While once upon a time this list would have been the heaviest animals in the world it is now just a list of the worlds heaviest land animals. But that doesn’t mean this list isn’t full of giant creatures because it is, but they are significantly smaller (and lighter) than their sea counterparts…
The Top 10 Heaviest Living Land Animals From Around the World
10 – Gaur – Average mass 0.95 tonnes
The Gaur (Indian bison) is the largest extant bovine and is also sadly a species that is quickly disappearing. The good news is there has been a small increase in the number of Gaur in recent years.
9 – Giraffe – Average mass 1.0 tonnes
You might not have thought the longest neck in the animal kingdom would make it into the heaviest animals top 10, but it does and quite easily. Who said leaves and twigs weren’t fattening?!?
8 – Black rhinoceros – Average mass 1.1 tonnes
Not only is the Black Rhino pretty heavy, but it is also not black, its brown! But it and its white counterpart are not named for their colours, but by the shape of their lips. Still pretty racist if you ask me.
7 – Javan rhinoceros – Average mass 1.75 tonnes
While there are indeed several species of Rhino, none of them is as rare or as endangered than the Javan type. Known for its short horn it is sadly highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine making it hunted to the point of extinction.
[adinserter block=”7″]
6 – Hippopotamus – Average mass 1.8 tonnes
They make the cutest of cartoon characters and almost everyone loves them. But they are also known as one of the most dangerous animals in the entire world, mostly thanks to its aggressive and unpredictable nature.
5 – Indian rhinoceros – Average mass 1.9 tonnes
When you ask people to imagine what a Rhino looks like most people will think of the heavy armoured charging machine they call an Indian rhino. Its large black horn and thick, folded skin help make it a very easily recognised animals even by people who haven’t seen one before.
4 – White rhinoceros – Average mass 2 tonnes
These may well be the last few years this animal makes it onto this list because there are only 3 animals left! While international efforts are taking place to save them it is very sad it had to get down to these numbers for something to be done.
3 – African forest elephant – Average mass 2.7 tonnes
It doesn’t take a genius to work out these are forest-dwelling elephants and the first of 3 elephants on this list. They are also one of the smaller species of elephant, but that doesn’t stop them making this list.
[adinserter block=”8″]
2 – Asian elephant – Average mass 4.15 tonnes
In terms of overall size, the Asian elephant is often smaller than the African elephant, but it also has a much denser body mass making up much of the extra weight.
1 – African bush elephant – Average mass 4.9 tonnes
It weights more than 5 average family cars and is tall often well over 12ft tall. I can only guess how much they need to eat every day to stay fit and healthy, but apparently, they do need 50 gallons of water each and every day just to stay hydrated!
