In the constant war between predator and prey, size and strength can be the deciding factor in which side wins. However, there are several ways to measure strength, including bite force and punch force.
For this review, I'll be defining strength in absolute terms rather than relative to body size (which would put insects at the top of the list). Here are the top 7 strongest animals in the world.
7. The strongest snake is the anaconda
Anacondas are considered the strongest and heaviest snakes in the world. The weight of one individual can reach up to 97.5 kg, and the size – up to 6 meters. There are stories about larger anacondas up to 8 and even 24 meters long, but they are not documented.
A large enough anaconda will kill large deer, jaguars, and even black caimans. Anacondas can constrict around their prey with a force comparable to that of 10 strong men.
Because anacondas can kill large animals, a single meal can provide them with enough food to keep them from hunting for weeks or months.
6. The strongest insect is the dung beetle
Imagine: a man weighing 80 kilograms walks into a huge stadium and, in front of thousands of admiring spectators, lifts a 90-ton truck over his head. The crowd applauds, and a small, unnoticed dung beetle thinks: yes, I can do that too!
And this beetle will be right in its own way, because it is capable of lifting a load whose weight is 1141 times greater than the weight of the insect itself. Scientists have found this out as follows:
- A strong thread was tied to the beetle's elytra and thrown over the crossbar.
- A miniature bucket was tied to the opposite end of the thread, and water was poured into it drop by drop.
However, scientists do not yet know how to explain the strength of the dung beetle.
5. The strongest land animal is the elephant
The largest and strongest land animal on Earth is the savanna elephant. The maximum height at the shoulders (the highest point of the body) is up to 3.8 meters, and the average weight of males is 5 tons.
The trunk is the elephant's main tactile instrument. It consists of muscles, nerves, and blood vessels with a minimum amount of fat and bone. A typical savanna elephant can lift 275 kilograms with its trunk.
The elephant's body is designed for strength. While most mammals have small bone cavities, elephants have very dense bones, which allows them to perform impressive feats such as standing on their hind legs.
4. The strongest bird is the South American harpy eagle
If you're wondering who reigns supreme in the air, look no further than the South American harpy eagle. This large eagle of the hawk family has incredible gripping power. Its talons are capable of crushing the bones of prey that includes monkeys, sloths, anteaters, opossums, and other small mammals, reptiles, and even birds.
The harpy eagle weighs 5-9 kg, has a wingspan of up to 2 meters and can fly at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour. These aggressive birds boldly chase away any living creature, including humans, from their nests.
3. The strongest bite is a crocodile
The champion in bite force is the saltwater crocodile, which bites its prey with a force of 27,531 to 34,424 newtons, which is equivalent to a pressure force of 2809.3 to 3512.7 kg.
The key to the crocodile's incredible bite force is its 44 jaw muscles, which are responsible for squeezing its mouth shut.
However, this ability has one drawback: the crocodile's mouth opens very weakly, since only 4 muscles are responsible for opening it. Therefore, if an adult holds the crocodile's mouth, the predator will not be able to "bite". The whole question is whether the person will have time to perform this maneuver.
2. The strongest primate is the gorilla
One of the strongest animals on the planet is at least six times stronger than the average human. The bite force of a gorilla is 91.4 kgf/cm².
As the largest primate on Earth, a typical male gorilla can weigh between 135 and 227 kg. Although they are primarily herbivorous and not very aggressive, their intimidating appearance can scare off even the most dangerous of enemies.
1. The strongest creature on the planet is the blue whale
Whales can lay claim to being the strongest creature not only in the water but in the entire world, simply because of their enormous size. Just one breath from an adult blue whale can fill almost 2,000 balloons!
As mammals, blue whales must come to the surface to breathe air. And to ventilate their lungs, the whale expels all the warm, moist air, mucus, and seawater from their lungs through two blowholes. The animal does this with such force that the “cocktail” can shoot up to nine meters into the sky.
Although these animals cannot lift, grab, or kick, they require a tremendous amount of force to propel their massive bodies through the water. This is accomplished by two large groups of muscles near their tails: the epaxial muscles for upward movement and the hypaxial muscles for downward movement.
The maximum force of a blue whale is about 60 kilonewtons. One kilonewton is enough to accelerate an object weighing 1000 kg at a speed of one meter per second.
Today, the blue whale is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources as endangered in its ocean environment, and it is believed that fewer than 20,000 individuals remain worldwide.
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