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Most of us know that the blue whale is the heaviest animal in the marine world while the elephant is the heaviest animal on land. But have you ever thought about what the second or third heaviest animal in the world is or even what is the heaviest bird? In this article, we look at the heaviest animals in categories.
A heavy animal is generally very large, but some big animals aren’t as heavy as thought. The ostrich for instance can grow to about 7 feet tall and weighs between 198 and 286 pounds( lbs). An adult male dromedary which is the same height as an ostrich weighs about 1320 pounds. So animal weight involves not just size but also its body structure.
The weight of animals can be determined not just by the density of their bones but also by how much fat they carry. Here are some of the heaviest animals on the planet.
1. Polar bear
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) with its prey, Photo by Andreas Weith-Wikimedia
Bears are carnivorous mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms or doglike carnivores. Although only eight species of bear are extant they are widespread appearing in a wide variety of habitats. You can find them through the northern hemisphere and partially in the southern hemispheres.
These huge and beautiful bears have evolved over the years in the frozen north. It has double-coated fur including the guard hairs that are transparent but usually appear snow white to human eyes. Underneath all that fur is black skin and beneath the skin is 4 inches of fat that keeps them warm.
It has very large furry feet to spread its weight out over thin ice and to help it swim. The teeth are strong and sharp, ideal for catching and eating seals. A big male polar bear can weigh about 1760 pounds though the biggest bear is known to weigh over a ton and stand 11 feet tall. The only bear that can come close to that is the Kodiak bear.
On Kodiak Island, Kodiak bears are in most cases isolated from the rest of their family. A mean male Alaskan brown bear has a height of ten feet upon standing and weighs between 1500 to 1800 lbs. Female Kodiak bears are twenty to thirty percent smaller than their male counterparts.
2. Bovini
The Bovidae comprise the biological family of clove-hoofed ruminate mammals that include cattle, buffalo, antelope, and goat antelopes. A member of this species is called a bovid. With 143 extant species and 300 known extant species, the family Bovidae consists of 11 major members.
These members of the Bovini tribes of the subfamily of Bovinae are the world’s largest cattle. The gaur is found in southern and Southeast Asia. It is the largest of these cattle and a big gaur bull sometimes weighs 1.65 tons. In America, the bison can be found and weighs1.4 tons, while the European bison, called the wisent, is a bit lighter at 1.1 tons.
3. Saltwater crocodile
Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). This is Maximo a 15’+ crocodile at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Image credit-Molly Ebersold-Wikimedia
Often found in tropical regions, crocodiles are large reptiles and one of the world’s heaviest creatures. A crocodilian reptile usually ranges from half a dozen to twenty-five feet in length and weighs as much as 2300 lbs. They are known for being able to survive without food for a month, using stored fat for energy.
Nile crocodiles get the most press for their predatory behavior, but saltwater crocodiles are the biggest. A Nile crocodile can weigh up to 1.45 tones. The water crocodile watches and eats anything it can get its teeth into.
4. Giraffe
The giraffe belongs to the family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that shares a common ancestor with deer and bovid. A family is a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa. Presently comprises only two extant genres the giraffe and okapi, both in sub-Sahara Africa.
Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world. They are found in large numbers in Africa. Their unique physiology makes them weigh about 2 tons. Their sturdy tall legs enable giraffes to grasp leaves from trees, and they can also run at speeds of fifty kilometers per hour.
5. Hippopotamus
Hippopotamuses are semi-aquatic mammals found in Africa. Two species are common, the river hippo and the pygmy hippo. The hippopotamus is an herbivorous animal with a barrel-shaped body. Although this may seem like a laid-back semi-aquatic life, it is one of the deadliest animals in the world.
Weighing almost 4.5 tons, it is no problem to tip over a boat in the water or crash into any annoying human. Set bone-crushing teeth should not be overlooked either.
6. Rhinoceros
Black rhinoceros at the Saint Louis Zoological Park in Missouri-Wikimedia
Rhinoceros or popular as rhino is a member of any of the five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family. Rhinoceratidea two of the existing species are native to Africa, and three are to South and Southeast Asia.
White rhinos are the second largest animal on earth. They measure up to four meters long and have a weight range between 3600 to7800 lbs. The two horns are the most attention-grabbing body element on a white rhinoceros. The black rhinos and java rhinos are a bit graceful at 2.9 tones and 2.3 tones.
7. Elephant
The African bush elephant is the largest living mammal on land. It grows up to 4.5 meters in height, six meters in length, and weighs up to 12 tons at its shoulder. This enormous animal is currently under threat from poaching.
Elephants live in herds and are led by matriarchs because they are a bit less hierarchical. Asian elephants can also be tamed and put to work unlike African elephants but both are endangered.
8. Whale sharks
The whale shark, as its name suggests, is not a whale but the world’s largest fish that weighs about 20 tons. The second largest is the basking shark. The fish can weigh as much as 18 tons. Both these sharks are huge but harmless to humans and eat plankton.
They do this by opening their mouth and swimming toward a group of plankton and invertebrates. They then use their gill rakers to strain them out of the water. The difference between a whale and a basket shark is that the whale can pump water through its gills. In contrast, the basket shark has to swim forward for water to wash through the gills.
9. Elephant seal
A big male elephant seal can weigh 4 tons and can be 20 feet long and bulls are about four times the size of a cow. During the mating season which lasts two months, they always bullfight on the beach. The victorious bull becomes the beach master.
10. Whales
Jumping Humpback whale, Photo by Zoran Kovacevic-Wikimedia
Whales wrap the list of the heaviest animals in the world. These beautiful mammals were once terrestrials but returned to the sea millions of years ago. The blue whales are the largest whales with 219 tons. Their linear units are up to thirty meters long. They can be found between the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans.
These are some of the world’s largest animals on land and in the ocean. There are other categories, such as birds. The ostrich is the perfect example of the group. It is the tallest and heaviest bird in the world with an average height of up to 2 meters and a massive weight of 130kg.
The Ostrich has a top speed of 69 km per hour, making it faster than plenty of other animals. Its long, powerful legs double up as a defensive weapon with powerful kicks that would keep predators at bay. There are so many more categories to look at so keep the research going.
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