The strongest animals in the world
Contents:
• In a constant war between predator and prey, size and strength can be the decisive factor in the victory of one of the parties. However, there are several ways to measure strength, including bite force and punch force.
• For this review, I will be defining strength in absolute terms, not in relation to body size (which would put insects in the top of the list). Here are the top 7 most powerful 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 kills large deer, jaguars and even black caimans. Anacondas can shrink around their prey with a strength comparable to that of 10 mighty men.
• Because anacondas can kill large animals, a single meal can provide enough food for them not to hunt for weeks or months.
6. The strongest insect is the dung beetle
• Imagine: a man weighing 80 kilograms enters a huge stadium, and in front of thousands of admiring spectators, he lifts a truck weighing 90 tons 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 able to lift a load whose weight is 1141 times the weight of the insect itself. Scientists figured it out like this:
- a strong thread was tied to the elytra of the beetle 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 power of the dung beetle.
5. The strongest land animal is the elephant
• The largest and strongest land animal on Earth is the bush 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 is made up of muscles, nerves, and blood vessels with minimal fat and bone. A typical bush elephant can lift 275 kilograms with its trunk.
• The body of an elephant by nature itself was created for strength. While most mammals have small bone cavities, elephants have very dense bones, allowing them to perform spectacular actions such as standing on their hind legs.
4. The strongest bird is the South American harpy
• If you're wondering who is the king of the air, take a look at the South American harpy. This large hawk eagle has incredible gripping power. Its claws are able to crush the bones of prey, which are 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 up to 80 kilometers per hour. These aggressive birds boldly drive any living creature, including humans, from their nests.
3. The strongest bite is a crocodile
• The champion in bite force is the combed crocodile, which bites its prey with a force of 27531 to 34424 newtons, which is equivalent to a pressure force of 2809,3-3512,7 kg.
• The key to the crocodile's incredible bite power is its 44 jaw muscles, which are responsible for squeezing the mouth.
• However, this ability has one drawback: the crocodile's mouth opens very weakly, since only 4 muscles are responsible for unclenching. Therefore, if an adult holds the mouth of a crocodile, then the predator will not be able to bite. The whole question is whether a 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. Gorilla bite force – 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 away even the most dangerous enemies.
1. The most powerful creature on the planet is the blue whale.
• Whales can claim to be the strongest creature not only in the water, but in the whole world, simply because of their sheer size. Just one breath of an adult blue whale can fill almost 2 balloons!
• As mammals, blue whales must swim to the surface to breathe air. And to ventilate the lungs, the whale releases all the warm, moist air, mucus and sea water from the lungs through two breathing holes. 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 an enormous amount of strength to move their massive bodies through the water. This is facilitated by two large groups of muscles near their tail: the epaxial muscles for upward movements and the hypaxial muscles for downward movements.
• The maximum force of the blue whale reaches about 60 kilonewtons. One kilonewton is enough to disperse an object weighing 1000 kg at a speed of one meter per second.
• To date, the blue whale is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in its oceanic environment, with fewer than 20 individuals thought to be left worldwide.
