Think of records and most people instantly think of human achievements. Who is the fastest from here to there, and who is the fastest a little further. The highest jumper and the furthest thrower of a spear, because if you cant throw accurately you might as well throw a long way. But what about animal world records?
That’s right. We share this planet with a plethora of creatures, great and small. Among each of them they can create their own records. But what if it were a no holds barred contest between them? Well, this is where this list comes in. Here are some of the most spectacular animal world records we could find.
1 The Worlds Smallest Frogs
Two of the worlds smallest frogs have recently been discovered in Papua New Guinea, and they are smaller than an M&M. The scientific name for one of these frogs is Paedophryne dekot. Dekot comes from the native Daga language meaning very small. They are between 8.5 mm to 9 mm long.
The second, and slightly larger frog at between 8.8mm and 9.3mm long is Paedophryne verrucosa. Verrucosa is Latin for “full of warts,” due to it’s bumpy skin.
They are not only the worlds smallest frog, but also the worlds smallest tetrapods. Tetrapods are vertebrates with four legs. For the record the smallest vertebrate known in the world is Paedocypris progenetica, which is a fish native to Southeast Asia. A mature female progenetica measures only 7.9mm in length.
The frogs were discovered by scientists who heard their calls and zeroed in on them. They had to catch them with their bare hands, which by all accounts was difficult as they behaved much like crickets in that they jump up and land a long way from where they originally were.
2 Blue Whales Have The Biggest wiener In The World
Humans may have the largest wieneres of all the primates, but compared to this fact it is tiny. The largest wiener in the animal world belongs to the blue whale. The largest measured wiener of a blue whale measured 2.4 metres (8 feet) long.
The blue whale is so big in fact that the tongue is about the same weight and size as an elephant.
Did you know that Hippos kill more people than most African big animals combined? Most Africans will agree in saying that the Hippo is one of the most aggressive wild animals in the world. They constantly fight and have been known to kill crocodiles and drown people after they tip their boats over. Even on land, where they are less comfortable, they will attack a human or other animal with little warning or regard.
But if you think that this animal is dangerous and deadly, it doesn’t even compare to the next on this list.
4 The Worlds Deadliest Animal Is The Mosquito
We know that only a small percentage of insects are dangerous, but when an insect is dangerous it can be the most dangerous animal in the world! The mosquito just happens to be the deadliest animal in the entire world. When you are bitten by a mosquito you will usually just kill the insect, but by the time you do that it is too late. The damage has been done.
The mosquito has been responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other animal. They are responsible for the transmission of diseases such as malaria, Elephantiasis, West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever and so on. In Africa one child dies every 45 seconds from malaria alone.
The diseases they carry are not only their only weapon. When they emerge from water, if the numbers are sufficient enough, they can bleed an animal the size of a cow dry within 10 minutes.
5 Elephants Have The Longest Pregnancy Of Any Land Animal
Pregnancy. All animals in one way or another have some form of pregnancy, be it the laying of eggs or the carrying of an embryo. For the vast majority of animals in the world, the gestation length is often a very short time. Others, such as humans, can take months. But even our lengthy pregnancies are short when compared to the animal world records for pregnancies.
Elephants have the longest pregnancies of any land animal. They are pregnant for 22 months. When the baby is born it weighs around 120kg (260lb). An elephant will normally only give birth about four times in her lifetime.
The worlds largest snake is the green anaconda. It can grow to 10m (33 feet) in length and 130kg (286lb) in weight. It also doesn’t lay eggs like most snakes, it instead gives birth to live young.
Texas is synonymous with cattle, and in particular, the Texan Longhorn, a breed of cow with extremely long horns. The Texas longhorn is almost instantly recognizable, with an amazing distance between each tip. But as long as they are, they aren’t the worlds longest horns. To be precise, the longest horns ever recorded could have placed two full grown men between the tips.
According to the Guinness Book Of World Records, the Asian Water Buffalo, native to India, Nepal, Bhutan and Thailand, have the longest horns of all horned animals. The average distance of the horns from tip to tip is 1 m (3 ft 3 in).But what was the longest ever?
The worlds longest horns that were ever recorded came from an Asian water buffalo that was shot in 1955. It had horns that measured over 4.2metres (13 feet 11 inches) from tip to tip. More amazing about this is that the horns of water buffalo are actually 1 continuous horn. Most animals that have horns have 2 of them.
So they were the longest horns in the world, now for the thickest. And to put it lightly, they look like they would be very uncomfortable.
Ankole-Watusi is a breed of cattle native to Africa and they hold the record for largest horn circumference. A bull named CT Woodie, had horns which measured 40.75 inches (103.5 cm) around on September 20, 2004. A steer named Lurch had horns measuring 95cm (37.5″) around on May 6, 2003.
9 Oldest Living Animal
Giant sea turtles and tortoises can live for hundreds of years. In fact, Adwaita who was a Aldabra giant tortoise died in India in 2006 and was aged at about 255 years. But that doesn’t even come close to the record set by a clam.
A clam that was dredged from the Arctic in 2007 was the worlds oldest living animal. By counting the annual growth rings on it they have revealed it’s age was 405 years old. Unfortunately it died before they were able to count its rings.
10 The Cheetah Is The fastest Land Animal, But How Fast Is It?
The old mantra when driving is speed kills. But this doesn’t only apply to road users, it can also apply to animals in the wild. Survival in the wild can sometimes come down to nothing but speed. You either have to outrun something to get away from it, or outrun something to catch it. Either way, without speed, the numbers are not in your favor. Sure, there are some animals that can survive without the need for speed, but they have adapted differently to the rigors of surviving in the wild. Some will have defensive horns, thick skin, or even armor plating. Others have venom or terrible smells they can use for survival. But, when it all boils down to the pinnacle moment, these features can prove to be fruitless. Under the right circumstances, speed is the only thing you need, and nothing on land matches the cheetah. So for your pleasure, here are a few astounding cheetah speed facts.
You already know that the cheetah is the fastest land animal, but did you know how fast it can run? A cheetah can run at 93 km/h, and it can reach bursts of 112 to 120 km/h. Now that’s pretty darn fast if you ask me. Highway speeds are set at similar limits, so don’t be thinking that you could run for your life if you were being hunted down by one of these cats.
Some more cheetah speed facts are tat it can go from zero to 100km/h (60 mph) in only 3 seconds. When a cheetah is running at top speed it’s strides are about 7m which is the same as a horses.
Even though the cheetah is mostly associated with Africa, its habitat used to cover a massive range. It stretched from the southern tip of Africa to the Mediterranean, and west to India. Today it is mostly found in sub-Saharan Africa and Iran.
