Giraffe

Giraffe is an African animal. They live in open steppes - savannas with sparsely located trees and shrubs. They live in small herds of 12-15 individuals. They feed mainly on leaves and branches of various acacias.

Giraffes are very peaceful creatures. They unite in small herds. Each member of this herd is very respectful of the others, respects and loves their leader. There are almost no fights. If it is necessary to find out who should lead the herd, bloodless duels are arranged. The contenders come close and begin to hit each other with their necks.

The duel between males does not last long, no more than a quarter of an hour. The defeated one retreats, but he is not expelled from the herd, as is the case with many animals, but remains in it as an ordinary member.

The birth of a giraffe is a joyful event for the entire herd. When a baby giraffe is born, every adult gently greets it with a touch of its nose.

Giraffes courageously protect babies, no matter whose they are. The mother especially protects her offspring. She, without hesitation, rushes towards a pack of hyenas, does not retreat in front of lions, even if there are several of them.

After ten days, small horns appear on the baby giraffe (before this, the horns were as if pressed in). He is already quite firmly on his feet. The mother finds other females nearby with the same babies and they set up a “kindergarten” for their offspring. This is where danger lurks for children: each parent begins to rely on the others and her vigilance becomes dull. The baby giraffe runs away from supervision and easily becomes prey for predators. Only 25–30% of them survive to a year.

EThe giraffe was first called "camelopardalis" by Europeans ("camel" - camel, "pardis" - leopard), because it resembles a camel (in its manner of movement) and a leopard (due to its spotted color).

The first giraffe was brought to Europe by Gaius Julius Caesar in 46 BC. e.. In modern times, the first giraffe brought was an animal brought by the Arabs in 1827. The animal's nickname was Zarafa, which in Arabic means “dressy.” So Zharafa (pronounced in a European manner) gave the species its name. Therefore, even today the word “giraffe” in most languages ​​is pronounced almost in Russian.

The giraffe is the tallest animal on earth, with an average height of five meters. The length of one giraffe step is 6-8 m.

Giraffes have the largest heart and the highest blood pressure of any land animal. After all, a giraffe's heart pumps blood approximately 3 meters up the neck to reach the brain! The giraffe's heart is truly huge: it weighs 11 kilograms, has a length of 60 centimeters and walls 6 centimeters thick.

The giraffe also has the longest tongue of any mammal (50 cm). The giraffe's tongue is black. A giraffe can clean its ears with its tongue.

The giraffe has sharper vision than any other African mammal except the cheetah. In addition, the enormous height allows one to notice objects at a very great distance.

The giraffe's neck has only seven vertebrae - the same number as the human neck. Although the giraffe's neck is over 1.5 m in length, there are only seven cervical vertebrae, like most other mammals, including humans. Just everyone cervical vertebra greatly elongated.
Although giraffes sometimes sleep lying down, they spend most of their time upright and sleep standing up, sometimes placing their head between two branches to avoid falling.

INTERESTING FACTS about giraffes.

Each giraffe's color is unique.
Scientists say it is impossible to find two identically colored giraffes. The patterns of each animal are strictly individual, unique, characteristic only of it (just like the pattern on a person’s fingers).

Giraffes are pacers.
Maybe because the giraffe's front legs are longer than the back ones,The giraffe moves at an amble - that is, it alternately brings forward both its right legs and then both left legs. Therefore, the running of a giraffe looks Very awkwardly: the back and front legs cross, but the speed reaches 50 km/h! During a gallop, the giraffe's neck and head swing strongly, making a figure eight, and the tail either swings from side to side, or is raised high and curled over the back.

There are five-horned giraffes.
Males and females have a pair of short, blunt horns covered with skin on the top of their heads. In males they are more massive and longer - up to 23 cm. Sometimes there is a third horn, on the forehead, approximately between the eyes; in males it is more common and more developed. Two bony outgrowths in the upper part of the back of the head, to which the neck muscles and ligaments are attached, can also grow greatly, resembling the shape of horns, which are called posterior, or occipital. It turns out that some individuals have well-developed three true horns and two posterior ones - that’s why they are called “five-horned” giraffes. Many old males generally have “bumps” all over their heads.

A giraffe can go without water longer than a camel.
Giraffes are ruminants like cows. They have a four-chambered stomach, and their jaws constantly chew cud—partially chewed food that is regurgitated from the first chamber of the stomach for secondary chewing. Giraffes prefer thorny acacia trees, so the giraffe's mouth is surrounded by a stratum corneum that protects it from sharp thorns, and its saliva, which is very thick, envelops the thorns, making the act of swallowing easier.
They also often feed on other shrubs and grass. Because giraffes' food is very succulent, they can go without water for many weeks, possibly months.

