Top 10 Heaviest Animals In The World
Animals vary quite a lot in their physical traits. Not only by their height, but even more so by their weight. While heavy animals certainly do not belong to the fastest animals on Earth, they do possess other evolutionary advantages due to their size and weight. Heavy and large animals tend to be practically immune to cancer to name one.
The following ranking lists the 10 heaviest animals known around the world. The ranking is based on the maximum weight a respective species is known to have achieved. While the ranking is (unsurprisingly) dominated by a certain inhabitant of the sea, most of the Top 10 heaviest animals actually live on the land as you will see.
The 10 Heaviest Animals In The World
- Bison
Weight: Up to 1.3 tonnes / 2,866 pounds
Natural habitat: Northern America & Europe (primarily Poland & Belarus)
Heaviest sub-species: American Bison
- Gaur
Weight: Up to 1.5 tonnes / 3,307 pounds
Natural habitat: South Asia & Southeast Asia
Heaviest sub-species: Indian Gaur
- Giraffe
Weight: Up to 1.9 tonnes / 4,189 pounds
Natural habitat: Sub-Saharan Africa
Heaviest sub-species: Northern Giraffe
- Walrus
Weight: Up to 2.1 tonnes / 4,630 pounds
Natural habitat: Arctic Circle (primarily Russia, Greenland & Canada)
Heaviest sub-species: Pacific Walrus
- Elephant Seal
Weight: Up to 4 tonnes / 8,818 pounds
Natural habitat: Antarctica & Western North America
Heaviest sub-species: Southern Elephant Seal
- Rhinoceros
Weight: Up to 4.3 tonnes / 9,480 pounds
Natural habitat: Sub-Saharan Africa & South Asia
Heaviest sub-species: White Rhinoceros
- Hippopotamus
Weight: Up to 4.5 tonnes / 9,921 pounds
Natural habitat: Sub-Saharan Africa
Heaviest sub-species: East African Hippopotamus
- Elephant
Weight: Up to 4.5 tonnes / 9,921 pounds
Natural habitat: Sub-Saharan Africa
Heaviest sub-species: East African Hippopotamus
- Shark
Weight: Up to 30 tonnes / 66,139 pounds
Natural habitat: In all Oceans of planet Earth
Heaviest sub-species: Whale shark
- Whale
Weight: Up to 190 tonnes / 418,878 pounds
Natural habitat: In all Oceans of planet Earth
Heaviest sub-species: Blue Whale