This Big Animals gallery shows some of the largest and most powerful animals on earth including bears, elephants, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, a moose and a gorilla plus other really huge critters.
This Big Animals gallery shows some of the largest and most powerful animals on earth including bears, elephants, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, a moose and a gorilla plus other really huge critters.
A brown bear from coastal Alaska loves salmon and can reach a weight of 1500 pounds. This is one of three brown bears that can be viewed from a new walkway at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. It is Phase I of their BEARS program, which stands for Bear Education Awareness Research Sanctuary.
Seward Highway & Portage Glacier Rd, Portage, AK 99587
Approximately 200,000 moose live in Alaska. This male is in the care of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. The AWCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation, education and care of wild animals. Their 200 acre refuge, which is about 50 miles south of Anchorage, provides natural habitat for several species of Alaskan wildlife. It also provides visitors with a close up look at these enormous antlers. The Alaska bull moose averages about 1,400 pounds.
Seward Highway & Portage Glacier Rd, Portage, AK 99587
This pair of musk oxen has long horns but the guarded male on the left is much larger than the female on the right. They were hunted to extinction in Alaska during the late 19th century primarily for their wool called qiviut. But thanks to extensive conservation efforts by numerous groups, including the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, they are again in the wild. The AWCC cares for orphaned and injured native wild animals before releasing them.
Seward Highway & Portage Glacier Rd, Portage, AK 99587
One of these two elks is named Homer and the other is Danny Junior. They are part of a herd that is maintained at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Indigenous people from the Northwest Territories called them “wapiti” which means “white rump.” These 700 to 1100 pound Roosevelt Elks are native to the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon Territory plus the Afognak and Raspberry Islands.
Seward Highway & Portage Glacier Rd, Portage, AK 99587
Kangaroos are endemic to Australia. Over 34 million of these marsupials live in the country. About 11 million of them are eastern grey kangaroos. Their range is the eastern third of Australia. Although smaller than the red kangaroo, the great grey kangaroo is very large. A male averages 145 pounds and stands about 6.5 feet. The joey spends its first 190 days in the mother’s pouch and completely leaves the shelter after 235 days. These two were grazing in the wild at Euroka Clearing in the Blue Mountains.
Euroka Campground, Fern Glen Walking Track, Glenbrook NSW 2787, Australia
Horse enthusiasts will like spending time at the Fernpark Pony & Riding Club, especially on events days. This young, female jumper was one of several competitors who put on amazing show with their beloved animals. It seemed fitting the obstacles on this cross-country course are log fences given the importance of timber in northern Tasmania
201 Fern Glade Rd, Stowport TAS 7321, Australia
The ancestors of this draught horse began from crossbreeding Flemish stallions with Scottish mares in the early 1800s. The species was named for the county of its origin: Clydesdale, Scotland. Lampits mare, considered the mother of the Clydesdale breed, was born in 1806. Soon afterwards, the British aggressively exported the work horse to their colonies. By the turn of the 20th century, there were over 25,000 Clydesdales in Australia. Aussies call them “the breed that built Australia.” Sadly, there are only 5,000 of these magnificent horses left in the world.
246 Samuel Amess Drive, Churchill Island 3925, Australia
A highlight of Zoodoo Zoo is the Safari Tour. Climb aboard an open vehicle for a ride around some of the zoo’s 220 acres. Among the creatures you will meet are a flock of curious emus, a zebra herd (called a zeal) and a caravan of camels. They are all eager to be feed by you. This single hump dromedary, also called an Arabian camel, seemed more interested in kissing the passengers.
Zoodoo Zoo, 620 Middle Tea Tree Rd, Richmond TAS 7000, Australia
For an extra fee, Zoodoo Zoo offers unique encounter experiences. Follow a keeper around the property while they introduce you to various animals, including meekats, marmosets, Tasmanian devils, snakes, koalas and these plains zebras. Then feed your new friends while your tour guide photographs your adventure.
