The largest animals lived on our planet millions of years ago - these are various dinosaurs, giant birds, mammoths and other prehistoric animals. Their sheer size is staggering. Although today in the world there are many different animals that amaze with their shapes and sizes. Despite their huge size, they feel quite comfortable among us.
Blue whale
The biggest animal on Earth is the blue whale. Its size is impressive. This marine mammal reaches a length of 30 meters and can weigh over 180 tons. One of his tongue weighs about 2.7 tons - almost like a medium-sized Asian elephant. The mass of the heart of a blue whale is approximately 600 kilograms. It can rightfully be called the biggest heart in the world, and the whale is the biggest animal.
The lungs of a mammal have a colossal volume - three thousand liters, which allows you to stay at great depths for a long time without oxygen. Huge size does not prevent the whale from swimming fast. He developsspeed up to 35 km / h, and the fountain produced by it reaches a height of ten meters.
Sperm Whale
The largest animal from the suborder of toothed whales is the sperm whale or toothed whale, the only representative of the Physeteridae family. Male sperm whales weigh up to 50 tons, growing up to 20 meters in length. Females are less impressive in size, but even they are larger than elephants - 13 meters long, weighing 15 tons.
The head of an adult is huge - about 35% of the length of the entire body. There are sperm whales of larger sizes, but these are single individuals that are exceptions.
African Elephant
The largest animal living on land is the African elephant. This representative of modern giants is of two types - savannah and forest. Because of its size, the elephant ranks third among the largest animals.
With a height of up to 3.5 meters and a body length of about seven meters, the weight can reach 12 tons. Females are smaller than males, grow up to 2.7 meters, and in length - up to 7 meters. Such impressive dimensions do not prevent the elephant from moving at speeds up to 40 km/h.
Great size requires a lot of food. For a day, he can eat up to 300 kilograms of plant food.
African elephant sleeps standing up. This is a very intelligent animal, able to show compassion, to provide assistance. Despite this, he belongs to the dangerous animals of the Earth.
Indian (Asian) elephant
In the ranking of the largest animals on the planet, the Indian or Asian elephant takes its rightful place. It is the second largest landanimal. It reaches a height of 3 meters, a length of 5.5 meters, and weighs about 5 tons. Females are smaller than males.
Indian elephants are forest dwellers. They live in light subtropical and tropical forests. They easily move through swampy areas, through dense thickets. They live in groups led by an experienced old female.
Elephant Sea
The largest pinniped is the southern elephant seal. These heavyweights reach a mass of 5 tons, and grow up to six meters in length. They are waterfowl and can submerge underwater for long periods of time. Moreover, elephant seals are able to stay under water for up to two hours, diving to a depth of up to 1,300 meters.
Elephant seals spend their whole lives in the ocean, they rarely choose land, only during the breeding season.
Hippo
One of the biggest animals in the world is the hippopotamus or hippopotamus. This is a representative of mammals from the order of artiodactyls, a resident of Africa.
Hippos can grow up to 1.5 meters in height and up to 5 meters in length. Body weight - 3 tons or more. Throughout life, hippos grow, gain mass. These animals also grow teeth. By the end of their lives, they can reach 0.5 meters in length.
White Rhino
The second largest herbivore is the white rhinoceros. Adults reach a length of 4 meters and a height of 2 meters. The average weight of a giant is 3 tons, but there are individuals weighing 8 tons.
The white rhino is not white at all, but gray. Presumably, he began to be called white because of the distortion of the Boerword meaning "broad-faced".
Walrus
Walruses are one of the most ancient large animals inhabiting the Earth. They have existed since the Ice Age, as evidenced by 28,000-year-old fossils found in San Francisco Bay.
Now these giants grow up to three meters in length and weigh about two tons. They are valued for their fat, reaching a thickness of 15 cm. Walruses are well adapted to survive in the Arctic.
Black Rhino
The black rhinoceros got into the rating of large animals. It is somewhat smaller than the white counterpart. The mass of the animal does not exceed two tons, and the length is not more than three meters, although there are exceptions. Black rhinos have poor eyesight. They follow the same paths, making them easy prey for poachers.
Crocodile combed
Sea or combed crocodile is the largest predatory animal on the planet. The weight of an adult reaches one and a half tons, and the body length is 7 m. You can see this representative on the coast of Southeast Asia, India, near Northern Australia.
Reptile is prized for its skin. A variety of clothes, shoes, accessories are made from it. Because of this, the combed species of crocodiles is bred on special farms.
Polar bear
Looking at the photos of the largest animals, one wonders how these giants are carried by the earth. Large representatives of the fauna are found in the most remote cornersplanets, even in the polar regions, are polar bears. Their body length reaches three meters, and weight - up to a ton. Despite their huge bulk, bears run fast.
Polar bears are listed in the Red Book.
Giant salamander
Reptile prefers cold, clear waters. This species lives in China. Giant salamanders are on the verge of extinction. This is due to environmental pollution and the fact that the locals consider these animals an exquisite delicacy. They are also valued in Chinese medicine.
Giant salamanders weigh about 70 kilograms, body length - 180 cm.
Ostrich
Among the birds, the largest are ostriches. It lives on the plains of Africa, Arabia. Males grow up to 2.5 meters tall and weigh up to 150 kilograms.
Ostriches lay huge eggs, each of which weighs up to one and a half kilograms. They are the largest in the world.
Birds do not fly, but they run very fast - they can reach speeds of up to 100 km/h.
Anaconda
The rating of the largest animals on the planet includes the anaconda - the largest snake on Earth. The largest individual that could be measured weighed 250 kilograms and reached a length of 7.5 meters.
In the territories where these snakes live, they talk about individuals of a larger size.
Giraffe
Giraffes are among the tallest animals in the world. Their neck reaches a length of 2 m, which is almost half of their height. The maximum height of the giants is 6 m, weight is 1.2 tons.
The modern animals inhabiting the planet are not inferior in size to prehistoric individuals. If man continues to treat the natural world with disdain, then all these giants will die out, like their distant relatives who lived millions of years ago.
