What's the Largest Animal on Earth? You Might Be Surprised!

 What's the Largest Animal on Earth? You Might Be Surprised!

writer: MERYEM KALEEM 

If you’ve ever asked yourself, What’s the biggest animal on earth? you might be surprised by your answer! From elephants to blue whales, the largest animals on earth come in all shapes and sizes, making it difficult to say exactly which animal holds the record for the biggest of them all. So, if you have an interest in learning more about the largest animals in our world, read this article to find out more!

The Most Gigantic Land Animals

The largest land animals in the world are usually mammals such as elephants and rhinoceroses. There are three types of large animals: animals that grow abnormally, top 10 large animals, and farm animals that are just large. The largest animal on earth is not a mammal, but it is still considered to be the largest land animal. The largest animal in the world is actually a blue whale with an average weight of 300 that can measure up to 30 met in length. It may seem impossible for something so big to live, but there are many other large animals like the elephant and the African lion. These animals have huge appetites and they eat up to 100 kilograms of food each day because they need so much energy for their size. It’s easy for them to find this much food because they eat what they please: plants, small animals, eggs, or even insects. The largest animal on earth could never exist without the planet Earth; this huge animal needs lots of space! 

Another common type of large animal is the farm animal - these animals have been bred specifically by humans to produce larger quantities than their wild counterparts in order to help feed more people.

The Heaviest Sea Creatures

The largest animal in the world is the blue whale. The second largest is the fin whale, followed by the humpback. All three of these whales can be found in the oceans of different parts of the world. They are all part of a subgroup called rorqual whales that all have teeth and baleen in their mouth to filter small crustaceans and other food from the water. Then there are some other large sea animals that you might not have known about - creatures like the giant squid, sperm whales, leatherback turtles, and right whales. These animals may be smaller than an average-sized blue whale, but they're still enormous animals that deserve your attention when you think about what's big on this planet. The largest land animal is the African elephant, weighing up to 12000 pounds. The largest marine animal (in terms of weight) is the Sperm Whale at 70 tons. There are so many animals out there for people to learn about and learn more about! Whether it's animals living on farms or wild animals living in the ocean or jungle, we should always take time to care for our animals and treat them with respect no matter how large or small they happen to be.

Fastest Animals

The list of the world's fastest animals is dominated by birds and land mammals. The fastest animal in the world is the Peregrine Falcon, reaching speeds of up to 200 miles per hour when diving at prey. Next is the Cheetah, which can reach up to 75 miles per hour over short distances. The Gray Whale beats all other mammals with its speed when it's swimming: it can average around 25 miles per hour.

The fastest snake on earth is the Black Mamba, capable of reaching speeds of up to 12-18 mph (19-29 km/h). That may not sound so impressive until you know that this snake has a bite that delivers enough venom to kill 20 people within hours.

Animals with Hibernating capabilities

The largest animals in the world are animals that have evolved to hibernate or have a built-in capability for entering a state of torpor. This ability is called hibernation and it helps them conserve energy during the winter months. The largest animal that can hibernate is the emperor penguin. These birds can survive on less than 1/2 pound of fat per day, and this makes them especially good at surviving cold weather. Other large animals that are able to hibernate include bears, badgers, red pandas, armadillos, shrews, hedgehogs, and kangaroos. While these animals might not be as large as the others listed above, they still weigh between 9 and 24 pounds when fully grown. The animal with the longest duration for hibernation is the Syrian hamster which can stay dormant for 8-10 months out of the year!

Most Poisonous Animals

The largest animal alive is the blue whale, which can grow to be 100 feet long. There are over 150 recognized species of mammals that have been classified as large animals. The largest land-based animal is the elephant, while the largest bird is the ostrich. Large animals in captivity include elephants, camels, giraffes, and rhinoceroses. The African bull elephant averages 4 tons in weight and 12 feet in height when fully grown. In 2012 a Texas man died from anaphylactic shock after being bitten by a young black-widow spider that was hiding inside an avocado he had bought from a grocery store. Many other large animals are poisonous too, like the box jellyfish and puffer fish.

Cutest Animals in the World

Have you ever seen a hedgehog? They are very small and are usually less than a foot long. The name hedgehog comes from the word, which means to beat or shape into a pointed form. Their quills, which are what people often call their spines, are covered with thick skin to prevent any danger of being hurt by an animal or person. They can curl up in the shape of a ball when they're frightened and they have really cute faces with round, black eyes, and little noses.

The Komodo dragon is the world's largest living lizard species, but they're not very popular because they can be quite dangerous. They live on islands in Indonesia and sometimes Australia. The Nile crocodile is the largest animal that lives in Africa. It can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh over 2,000 pounds! 

The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived on earth. It can grow as large as 100 feet and weigh 150 tons (or 130 meters). The blue whale breathes through baleen instead of teeth like most animals. They eat up to four tons of food each day including tiny shrimp-like creatures called krill that swim near the surface of the water.

Intelligent Animals

The largest animal on earth is the blue whale. The blue ones in the North Pacific can grow to over 30 meters long and weigh 190,000 pounds. They are actually one of the smallest species of whales around. 

The second-largest land animal is the African elephant, which can measure up to 10 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 16,000 pounds. 

The third-largest animals are kangaroo. These Australian natives get up to 4 or 5 feet tall and can weigh as much as 220 pounds. They hop pretty fast too--they can reach speeds of 31 miles per hour with a stride length of 6 feet or more. The largest animal in the ocean is the Blue Whale. The largest mammal on earth is the African Elephant. The tallest animal on land is the giraffe.