Zoodoo Zoo, 620 Middle Tea Tree Rd, Richmond TAS 7000, Australia
A popular daytrip from central Sydney is a fun-filled visit to Taronga Zoo Sydney. The 69 acre zoological garden is located in the suburb of Mosman along the North Shore of Sydney Harbour. Opened in 1916, the zoo exhibits over 4,000 animals along winding walkways and terraced landscape. Most of the 350 species are endemic to Australia. Among the exceptions are the residents of the Giraffe Encounter. This herd stretches their long necks for spectacular views of Sydney’s skyline. The non-profit zoo is managed by Taronga Conservation Society, a government agency of New South Wales.
Taronga Zoo, Bradleys Head Rd, Mosman NSW 2088, Australia
Despite weighing 3,000 to 4,000 pounds, being almost hairless and pink-faced, this hippopotamus still manages to smile while resting. This semiaquatic relative of whales lives in the southern half of Africa. Or you can find a pod of these river horses at the 26 acre Antwerp Zoo. It is located in the center of the city just off Astrid Square and next to the beautiful Antwerpen-Centraal train station.
The only bear that lives in South America is this black spectacled bear who is wading in a pond. It’s amazing that males can grow over 400 pounds on a primarily herbivorous diet. The increasing loss of their Venezuelan and Columbian habit due to extensive logging and the demand for their gall bladder as a Chinese medicine are threatening their native population. If you visit the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, then congratulate this family for the birth of their cub in March, 2013.
Another animal you are likely to encounter at Iguaçu Falls is the capybara. This semiaquatic native of South America is the world’s largest rodent. An adult female like this one can measure up to 4.5 feet and weigh over 150 pounds. Watch for them grazing in clusters of 10 to 20 animals.
Parque Nacional do Iguaçu, Rod, Br-469, Km 18 - Foz do Iguaçu - PR, 85853-830, Brazil
Approximately 289,000 square miles of the Amazon Basin has been deforested since the late 1970s. Approximately 60% is from ranching. The resulting pastures tend to be of poor quality, yet cleared land is easier for claiming ownership. These livestock are mixed breeds. The white animal with drooping ears is an Indo-Brazilian. When they were imported to the United States in 1946, they became the brahman. The others are nagori cattle. Both species are very tolerant of extreme heat.
This reticulated giraffe is one of eight in the herd at the Oakland Zoo in California. The bull weighs 1,700 to 4,200 pounds and can be 18 feet tall. The males engage in a behavior known as necking, which is not what you think. When trying to win mating rights, two males will wildly swing and smash their heads and necks together until the weaker one either retreats or is no longer standing. It can be a vicious contest but it also ensures the best genes are reproduced.
This close-up of a greater one-horned rhinoceros appears to be a male not because of the horn – both genders have them – but because of the thick neck folds. This fifth largest land mammal in the world averages 4,500 pounds but the largest was nearly twice that heavy. Also called the Indian rhinoceros, only about 3,000 live in the wild. But you can see this one, plus a white rhino and a calf born in 2012, at the San Diego Zoo in California.
I found it harder to distinguish zebra types than counting the unique stripes on a running herd. Having said that, the most common is the plains zebra, and Safari West in Santa Rosa, California, has two of the subspecies. I believe this head shot is a Burchell’s zebra, also called a Damara. They also have Grant’s zebras. The stripes of the plains zebra extends down their side and across their stomach. And don’t ask me if this is a male or female. I haven’t a clue.
This is a square-lipped rhinoceros, more commonly called a southern white rhino, yet it is not white. Apparently, it got that name by a mistranslation of the Dutch word “wijd” which means wide. And wide it is, typically weighing 3,000 to 8,000 pounds. The largest was almost 10,000 pounds. Only about 17,000 live in the wild but far more than the northern white; only seven remain. If you get the chance, visit Safari West in Santa Rosa, California. You can spend a few hours viewing the 600 animals from the back of an open jeep. And spend the night in one of their luxury tents.
This is one of the 85,000 cattle raised on the nearly 4,000 farms in Nova Scotia, Canada. Nearby was Fundy Bay, which is sandwiched between the Canadian providences of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and is close to northern Maine. It has the highest tidal range in the world.
