often found in cold waters, and the dwarf whale (a very conventional name, it is not much inferior in size and weight to its counterparts) in warmer waters.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the number blue whales numbered, according to various sources, about 200-300 thousand; subsequently, due to the massive extermination of the animal, it decreased many times. In the 60s of the 20th century, hunting for this species was completely prohibited. Now, again, there is no consensus regarding the number of blue whales living in the world's oceans. According to various sources, there are from 1.5 to 15 thousand.

The largest on land

The largest land animal is the African savannah elephant. The male can reach 3.5 m in length (the female is slightly smaller) with a weight of up to 6 tons and a height of about 3.5 m. The size of the animal’s tusks can reach 2.5 m, weight 45 kg. Elephant molars also have considerable weight - about 5 kg each. The African elephant is significantly larger in size and weight than its Indian (Asian) counterpart.

But the tallest creature on Earth is rightfully considered the giraffe. An adult can grow up to 5 meters or more, with the longest part of the body of this artiodactyl mammal being the neck (its length can reach 2 m). The weight of the animal ranges from 600 kg to 2 tons. Females are shorter and weigh less than males. The giraffe's stride length is 6-8 m.

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