Giraffes silently “talk.”

It has been known for a long time that many animals can communicate using sounds that are not perceptible to the human ear. Dolphins, for example, use ultrasound for this. Giraffes, like elephants, blue whales and alligators, prefer to “chat” in the infrasound range.

In zoos, scientists recorded hours of giraffe “conversations” on film. All sounds produced by these tall animals have a frequency below 20 hertz and are inaudible to humans. This is why giraffes have had the reputation of being "dumb" for so long.

Research results indicate that in 24 hours giraffes produce several hundred sounds varying in duration, frequency and amplitude in the infrasound range. All these differences allow us to talk about communication between giraffes, and not just consider the sounds they make as noise.
By the way, it is a mistaken belief that giraffes do not make any audible sounds at all. They may roar or moo loudly in dangerous situations.

Enemies.

Adult giraffes have only two serious enemies - lions and humans.

Most often, the lion attacks when the giraffe is lying or standing, awkwardly bent, drinking water or nibbling grass. Young giraffes are also preyed upon by other predators, such as leopards and hyenas. If the giraffe fails to escape, it fights off with its feet. The kick from the sharp hoof is so strong that it can decapitate a lion.

Human for a long time killed giraffes for meat, sinews (for making bow strings, ropes and strings musical instruments), tassels from the tail (for bracelets, fly swatters and threads) and skins (shields, drums, whips, sandals, etc. were made from it). Uncontrolled hunting has become one of the main reasons for the decline in both the numbers and distribution of these animals.

Konrad Gesner, History of Animals, 1551

• Read first: Konrad Gesner, History of Animals, 1551

Elephant

• Read more: elephants, proboscis (order))

Some of these animals live in the mountains, others in the valleys, and some in swamps or swampy places. They naturally love damp places. They live in large numbers in warm regions, but cannot tolerate the cold. The elephant is the largest animal living on Earth. The male is larger than the female. He is completely black, bald, his back is hard, his stomach is soft, his skin is wrinkled. With folds on their belly they catch flies and other annoying insects. Elephants can relax their skin and then wrinkle it again; they catch insects in the folds, squeeze them there and kill them. Each elephant's mouth has four molars on each side, which they use to chew food. Above the teeth there are two large and long fangs protruding from the upper gums. Between the female and there is a male However, there is a difference - the male’s fangs are not the same size as the female’s. The fangs can be up to ten feet long and are so heavy that a grown man could not lift them. Wartman writes about such a pair of tusks that weighed 336 pounds. Some believe that fangs should not be considered teeth, but rather horns, because they sometimes fall out and grow back. The elephant has a short and wide tongue, but an unusually long nose, called a trunk, which it uses instead of hands.

Elephants have an excellent memory. If someone offends them, they will remember it and take revenge even many years later.

White color They hate him so much that they become furious at the very sight of him.

The elephant serves food and drink with its trunk, because the trunk is so mobile and bends so much that the elephant can stretch it out and then twist it again. The trunk is hollow and supplies air for the elephant to breathe. An elephant can grab the smallest thing with its trunk, for example, a coin or some other small thing, and give it to its owner. When an elephant crosses water, its trunk rises. The trunk has such strength that it can tear out a bush or an entire tree with its roots. The elephant has a double heart, it does not have a gallbladder, but it has huge lungs. The hind legs bend like a person, although some argue that they have no joints. The legs are round and have five toes. The elephant lives for a very long time, some elephants live two hundred years, and some even count three hundred, but a lot of elephants die from all sorts of diseases and as a result of various unexpected events. After sixty years, elephants are at their best age. Many diseases kill elephants. But the cold is especially dangerous for them. An elephant can be saved from the cold by giving it thick red wine to drink. If an elephant eats a worm, which is called a chameleon, it immediately dies from poisoning. Here only wild olives can save him. These fruits contain an antidote. If an elephant swallows a leech, it faces great danger. A tired elephant can benefit from anointing its back vegetable oil mixed with salt and water.

The elephant loves her cubs immensely, protects them from various dangers and would rather sacrifice her life than abandon her cub.

The elephant can be completely tamed. He can hit a specified target with a stone, and he can also learn to write, read, dance and play the drum so perfectly that it is simply impossible to believe. Elephants are believed to worship the stars, the Sun and the Moon. When the sun rises, they turn towards it and raise their trunks, as if summoning the sun.

