From the biggest and heaviest insect to the largest animal on Earth, we count 15 of the
biggest living animals in the World by category.
Number 15 The Giant African Land Snail is the largest
terrestrial gastropod.
The shell alone often grows to about 18cm (7.1in) in length with a diameter of about
9cm (3.5in).
Native to West Africa these massive snails are often kept as pets, even though they are
considered a potentially serious pest and have already established themselves in some
Caribbean islands and Florida.
It's not surprising that the United States are considering giving this species a top
national quarantine as they can lay up to twelve hundred eggs in a year.
Number 14 The Goliath Frog is the largest frog on earth.
The greatest specimen came in at 33cm (13in) in length and weighed a hefty 3kg (7lb).
These croaking giants are normally found near fast-flowing rivers in Cameroon and Equatorial
Guinea.
The tadpoles feed on a single plant, found only near waterfalls and rapids, which may
explain their restricted habitat.
Living up to 15 years in the wild and 21 years in captivity, the Goliath Frog is currently
an endangered species, mainly because they were considered a good source of food in the
past.
Number 13 The Giant Weta Cricket currently holds the
record for the heaviest insect in the world, weighing up to 72g with an average length
of 20cm (8 in).
They're known to devour large vegetation and found primarily on offshore islands around
New Zealand, they have been exterminated on the mainland by introducing other pests.
Number 12 The Capybara is the largest rodent in the
world.
Its closest relative is the guinea pig, even though these critters can weigh up to 91kg
(201lb).
Found in the wild throughout most of South America, these semi-aquatic mammals live in
dense forests near lakes and rivers.
They have a gentle nature and usually allow humans to pet and hand-feed them and are occasionally
kept as pets.
Number 11 The Coconut Crab is the largest land-living
arthropod in the world and is one of the largest terrestrial animals with an exoskeleton.
It can grow up to 1m (3ft) in length and weigh up to 4.1kg (9.0lb).
These giant crabs can be found on islands across the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific
Ocean, mirroring the distribution of coconut palms.
With a varied diet of fruit, seeds and meat, you'll occasionally see them climbing up trees
to pick coconuts, then simply jumping off, as they can survive a fall of at least 4.5m
(15ft).
Normally they will then strip off the coconut husk and cut a hole to dig out the flesh but
larger crabs simply use their massive claws to smash it into pieces.
Number 10 The Japanese Spider Crab has the largest leg
span of any arthropod, reaching 3.8m (12ft) and weighing up to 19kg (42lb).
They can live up to 100 years old but their long legs are quite fragile meaning most will
be found a missing limb or two.
The young normally decorate their shell with all manner of things to hide from predators
and even though they look like some kind of alien terror from the deep, they have a gentle
disposition, still I probably wouldn't get too close.
Number 9 The Chinese Giant Salamander is the Largest
Amphibian on earth reaching lengths of 1.8m (5.9ft).
It lives in rocky mountain streams and lakes in China and Taiwan.
They have very poor eyesight but use special sensory nodes along their body.
Giant Salamander are well known for their vocalization, barking, whining, hissing and
even sounding like some crying human child.
Unfortunately it is considered critically endangered due their habitat loss, pollution
and the fact it's considered a delicacy and also used in Chinese medicine.
Number 8 The Saltwater Crocodile is the largest reptile,
as well as the largest wetland predator in the world.
Males can reach sizes of up to 6.7m (22ft) and weigh as much as 2 metric tons (4,400lb).
Even though, as the name implies, they can live in salt water, these crocs mainly hang
around swamps and lagoons in lower stretches of rivers.
Found on the eastern coast of India and throughout Southeast Asia, these formidable predators
snack on pretty much any animal that enters its territory.
Number 7 The Ostrich is the largest bird in the world,
weighing up to 156kg (346lb) and stretching to 2.1m (6.9ft).
Found in savannas across Africa, Ostriches mainly eat vegetation and snack on the odd
insect but because they lack teeth, they swallow pebbles to grind down their food.
With extremely acute eyesight and hearing, ostriches can sense predators such as lions
from extremely far away.
