Which animal has the biggest heart? The largest animals on the planet
Heart of caress
The answer to the question of which animal has the biggest heart is quite simple. Of course, on land it is a giraffe, and in the ocean it is a blue whale. The mass of their hearts is 8.4 and 9.5 kg, respectively.
But if you calculate the ratio of the mass of an animal’s heart to its body mass, then these animals will not take first place. Studies have shown that the largest heart in relation to the body weight of the animal has a rather small, well-known animal - the weasel. In a small predator, the heart accounts for 6.7% of the total body weight, while in a blue whale it is only 2.5%, and in a giraffe it is even less, only 0.5%.
Appearance of weasel
Weasel is the smallest predator on earth. The color of the weasel resembles an ermine, the body is thin and flexible with short legs. The fur of the animal is not long and at the same time fits tightly to the body. Color depends on seasonality. In winter, the predator has a white color, this helps it hide in the snow. In summer, brownish-brown on the outside of the legs, on the tail, on the top of the head, back, and on the sides. The chest, belly, paws on the inside, throat and the edge above the upper lip still remain white. The thickness of the weasel's fur is always the same - both in summer and in winter, the only difference is that in winter the hair becomes thicker and a little longer. The weasel has a short, blunt nose and small semicircular ears.
The animal lives in forests and fields, but can also settle near humans. Most often, the weasel settles in burrows, hollows or under stones, lining its home with moss and dry grass. This species is quite widespread. The habitat of this animal covers very large territories, including China, North. America, Japan, Australia, Korean Peninsula, Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq (northern part of the country), Algeria, Asia Minor, Europe, Egypt, Morocco. That is, this predatory mammal is found in almost all corners of the planet. But the greatest distribution of weasels is observed in Europe, Northern Asia and North America.
Weasel lifestyle
The weasel's diet is quite varied; its diet includes mice, frogs, small rabbits, copperheads, moles, hamsters and small chickens. She hunts mainly at night, but if no one bothers her, she can get food during the day. In spring, weasels begin their mating season. Pregnancy lasts 5 weeks, after which 3 to 7 cubs are born. Weasel is a caring mother, constantly takes care of and protects her offspring and, in case of danger, carries them to another place in her teeth (like domestic cats).
The lifespan of this predator is about 20 years. To maintain body temperature, animals must constantly eat; per day, weasels eat up to 1/4 of their body weight. There is a popular belief that where the weasel settles, there will never be mice. An adult male of this species can even kill a hare or black grouse. Some weasels living in the barn have gotten used to climbing onto the back of a horse and, biting its scruff, licks the horse's blood. This is why many horses are horrified when they smell this beast in the stable.
Weasel hunting
Most often, weasels are hunted by large predators such as foxes and sables, and hawks and owls are also considered enemies of this animal. But, despite this, the weasel can provide worthy resistance to these predators. There is a known case when a weasel caught by a hawk in flight was able to gnaw off the throat of its offender. Humans practically do not hunt weasel, since fishing for it is impractical. True, sometimes when catching other fur-bearing animals, weasels are also caught in snares. In fact, this animal brings more benefits by exterminating mice in agricultural areas and thereby regulating their numbers.
How amazingly nature works, a rather small animal has such a big heart. And, conversely, in huge representatives of flora and fauna, the heart mass to body mass index is very small.
Which animal has the biggest heart?
- At the whale's
- At the Blue Whale. the heart weighs 500-700 kg
- in birds, compared to the size of the animal itself...
- A giraffe's heart is huge. It weighs 11 kilograms, has a length of 60 centimeters and walls 6 centimeters thick.
The giraffe's heart has one peculiarity: it has additional valves, which sometimes close and reduce the blood pressure in one of the organs of its body several times. This happens when the giraffe needs to bow its head (for example, at a watering hole, or behind the grass), because otherwise an instant rush of blood under strong pressure can rupture the blood vessels of the brain. - A giraffe's heart is huge. It weighs 11 kilograms, has a length of 60 centimeters and walls 6 centimeters thick. The giraffe's heart has one peculiarity: it has additional valves, which sometimes close and reduce the blood pressure in one of the organs of its body several times. This happens when the giraffe needs to bow its head (for example, at a watering hole, or behind the grass), because otherwise an instant rush of blood under strong pressure can rupture the blood vessels of the brain.