Elephants are afraid of snakes. In Ethiopia, they say, there are huge snakes, up to thirty steps long, they don’t have any name, for some reason they are called suicides. As soon as the snake tracks the elephant, it crawls onto a tall tree and hangs down, hooking its tail on a branch. When the elephant approaches, she rushes into his eyes, tears them out, and strangles the elephant.

Elephants serve people for riding instead of horses. Sometimes they are used for household work. An elephant can carry four people on its back. And if someone does not hold on and falls, he will catch him with his trunk so that he does not break. Residents of the Libyan country catch elephants only for their tusks, which are considered very valuable and are called ivory.

Elephants incredibly love their homeland, and if they are taken to a foreign country, they never forget their native places, they sigh and yearn for their country so much that more than once they lose their minds from tears and suffering and die.

Smoke from the burned elephant hair of everyone poisonous snakes will drive away. Elephant tusk rubbed with honey cures rashes and blemishes on the face.

Zebra

• Read more: Burchelov's zebra

In the country of the Congo, as in other places in black Africa, there is an animal called the zebra. She looks like a mule, but is not sterile. And its coloring differs from all other animals. She has three various colors: black, white and chestnut and from the back to the belly is colored in stripes three fingers wide.

A zebra runs as fast as a horse.

This animal gives birth to a baby every year. Zebras live in very large herds. Local residents consider the zebra a useless animal, not realizing that in times of peace and war it can replace a horse. But they live in ignorance, and have not heard anything about horses, and do not know how to tame the beast, and therefore they carry the burden on their own backs. They allow themselves to be carried by porters on their shoulders in high stretchers, and if in a long way get out, a crowd of porters accompanies them. The porters replace each other, and with their fast steps they will overtake the horse.

Giraffe

• Read more: Common giraffe

The giraffe is a type of camel. He is a big music lover. Even if he is very tired, upon hearing the song, he immediately continues on his way. A giraffe can run faster than a horse. Giraffe meat contains harmful juices, and is therefore difficult to digest and tasteless. However, its milk is sweeter and better than human milk. It is recommended to drink giraffe milk when a person has irregular stools; it also helps with joint pain.

Man often wonders: is he alone in the Universe? Is there life somewhere else or is he completely, completely alone? We don't know the answers. Bye. But before you look with bated breath at the stars, it’s worth taking a better look around, because we share the planet with myriads of other creatures, each of which is unique and inimitable in its own way.

The smallest ones can only be seen with the help of very powerful technology, while for others the person himself can become an annoying, but easily overcome obstacle. It is such large animals that make people stop to once again admire the diversity and whimsical imagination of nature. Let's do this too.

Blue whale - giant of giants

At this particular historical moment in time, blue whales are the largest animals on earth, in water and in the air. Photos or videos may be impressive, but they don't even come close to conveying their size. On land, these giants may seem somewhat clumsy, but in the water they have no equal. As for the sizes, here are just a few facts that will help you feel their scale:

1. The length of a whale can reach 33 meters. If it’s hard to imagine, imagine a nine-story building and add another floor to it.
2. The weight of such a giant can be up to 200 tons. For example, the weight of the Daewoo Matiz is less than 800 kilograms, that is, the whale is 250 times larger than a small one, but still a car.
3. An adult animal spends 1 million calories per day. For this we would have to eat 500 kilograms of beef chops, but a whale costs a ton of krill.
4. The second largest animal is the elephant, but it weighs about the same as a whale's tongue alone.

This is only a small part of the information about this magnificent animal, but even it allows you to imagine how huge it is.

African elephant - king of the pampas

We have already spoken about this animal above, but this does not mean that it does not deserve more detailed description. If blue whales are super champions of all elements, then the African elephant has conquered only land, but there is no animal more massive on it. Here's a couple interesting facts:

1. Elephant ladies weigh about three tons, their gentlemen - up to five, and the very best can increase up to seven and a half tons of live weight.
2. A baby elephant is born very tiny - only a centner of weight and a meter of height, but it eats a lot of rich mother's milk and grows quickly.
3. The tusks of a mature male can weigh up to 100 kilograms each.

Of course, compared to the blue whale, these numbers are not very impressive, but life in the air dictates its limitations. On the other hand, other animals are even smaller.