A relaxing way to see the best sites of Niagara-on-the-Lake (the locals call their town NOTL) is aboard a horse-drawn carriage. You and three guests can opt for a 30, 45 or 60 minute narrated tour of Old Town, colonial homes and the shores of Lake Ontario. Your carriage awaits you outside of the Prince of Wales Hotel on the corners of King and Queen Streets. Afterwards, climb back into your car for a return trip to Niagara Falls.
6 Picton St, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0, Canada
The boreal woodland caribou is the largest of the caribou species found in all Canadian provinces plus Alaska. The shoulder height of males can reach four feet with a weight up to 450 pounds. Although both genders can grow antlers, the males are much broader. The profile of this magnificent animal has been on the back of the Canadian quarter since 1937.
Assiniboine Park Zoo, 2595 Roblin Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R3R 2N7, Canada
This baby male muskox was born at Assiniboine Park Zoo in 2015. The gestation period for muskox is eight months. After two months of nursing, a calf begins to eat only vegetation. In the wild, a calf is expected to keep up with the heard within a few hours of birth. Their life expectancy is 12 to 20 years.
Assiniboine Park Zoo, 2595 Roblin Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R3R 2N7, Canada
This muskox at Assiniboine Park Zoo does not look very motivated. However, the beast can reach a speed of 37 miles an hour. This is surprising for an animal that can exceed 800 pounds. Both genders have curved horns. They are native to the Artic regions of Canada and Greenland. After becoming extinct in Alaska, muskox were reintroduced in 1935.
Assiniboine Park Zoo, 2595 Roblin Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R3R 2N7, Canada
Assiniboine Park Zoo is justifiably proud of their star residents: polar bears. You will be thrilled to watch them from the Gateway to the Artic viewing deck or from the glass tunnel while they swim overhead. A popular section is the Churchill Coast were the enormous Artic bears stroll along their native tundra. This is Storm who was scratching an itch. He was born in the wild in 2010. Storm could reach a weight of 1,500 pound and be over nine feet tall.
Assiniboine Park Zoo, 2595 Roblin Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R3R 2N7, Canada
Sea lions and fur seals are commonly seen socializing, barking and sleeping on beaches and rock ledges throughout the Galápagos Islands. The practice is called hauling-out. They typically congregate by gender. The females band together with their pups under the watchful eye of the dominate bull. The young bachelors form a different colony. Often you will spot a solo older male like this one resting in the sunshine.
Great Darwin Bay, Genovesa Island, Galápagos, Ecuador
The Galápagos tortoise richly deserves the common adjective of “giant.” An average adult of this endemic species – the largest in the world – weighs 400 pounds. Yet size varies by island. The biggest are native to Santa Cruz Island. Males here can measure up to five feet and be nearly 500 pounds. The largest was 6.1 feet and 880 pounds. Their scale-covered legs have to be enormous to carry that much weight. There are five claws on the front legs and four on the back pair. Their carapace (shell) is either saddleback, domed or a variation of the two. Most impressive is their life expectancy. In the wild, they typically live over 100 years. Harriet was the oldest in captivity when she died at 170 years old in Australia Zoo. With that much time, who needs to hurry?
Charles Darwin Research Station, Ave Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora, Ecuador
The Nile flows over four thousand miles from Alexandria to Aswan. This distance makes it the world’s longest river. For Egyptian towns, this is the primary water source for transportation and farming. Its annual flooding supplies silt and irrigation creating a fertile path through the desert. Along the riverbanks, the farm buildings, practices, crops and free-roaming animals appear little changed since ancient times. This female Nile lechwe – an endangered species of antelope – was meandering along at sunset. I call this photo, “Rush Hour on the Nile.”
Kom Ombo Nagoa Ash Shatb, Markaz Deraw, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
There is something nostalgic about a team of Friesian horses proudly clopping through a city led by a coachman and footman dressed in Victorian livery with top hats. The experience is available to sightseers and also offered by funeral directors in York. The ride is especially magical and romantic if you are surrounded by flowers after exchanging vows in York Minster.