When being pursued by a predator, it can reach speeds in excess of 70km/h (43mph) and comfortably
maintain a steady speed of 50km/h(31mph), which also makes the ostrich the world's fastest
two-legged animal.
Number 6 The Great Dane is among the largest dog breeds
in the world.
Often referred to as a gentle giant or the world's biggest lapdog, they rarely exhibit
aggression and are extremely affectionate.
However due to their large size, they do have quite a low lifespan and often suffer from
hip dysplasia and other skeletal health issues.
The current world record holder for tallest dog in the world goes to a Great Dane called
Zeus.
Zeus died in September 3 2014 aged 5, his recorded height was 7ft 4in (2.24m).
Number 5 The Siberian Tiger is the largest cat on earth,
measuring up to 3.5m (140in) in length and weighing up to 318kg (701lb).
These majestic animals live in mountainous regions close to the Amur River in Russia
and in the Eastern Manchurian mountains that cross between Russia and China.
Generally living 500 to 800m (1,600 to 2,600ft) above sea level, they are known to take journeys
of up to 1,000km (620mi) across unbroken landscapes.
Even though their population has been stable for more than a decade due to intensive conservation
efforts, they are still considered Endangered as there are recent indications their population
is again declining.
Number 4 The Giraffe.
The tallest land animal and the largest ruminant on earth.
Found in various places throughout Africa they stand an average of 5 to 6m (16-20ft)
tall and weigh almost 2 metric tons (4,250lb).
With the aid of their 2m (6ft 7in) long neck, Giraffes feed on acacia leaves high in the
canopy where most other grazing animals can't reach.
Their tongue, lips and mouth are also tough enough to deal with sharp thorns.
Number 3 African Bush Elephants are the largest living
land animals.
Being up to 4m (13ft) tall and weighing around 5.5 metric tons (12,130lb).
Big ears, big trunk, big tusks, these lumbering giants are found throughout Africa.
The adults having generally no natural predators due to their great size, their only real predator
has been man.
After hunting them for their ivory, the African Bush Elephant population fell from several
million at the beginning of the 20th century, to fewer than 700,000.
In the 1980s Scientists then estimated these wild elephants would be extinct by 1995.
Despite the increasingly severe punishments imposed by governments against illegal hunting,
poaching and trophy hunting continues to this day and they still consider this species as
threatened with extinction.
Number 2 The Whale Shark is by far the largest fish
in the ocean.
Measuring up to 12.7m (41ft 8in) and weighing up to 21.5 metric tons (47,000lb), rivalling
many of the largest dinosaurs in history.
Having barely changed over time, this species originated about 60 million years ago.
Found in tropical and warm oceans, Whale Sharks feed mainly on plankton and small fish.
Using its huge mouth to either actively suck water through its filters and out through
its gills or just swim along with its mouth open, scooping up anything that gets in the
way.
Despite its size, Whale Sharks are quite docile fish and sometimes allow swimmers to catch
a ride and younger Whale Sharks are very gentle and often play with divers.
Number 1 Measuring at 30m (98ft) in length and weighing
in at a whopping 170 metric tons (190 short tons), the Blue Whale is by far the largest
living animal on Earth and the heaviest animal in recorded history.
By comparison, the largest dinosaur being Argentinosaurus, which is estimated to have
weighed up to 90 metric tons (99 short tons) is only about half the weight of a Blue Whale.
Blue Whales can eat up to 40 million krill in a day, that's 3.6 metric tons (7,900 lb)
but not surprising when they require about 1.5 million kilocalories a day.
Due to their enormous size, power and speed, Blue Whales have virtually no natural predators.
Who'd want to mess with that anyway?
But of course there's humans.
Blue Whales were abundant in nearly all the oceans on Earth with populations in the region
of 250,000 until the beginning of the 20th Century, when they were hunted almost to extinction.
There have been extensive international conservation efforts in recent years but only one population
of about 2,000 whales, in the North Pacific near California, is showing any real signs
of recovery.
A few hundred have been found in the Antarctic and some near Iceland but there are no longer
any to be found near Japan, Alaska or in the southern Bering Sea.
And that's it for this countdown, as always thanks for watching.