The largest animals lived on our planet millions of years ago - these are different dinosaurs, giant birds, mammoths and other prehistoric animals. Their sheer size seems overwhelming. Although today in the world there are many very different animals, striking in their shapes and sizes. Despite the huge dimensions, they feel quite comfortable among us.
Blue whale
The largest beast on Earth is the blue whale. Its size is impressive. This marine mammal reaches a length of 30 meters and can weigh more than 180 tons. His tongue alone 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. He can rightly be called the largest heart in the world, and the whale - the largest beast.
The mammalian lungs have a colossal volume of three thousand liters, which allows them to be at great depths for a long time without oxygen. The huge size does not prevent the whale from swimming fast. It has a speed of up to 35 km / h, and the fountain it produces reaches a height of ten meters.
Sperm whale
The largest beast from the toothed whale suborder is the sperm whale or toothy whale, the only member of the Physeteridae family . Males sperm whale weigh up to 50 tons, growing in length up to 20 meters. Females are less impressive, but even they are larger than elephants - 13 meters long, 15 tons in weight.
The head of an adult is huge - about 35% of the length of the whole body. There are sperm whales of larger sizes, but these are single individuals, which are exceptions.
African elephant
The largest beast living on land is the African elephant. This representative of modern giants is of two types - savannah and forest. Due to its size, the elephant takes an honorable third place 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 interfere with the movement of an elephant at a speed of up to 40 km / h.
Huge sizes require a large amount of food. For a day, he can eat up to 300 kilograms of plant foods.
African elephant sleeps standing. This is a very intelligent animal, able to show compassion, to help. Despite this, it 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 occupies a worthy place. This is the second largest land animal. 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. Easily move through marshy areas, through dense thickets. Live in groups led by an experienced old female.
Sea Elephant
The largest pinniped is considered 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 be submerged for a long time. Moreover, elephant seals are capable of being under water for up to two hours, plunging to a depth of up to 1,300 meters.
Sea elephants spend their whole lives in the ocean, they rarely choose land, only during the breeding season.
hippopotamus
One of the largest animals in the world is the hippo or hippopotamus. This is a representative of mammals from the cloven-hoofed squad, 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 life, they can reach 0.5 meters in length.
White rhino
The second largest herbivore is the white rhino. Adults reach a length of 4 meters and a height of 2 meters. The average weight of the giant is 3 tons, but there are individuals weighing 8 tons.
The white rhino is not white at all, but gray. Presumably, they began to call him white because of the distortion of the Boer word meaning "broad-mouthed".
Walrus
One of the oldest large animals that inhabit the Earth are walruses. They existed during the Ice Age, as evidenced by fossils found in San Francisco Bay, which are 28 thousand years old.
Now these giants grow up to three meters in length and weigh about two tons. They are valued for fat reaching a thickness of 15 cm. Walruses are perfectly adapted for survival in the Arctic.
Black rhino
The rating of large animals included a black rhino. It is slightly smaller than the white brother. 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 travel the same paths, which makes them easy prey for poachers.
Comb crocodile
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, and Northern Australia.
Reptiles are valued for their skin. A variety of clothes, shoes, and accessories are made from it. Because of this, the comb type of crocodiles is bred on special farms.
polar bear
Looking at the photos of the largest animals, one wonders how the earth carries these giants. Large representatives of the fauna are found in the most remote corners of the planet, even in the polar regions - these are polar bears. The length of their body reaches three meters, and weight - up to a ton. Despite their huge mass, the bears run fast.
Polar bears are listed in the Red Book.
Gigantic Salamander
Reptiles prefer cold, clean bodies of water. This species lives in China. Gigantic salamanders are on the verge of extinction. This is due to environmental pollution and the fact that local residents consider these animals to be an exquisite delicacy. They are also appreciated in Chinese medicine.
Gigantic salamanders weigh about 70 kilograms, body length - 180 cm.
Ostrich
Among birds, the largest are ostriches. They live on the plains of Africa, Arabia. Males grow up to 2.5 meters in height 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 of the planet includes the anaconda - the largest snake on Earth. The largest individual that was able to measure weighed 250 kilograms and reached a length of 7.5 meters.
In the territories where these snakes live, they talk about larger individuals.
Giraffe
Among the tallest animals in the world, giraffes are distinguished. Their neck reaches a length of 2 m, which is almost half their growth. The maximum height of the giants is 6 m, weight - 1.2 tons.
Modern animals that inhabit the planet are not inferior in size to prehistoric individuals. If a person continues to neglect the natural world, then all these giants will die out, like their distant relatives who lived millions of years ago.