Giraffe – 6 meters of misunderstanding

It's hard to imagine the vagaries of evolution that gave birth to these strange creatures with their long legs and a neck comparable in length to them. But you can calmly admire the result, if not natural environment, then at least in a photo or video. To make it interesting to admire, here are a few dry statistical facts:

1. The height of a giraffe can reach six meters, of which 2 are just the neck. At the same time, they weigh relatively little - 1000-1200 kilograms. Not surprising, considering that they mainly consist of legs and neck.
2. Despite the fact that the length of the giraffe's neck amazes the wildest fantasies, approaching nightmares, it has the same number of vertebrae as the human neck - 7 pieces.
3. The giraffe's tongue is another asset. He can stick it out almost half a meter.
4. It is difficult to imagine a running giraffe, but he can do it quite well, reaching speeds of up to 55 km/h. A jumping giraffe looks even more phantasmagoric. But at the same time he can overcome the two-meter bar.

Thus, despite its apparent clumsiness and awkwardness, the giraffe is a strong, resilient and ideally adapted miracle of nature for life in its own conditions. Of course, this is not the largest animal in the world, but it is consistently among the top three.

Southern elephant seal – blubber skin

The elephant seal is the largest species of pinnipeds, and the southern branch is significantly larger than its relatives. They live, as is quite clear from the name, on South Pole, which determined them appearance. In a harsh climate, and even more so in an icy climate (in literally words) water, he cannot survive without a thick layer of fat that would protect him from this disgrace.

True, because of this they began to look like wineskins filled with liquid fat, especially when they roll over to the rookery. But in the water they acquire the grace of a bird and the purposefulness of a torpedo. In this regard, these large animals once again confirm that nature does not do anything for nothing, adapting each creature to certain conditions. Several basic parameters of these giants:

1. A male can grow up to 6 meters in length, accumulating 5 tons of weight. His spouses are more miniature, their weight is about one ton and 2-3 meters in length.
2. A newly born baby weighs only 50 kilograms.
3. In a rookery there may be several hundred females and only a few dozen males who have won the right to be in this paradise.

Fat, clumsy, ugly - in fact, elephant seals are the personification of grace. Under the water. It is not surprising that this is where they spend 70-80% of their lives.

Ostrich - running bird

It is worth thanking nature many, many times that ostriches and their relatives do not fly. Otherwise, it would be scary to imagine what the monuments and squares of the cities that they would choose as their permanent location would turn into. Their passage would resemble carpet bombing. And now you yourself will understand why:

1. The weight of an adult large ostrich can be up to 150 kilograms with a height of 2.5 meters.
2. Their head is small, but their eyes are very beautiful and large. The brain already fits poorly in the head, so it is comparable in size to the eyes.
3. Ostriches cannot fly, but they run excellently: at speeds of up to 60 km/h. Even one-month-old chicks can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h, catching up with their mother.

Ostriches are beautiful and elegant birds. But still, it’s good that they don’t fly.

Liger - changing the places of the terms changes the sum

There are three types of cats: domestic cats, small wild cats and large wild cats. In this case, the liger could be called very large wild cat. Not surprising, because they are significantly larger in size than both the lion father and the tiger mother. Such marriages occur quite rarely, but any zoo or park is proud of the children.

This hybrid looks like a lion with faint, blurry stripes, but that’s not what’s interesting, it’s their size. Here are some facts:

1. Liger Hercules weighs 400 kilograms, twice as much as dad and his relatives.
2. The largest liger, noted by the Guinness Book of Records, weighed 798 kilograms. It can easily be divided into 4 lions.
3. The offspring of a tiger father and a lioness mother is called a tigron, but it does not have such impressive dimensions.

There are currently 4 lily cubs growing up in the Novosibirsk Zoo - the eldest girl Kiara and newborn triplets. They were born from the marriage of a liga and a lion, creating a very rare and unique variety. It is difficult to say whether they will be able to surpass their predecessor parents.

Grizzly is not a teddy bear at all
The grizzly bear is an Americanized version of our native brown bear. But, having moved abroad, he acquired impressive claws, a bad temper, and, moreover, grew up a little. See for yourself:

• On average, the height of a grizzly bear ranges from 2.2 meters to 2.8.
• The weight is about half a tone.
• Some of the most seasoned ones reach a height of 4 meters. Weight and bad temper increase proportionately.
• The bear loves an aggressive manicure: its claws are about 15 centimeters long, twice as long as human fingers.

Now you know what the largest animal on our planet is. Unfortunately, most of the champions listed in our article are firmly entrenched in the Red Book. If humanity does not change its attitude towards them in the near future, then they risk moving to Chernaya. Our grandchildren risk learning about them this way: from photos and videos.