The giraffe is the tallest living mammal: its height from the ground to the forehead reaches 4.85.8 m; blood must be transported from the heart to the brain to the same height. The pressure created by the heart required for this is 300 mmHg. Art. Compared to humans, giraffes have twice the amount of red blood cells. The giraffe's heart passes about 60 liters (!) of blood per minute.
A horse has 18 more bones than a human. Giraffes have the largest heart and the highest blood pressure of any land animal. Giraffes have a completely black tongue, the length of which can reach up to 45 cm.
But on another site they write something else. The blue whale has the largest heart, more than 500 kilograms. There are whales whose hearts weigh 700 kilograms. The whale also has a very large tongue of 5 tons and a liver that weighs 3.5 tons. These organ sizes are the largest on our planet.
Even if we take into account the giants that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago - brachiosaurs, blue whales still surpass them in size, weighing more than 2 times the weight of these fossil animals. If we compare the blue whale with the second largest modern animal living on the planet, then the superiority of the whale is undeniable - it is 38 times heavier than the elephant. The average length of a blue whale is 26 meters, and the largest whale ever seen by man reached a length of 33.5 meters. On average, such a whale weighs 150 tons, approximately the same as 2,400 people weigh.
With all this, the heart rate of the blue whale is the slowest of all animals - during a dive it is only 4 to 8 beats per minute. At this time, only the brain and the giant are supplied with blood. By the way, its heart weighs about 650 kg and is comparable in size to a small car like a Mini Cooper. The main aorta is larger in diameter than the world's largest water pipe, located in London, and can withstand greater pressure. And you can hear the heart of a whale very far away - at a distance of several tens of kilometers, these sounds are easily picked up by acoustic instruments located on ships. The heart of the whale is a reliable and wear-resistant pump with high efficiency; no designer has yet succeeded in bringing such technical solutions to life.
How blue whales live
Once upon a time, all oceans were inhabited by blue whales, but their numbers gradually decreased; in addition, whaling caused the fact that today the Arctic population of these animals numbers, according to various estimates, from several hundred to several thousand. A more accurate count is not possible given the deep-sea blue whales.
To feed itself, this giant needs to eat about 1 ton of krill every day - small crustaceans and shrimp that live in the surface waters of the ocean, which has an energy value of about 1 million calories. Swimming through layers rich in krill, whales swallow hundreds of tons of water and crustaceans, and then push out the water, filtering the krill through a sieve of “baleen” - numerous horny plates hanging from the roof of their mouth.
The whale's oral cavity is a spacious room with an area of about 24 square meters. m.
Whales migrate throughout the year - in the summer they “graze” in the subpolar regions of Antarctica, and by winter they move to warm equatorial waters, covering thousands of miles of travel. At the same time, “on the road” they may not eat anything at all, using up the fat reserves that they gained on summer or winter pastures. Whales usually travel alone, sometimes in pairs, and can communicate by emitting intense low-frequency sounds reaching a level of 188 dB, which allows their relatives, who are located at a distance of about 1,500 km, to hear them.
In a calm state, the whale swims at a speed of 10-15 km/h, but sometimes reaches a speed of up to 35-40 km/h, which, however, can be maintained for a very short time, only a few minutes.
Female whales carry their babies for 11 months, a 7-meter newborn “baby” weighing 2 tons is able to drink more than 0.5 tons of fatty mother’s milk every day and double its original weight in a week, by which time they can already provide themselves with food on their own . Whales become adults only after 4.5 years, and reach full physical maturity by 14-15 years.
We all know well that the largest animals, or giant animals, lived on our Earth millions of years ago - these are various dinosaurs, mammoths, terrible birds and many, many other prehistoric animals. Their gigantic size and appearance seem stunning to us today.
But even today our world is full of the most amazing creatures that amaze with their shapes and sizes. It’s even hard to imagine what could have influenced their height and weight, but they are who they are, the main thing is that they feel quite comfortable among us. What kind of animals are these, and in what natural conditions do they live? We’ll talk about this today. The rating is based on the weight, height and also length of the animals.
