Top 7 Heaviest Animals In The World

The world of animals can be a very interesting place to unravel with various creatures living on this planet being as small as a fly up to the humongous size of the great blue whale. All of them play a crucial role in the balance of our ecosystem as our lives depend on one another.

The size and weight of these animals are also as important in ensuring their survival in the wild. Here we would like to share with you the top 7 heaviest animals in the world that you should know.

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7. Giraffe

Despite looking slim due to its immense height, a giraffe is one of the heaviest animals in the world. A giraffe can reach a height of 6 meters and weighs 1,600 kg. Its long stretched neck as well as a 50cm tongue helps the giraffe to munch leaves on very tall trees.

Not just that but this animal can also last without water for several days. Interestingly enough, a giraffe's neck has similar vertebrate bones as humans with only each bone being much longer.

On top of that, a giraffe can also run at an overwhelming speed of 50 kph as it runs from the predator.

6. Hippopotamus

A hippopotamus can grow up to 3,400 kg in weight making it the 6th heaviest animal in the world. The hippo is native to South Africa but can also be found in many zoos across the globe,

A hippo spends most of its days bathing in water to cool its body from the hot climate. Although they can hold their breath underwater for 5 minutes, they are great swimmers. A hippo also has one of the strongest bite power in the world and they produce a unique red color sweat to cool its body.

5. White Rhinoceros

This African creature is incredible in various aspects. It is one of the heaviest animals in the world with an average weight of 1,600 - 3,500 kg. It has a huge horn on its head measuring 1.5 meters long and it can live without water for 5 days.

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This adaptation allows the white rhino to survive in harsh conditions where water is scarce. Despite being called white, the actual color of its body is slightly grey, and the word itself is a miscommunication with the African word "wijd" which means wide.

4. Asian Elephant

The second heaviest land animal in the world will be the Asian Elephant with three different subspecies of Indian, Sri Lankan, and Sumatra. These elephants can reach a heavy weight of 5 metric tons and they usually search for food up to 19 hours a day.

Its long trunk can be used for multiple purposes and firstly being to grab onto food and put them in its mouth. It can also use the trunk as a water hose to spray water all over its body during hot weather.

A fun fact will be that an Asian elephant has the longest pregnancy of roughly 22 months.

3. African Elephant

As the heaviest land animal in the world, The African Elephant is notoriously known for being highly aggressive. It can be differentiated from the Asian Elephant through its ear shape as well as both genders have tusks while only the male species of Asian Elephant will have them.

Their overall weight can be more than 6 tons and they can eat up to 150kg of food each day. The African elephant mostly lives with its colony to travel long distances in search of food which is rarely found during the summer.

2. Whale Shark

The second heaviest animal in the world will be the Whale shark. It can grow more than 12 meters long and weigh more than 18 tons. Its jaw can be opened for more than 1 meter wide and commonly feasts on small critters like crustaceans, krills, and crabs.

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The Great White Shark is among the greatest predator in the ocean.

1. Blue Whale

The Blue Whale is the heaviest animal in the world at the time. It weighs a whopping 200 metric tons on average with only its tongue having a similar weight to an adult elephant.

The Blue Whale can be found in all oceans around the world but it loves to be in hot weather. It will migrate thousands of kilometers each year and they have been seen in groups or alone.

To continue to survive, the blue whale has to eat more than 4 tons of food which mostly consists of plankton and krill.

Source:

• Earth and World

• Iluminasi

Also read: Top 7 Animals With The Shortest Lifespan