The giraffe is the second tallest (after the elephant) African animal with a unique color and unique shape of spots, which can easily go without water longer than a camel. Giraffes live mainly in savannas, open steppes with a small number of trees and shrubs, the leaves and branches of which are eaten.

Giraffes are incredibly peaceful creatures, living in small herds of no more than 12-15 individuals. Each handsome spotted animal loves other members of its herd and respects the leader, which is why the animals almost always manage to avoid any skirmishes and conflicts.

If a fight is inevitable, giraffes arrange bloodless duels, during which the rivals come close to each other and fight with their necks. Such a fight (mainly between males) lasts no more than 15 minutes, after which the loser retreats and continues to live in the herd as an ordinary member. Males and females also selflessly protect the offspring of their herd, especially the mothers, who, without further ado, ready to rush at a pack of hyenas or lions, if they threaten the lives of children.

In nature, the only dangerous animal for a giraffe is the lion, and its only relative is the okapi, since all other giraffes are considered extinct.

The uniqueness of giraffe behavior and physiology

Of all mammals, the giraffe has the longest tongue (50 cm), which helps absorb up to 35 kg of plant food daily. The animal can also clean its ears with its black or dark purple tongue.

Giraffes have very sharp eyesight, and their enormous growth additionally allows them to spot danger at a very long distance. The African animal is also unique in that he has the biggest heart(up to 60 cm long and weighing up to 11 kg) among all mammals and the highest blood pressure. The giraffe also differs from other animals in its step size, because the length of its legs adult is 6-8 meters, which allows you to reach speeds of up to 60 km/h.

Giraffe cubs are no less unique - an hour after birth, the babies are already quite firmly on their own two feet. At birth, the calf is approximately 1.5 m tall and weighs about 100 kg. 7-10 days after birth, the baby begins to form small horns that were previously depressed. The mother looks for other females with newborns nearby, after which they arrange some kind of kindergarten. At this time, children are in danger, because every parent hopes for the vigilance of other females, and the cubs often become prey to predators. For this reason, only a quarter of the offspring usually survive to one year.

Giraffes only sometimes sleep lying down - the animals spend most of their time in an upright position, placing their heads between tree branches, which almost completely eliminates the possibility of falling, and sleep standing up.

Interesting facts about giraffes

Other "giraffes"

1. The constellation Giraffe (derived from the Latin "Camelopardalis") is a circumpolar constellation that best observed in the CIS countries from November to January.
2. Royal Giraffe (derived from the German "Giraffenklavier") is one of the varieties of vertical piano early XIX century, getting its name due to its silhouette reminiscent of the animal of the same name.

The giraffe is a surprisingly intelligent animal with unique, characteristic habits. The peacefulness, gentle disposition and funny appearance of these animals will not leave any person indifferent.

We all know well that the largest animals, or giant animals, lived on our Earth millions of years ago - these are various dinosaurs, mammoths, terrible birds and many, many other prehistoric animals. Their gigantic size and appearance seem stunning to us today.

But even today our world is full of the most amazing creatures that amaze with their shapes and sizes. It’s even hard to imagine what could have influenced their height and weight, but they are who they are, the main thing is that they feel quite comfortable among us. What kind of animals are these, and in what natural conditions they live, that's what we'll talk about today. The rating is based on the weight, height and also length of the animals.

1 place. Blue or blue whale

The largest living animal on Earth is the blue or blue whale (lat. Balaenoptera musculus). Even dinosaurs cannot compete with him - his size is impressive. This marine mammal grows up to 30 meters in length, weight can be more than 180 tons, even the tongue of this giant weighs about 2.7 tons (the size of an Asian elephant, medium in size). Heart mass blue whale At about 600 kilograms, this is the largest heart in the world.

The huge lungs of the blue whale (the volume of which is 3 thousand liters) allow it to remain at a depth without oxygen for about 20 minutes. Maximum speed The speed developed by this mammal is about 35 km/h, and the fountain it produces when reaching the surface is up to 10 m.

2nd place. Sperm whale

The next representative is (lat. Physeter catodon) is the only representative of the sperm whale family today. It is the largest among toothed whales. The male sperm whale grows up to 20 m in length, and weighs up to 50 tons. Females are less impressive in size - from 11 to 13 m, and weigh about 15 tons.