A special treat for kids and their parents at Zoo Miami is the Humpy’s Camel Rides near the Children’s Zoo section. For a small fee, you can climb aboard either Charlie or Fluffy and be lead around a path by the animal’s keeper. You will feel like you are traveling through an Arabian desert, just like when the nomads began using them for transportation over 4,000 years ago. Today all dromedary camels are domestic. None have lived in the wild since the time of Christ.
12400 SW 152nd St, Miami, FL 33177
The dromedary camel is distinguished from other camelids by the single hump on its back. This mound of fat can grow up to eight inches high. Watching them eat is fun but inside the mouth is scary. They have a series of raised pink structures resembling needles called papillae. These manipulate food while protecting the mouth and some contain taste buds. Many of their 32 teeth are enormous with yellow enamel and their lower jaw swings side to side. The result is not pretty but it is effective for consuming their main diet of grass and foliage.
This Grevy’s Zebra is an endangered resident of Kenya and Ethiopia in Africa. When studied in 1882, it was named after French President François Paul Jules Grévy. At nine feet tall, the equine is larger than most zebras. The vertical stripes down to the hooves are perfect camouflage at night. This black and white pattern also confuses predators when the imperial zebra is running at a top speed of 35 miles per hour.
The sable antelope lives in abundance in herds in the woodlands of Southeast Africa. Both males and females have backward-facing, ringed horns. The males scimitar-shaped horns are considerably longer typically reach 40 to 65 inches. The easiest way to distinguish the gender is by coloring. Mature males have black coats and the female’s is chestnut brown. The hippotragus niger is capable of a sustain speed of 35 miles per hour.
A highlight of Zoo Miami is the Samburu Giraffe Feeding Station. While standing on a tall, wooden platform, you can be eye-to-eye with a herd of reticulated giraffes. This interactive attraction allows you to hand out greens and watch as an enormous black tongue measuring 14 to 18 inches removes the snack from your hand. Do not worry if you arrive late in the afternoon. These Somali giraffes will still be hungry. Males have a capacity to eat 75 pounds of food a day.
12400 SW 152nd St, Miami, FL 33177
Based on its name, it is easy to determine the origin of the Somali wild ass. A few also live in the semi-arid grasslands of Ethiopia and Eritrea in east-central Africa. This long-eared equid is smaller than most yet can reach 500 pounds. The species is critically endangered with an estimated 1,000 left in the world. 20% of them are in captivity like this one at Zoo Miami.
This brown bear is going for a swim to cool off from the summer heat in Munich, Germany. Depending on the subspecies, they can range from 220 to 1,400 pounds. The Tierpark Hellabrunn Zoo has several bears, including polar bears, plus over 19,000 animals from over 750 species. Unlike most zoos, it exhibits animals by geographical region verses by type of animal.
This Indian rhinoceros is also called the greater one-horn rhino, but this one’s horn has been worn down. Look closely and you’ll see the characteristic, wart-like bumps on the skin below the coating of mud. It is hard to believe that an animal that averages 3,500 pounds can run faster than 30 m.p.h. Niko and Rapti are a couple who live at the Hellabrunn Rhino House in Munich, Germany.
The decaying runway of Pearls Airport is 5,200 feet long. Locals stage frequent drag strip racing events here. An unexpected site are the livestock tied along the edges of the runway like this grazing longhorn steer. The animals seem more curious than threatening when approached. Yet, these menacing horns deserve respect. Also watch out for the abundant cow pies.
Pearls Airport, Old Airport Rd, Pearls, Grenada
It is impressive to watch this reticulated giraffe’s huge strides as it walks at the Honolulu Zoo. A male’s height to the top of his ossicones or head bumps can reach 19 feet. His neck can measure eight feet. They weigh between 2,400 to 4,200 pounds and eat about 75 pounds of leaves a day. Surprisingly, the world’s tallest mammal only drinks water every other day.
151 Kapahulu Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815