1 place. Blue or blue whale
The largest living animal on Earth is the blue or blue whale (lat. Balaenoptera musculus). Even dinosaurs cannot compete with him - his size is impressive. This marine mammal grows up to 30 meters in length, can weigh more than 180 tons, even the tongue of this giant weighs about 2.7 tons (the size of a medium-sized Asian elephant). The blue whale's heart weighs about 600 kilograms - it is the largest heart in the world.
The huge lungs of the blue whale (the volume of which is 3 thousand liters) allow it to remain at a depth without oxygen for about 20 minutes. The maximum speed developed by this mammal is about 35 km/h, and the fountain it produces when reaching the surface is up to 10 m.
2nd place. Sperm whale
The next representative is (lat. Physeter catodon) is the only representative of the sperm whale family today. It is the largest among toothed whales. The male sperm whale grows up to 20 m in length, and weighs up to 50 tons. Females are less impressive in size - from 11 to 13 m, and weigh about 15 tons.
Interestingly, the head of an adult makes up approximately 35% of the total body length. There are sperm whales of larger sizes, but this is rather the exception. In nature, sperm whales have practically no enemies. The exception is killer whales, which attack females and calves; they cannot compete with an adult male.
3rd place. African elephant
African elephant (lat. Loxodonta africana) is the largest land animal living on earth. Includes two types - and. It occupies an honorable third place in this ranking. With a height of 3 to 3.5 meters and a body length of 6-7.5 m, the mass of these animals can reach up to 6, or even 12 tons. Female African elephants are smaller than males: they grow up to 2.7 meters in height and 5.4-6.9 m in length.
Despite its impressive size, it can move at a speed of 35-40 km/h (it can easily overtake a person). He can eat 300 kg of plant food per day. Due to its enormous mass, it sleeps standing up. A very smart animal that is capable of mutual assistance and compassion. But, despite this, it is one of the most dangerous animals on the planet.
4th place. Indian elephant
Indian or Asian elephant (lat. Elephas maximum) is the second largest land animal after the African elephant. The height can reach 2.5-3.5 m, the length of its body is about 5.5-6 m, and this elephant’s tail is not short - 1-1.5 m. This elephant can weigh from 5 to 5.5 tons . Females, just like African elephants, are much smaller.
These elephants are forest dwellers. They prefer light tropical and subtropical deciduous forests with dense undergrowth, which consists of shrubs and bamboo. They move easily through dense forests and swampy areas. They live in groups led by the oldest and most experienced female.
5th place. Southern elephant seal
Southern elephant seal (lat. Mirounga leonina) – considered the largest pinniped in the world. These large and corpulent animals can grow up to 6 m in length and weigh up to 4-5 tons.
They can stay under water for about 2 hours (an officially registered record), and dive to a depth of more than 1300 meters. They spend their entire lives in the ocean, and rarely come to land - mainly during the breeding season.
6th place. Hippopotamus or hippopotamus
Hippopotamus (lat. Hippopotamus amphibius) is a mammal from the order Artiodactyla and the suborder Porciniformes. Native to Africa.
Hippos can reach up to 1.5-1.65 meters, their body length can be from 3 to 5 meters, and their weight can be 3 tons or more. These animals increase their mass throughout their lives, their teeth also grow throughout their lives and can reach 0.5 m in length. Interestingly, the skin alone weighs 0.5 tons.
7th place. White rhinoceros
White rhinoceros (lat. Ceratotherium simum) – the 2nd largest herbivore on the planet. Adults grow in height - up to 1.6-2 m, in length - about 3.8-4.2 m.
The average weight of a white rhinoceros is about 3 tons; there are individuals much larger - about 8 tons. Interestingly, the white rhinoceros is not white at all, but rather gray. It probably received this name from a distorted Boer word “wijde”, which means “wide-faced” - consonant with the English word “white” (Russian white).
8th place. Walrus
Walruses (lat. Odobenus rosmarus) is one of the ancient large animals that have existed since the last ice age. Fossils found in San Francisco Bay date back approximately 28,000 years.