Interestingly, the head of an adult makes up approximately 35% of the total body length. There are sperm whales of larger sizes, but this is rather the exception. In nature, sperm whales have practically no enemies. The exception is killer whales, which attack females and calves; they cannot compete with an adult male.

3rd place. African elephant

African elephant (lat. Loxodonta africana) is the largest land animal living on earth. Includes two types - and. It occupies an honorable third place in this ranking. With a height of 3 to 3.5 meters and a body length of 6-7.5 m, the mass of these animals can reach up to 6, or even 12 tons. Females African elephant smaller males: they grow up to 2.7 meters in height and 5.4-6.9 m in length.

Despite its impressive size, it can move at a speed of 35-40 km/h (it can easily overtake a person). He can eat 300 kg of plant food per day. Due to its enormous mass, it sleeps standing up. A very smart animal that is capable of mutual assistance and compassion. But, despite this, it is one of the most dangerous animals on the planet.

4th place. Indian elephant

Indian or Asian elephant (lat. Elephas maximum) is the second largest land animal after the African elephant. The height can reach 2.5-3.5 m, the length of its body is about 5.5-6 m, and this elephant’s tail is not short - 1-1.5 m. This elephant can weigh from 5 to 5.5 tons . Females, just like African elephants, are much smaller.

These elephants are forest dwellers. They prefer light tropical and subtropical broad-leaved forests with dense undergrowth, which consists of shrubs and bamboo. They move easily through dense forests and swampy areas. They live in groups led by the oldest and most experienced female.

5th place. Southern elephant seal

Southern elephant seal (lat. Mirounga leonina) – considered the largest pinniped in the world. These large and corpulent animals can grow up to 6 m in length and weigh up to 4-5 tons.

They can stay under water for about 2 hours (an officially registered record), and dive to a depth of more than 1300 meters. They spend their entire lives in the ocean, and rarely come to land - mainly during the breeding season.

6th place. Hippopotamus or hippopotamus

Hippopotamus (lat. Hippopotamus amphibius) is a mammal from the order Artiodactyla and the suborder Porciniformes. Native to Africa.

Hippos can reach up to 1.5-1.65 meters, their body length can be from 3 to 5 meters, and their weight can be 3 tons or more. These animals increase their mass throughout their lives, their teeth also grow throughout their lives and can reach 0.5 m in length. Interestingly, the skin alone weighs 0.5 tons.

7th place. White rhinoceros

White rhinoceros (lat. Ceratotherium simum) – the 2nd largest herbivore on the planet. Adults grow in height - up to 1.6-2 m, in length - about 3.8-4.2 m.

The average weight of a white rhinoceros is about 3 tons; there are individuals much larger - about 8 tons. Interestingly, the white rhinoceros is not white at all, but rather gray. It probably received this name from a distorted Boer word “wijde”, which means “wide-faced” - consonant with English word“white” (Russian white).

8th place. Walrus

Walruses (lat. Odobenus rosmarus) is one of the ancient large animals that have existed since the last ice age. Fossils found in San Francisco Bay date back approximately 28,000 years.

And even now these giants grow up to 3 m in length and weigh up to 2 tons, the thickness of the skin (on the neck and shoulders of males) is up to 10 cm, and the layer of fat is up to 15 cm. Large ones are perfectly adapted for life in the harsh conditions of the Arctic. They feed mainly on shellfish, but can also eat fish.

9th place. Black rhinoceros

Black rhinoceros (lat. Rhinoceros bicornis) – slightly finer than white. The weight of this animal does not exceed 1.5-2 tons, the body length is about 3-3.5 meters, the height at the shoulders is 1.5-1.6 m. Their habit of moving along the same paths and poor eyesight makes them vulnerable and defenseless against poachers.

The black rhinoceros has no natural enemies, so it is not at all timid and because of this it automatically becomes an easy trophy for hunters. Interestingly, the body of the black rhinoceros is more elongated in length and it is lighter than the white one.

10th place. Saltwater crocodile

Saltwater, or saltwater crocodile (lat. Crocodylus porosus) is the largest and most massive reptile on the planet. The saltwater crocodile can grow up to 5.5-7 meters (usually 5 m) in length, the weight of an adult (male) is from 409 kg to 1.5 tons.

Interesting fact: it has a high commercial value because of its skin, from which various types of clothing, shoes, etc. are made. It is hunted and bred on crocodile farms.

Modern species of animals are absolutely not inferior in size to prehistoric animals, however, if a person does not belong to wildlife with due respect, then they will all die out just like those who lived millions of years ago.