This Is the Biggest Animal in the World

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Nov 6, 3:00PM EDT

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This Is the Biggest Animal in the World — © Alexis Rosenfeld / Getty Images

When people think of the biggest animals, their minds often go to those that lived 100 million to 200 million years ago, known by scientists as the Mesozoic Era period. According to Britannica, some of the largest dinosaurs likely weighed between 65 to 110 tons, reaching 85 to 120 feet long. Dinosaurs died out above 65 million years ago. Their size, however, is a good yardstick for the largest animal alive today.

The largest animal in the world today is the blue whale, which can weigh up to 180 tons. They are as much as 100 feet long and have a lifespan of about 80 years. They are also the largest mammals in the world. The Earth’s 10 largest animals are almost exclusively whales, and most have long lifespans, according to Safaris Africana.

Most scientists also say the blue whale is the largest animal that ever existed. The World Wildlife Fund says, “The blue whale has a heart the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.” WWF also points out the blue whale is the loudest animal, with a call of 188 decibels, “which is louder than a jet engine.”

Blue whales feed on krill, which are crustaceans. According to the Natural History Museum, a blue whale can eat 4 tons of krill a day. Although far from being the largest, these are the world’s deadliest animals.

The blue whale population is widely spread. According to the NOAA, they live in every ocean except the Arctic. These are the most threatened wildlife in every state.

24/7 Tempo reviewed Safaris Africana list of the world’s largest animals.

Click here to see the top 10 biggest animals in the world

10. Gray whale
> Weight: 45 tons

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9. Sei whale
> Weight: 45 tons

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8. Humpback whale
> Weight: 48 tons

7. Sperm whale
> Weight: 57 tons

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6. Southern right whale
> Weight: 110 tons

5. North Atlantic right whale
> Weight: 110 tons

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4. Bowhead whale
> Weight: 120 tons

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3. Fin whale
> Weight: 120 tons

2. North Pacific right whale
> Weight: 120 tons

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1. Blue Whale
> Weight: 190 tons

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.