And even now these giants grow up to 3 m in length and weigh up to 2 tons, the thickness of the skin (on the neck and shoulders of males) is up to 10 cm, and the layer of fat is up to 15 cm. Large ones are perfectly adapted for life in the harsh conditions of the Arctic. They feed mainly on shellfish, but can also eat fish.
9th place. Black rhinoceros
Black rhinoceros (lat. Rhinoceros bicornis) – slightly finer than white. The weight of this animal does not exceed 1.5-2 tons, body length is about 3-3.5 meters, height at the shoulders is 1.5-1.6 m. Their habit of moving along the same paths and poor eyesight makes them vulnerable and defenseless against poachers.
The black rhinoceros has no natural enemies, so it is not at all timid and because of this it automatically becomes an easy trophy for hunters. Interestingly, the body of the black rhinoceros is more elongated in length and it is lighter than the white one.
10th place. Saltwater crocodile
Saltwater, or saltwater crocodile (lat. Crocodylus porosus) is the largest and most massive reptile on the planet. The saltwater crocodile can grow up to 5.5-7 meters (usually 5 m) in length, the weight of an adult (male) is from 409 kg to 1.5 tons.
Interesting fact: it has a high commercial value because of its skin, from which various types of clothing, shoes, etc. are made. It is hunted and bred on crocodile farms.
Modern species of animals are absolutely not inferior in size to prehistoric animals, but if people do not treat wild nature with due respect, then they will all become extinct just like those that lived millions of years ago.
The internal organs of a glass frog, including its heart
Of course, the human heart is an amazing miracle thanks to which we live, it is the vessel of the soul, and so on. However, is it capable of self-healing? Does it pump exclusively pure blood? Is it possible to freeze him and then bring him back to life?
The hearts of some animal species are capable of this and more. We've scoured the animal kingdom from the depths of the ocean to the summit of the Himalayas for the wonders of the heart, and here's what we found.
Insects
The insides of an earthworm, including its five pseudo-hearts
Earthworm
Depending on your point of view, earthworms either have five "hearts" or no heart at all. Although they do not have the usual multi-chambered muscular organ, they do have five special blood vessels called “aortic arches.” By contracting, the aortic arch pumps blood throughout the body of the worm. So if you accidentally damage an earthworm's heart, don't worry - he has four more just like it.
Cockroach
The human heart consists of four chambers, each of which performs a specific function - if something happens to one of them, something irreparable will happen. In turn, the cockroach's heart has twelve to thirteen chambers, which are arranged in a row and driven by a separate group of muscles. This means that if one chamber stops functioning, nothing will happen to the cockroach.
Hoverfly
Hoverfly
Hover flies love to hover in the air above flowers, collecting precious pollen. What helps them do this is essentially the heart, which pumps blood to the head and chest, where the mouthparts and muscles responsible for flapping their wings are located.
Pisces and their neighbors
Danio rerio
This beautiful little fish contains the heart of a real superhero. In 2002, scientists found that if up to 20% of the lower ventricle is removed from a zebrafish, the fish can restore the lost tissue within two months. This occurs thanks to specialized muscle cells that are capable of not only regeneration, but also stimulating the growth of new blood vessels. Having studied the self-healing hearts of zebrafish, scientists hope to apply their knowledge to human organs.
Spiny-nosed Whiteblood
Spiny-nosed Whiteblood
The spiny-nosed whiteblood lives in the Southern Ocean at a depth of one kilometer. How does she cope with the cold? Partly thanks to its heart, which is much larger and about five times stronger than the heart of an ordinary aquarium fish. The blood of the spiny-nosed whiteblood also lacks hemoglobin, a red protein responsible for binding oxygen. Instead, due to low temperatures, oxygen dissolves directly into the spiny-nosed whiteblood's plasma, which causes its blood to become transparent.
Anatomy of cuttlefish
Cuttlefish
Like all cephalopods, the cuttlefish has three hearts - one heart for a pair of gills and one heart for the rest of the body. Research results show that cuttlefish living in cold waters have larger heart sizes than those living in warm waters; this is associated with increased aerobic capacity. In addition, their blood contains hemocyanin (instead of hemoglobin), which gives it a blue color. Cuttlefish are true aristocrats.
Birds
Hummingbird captured in flight
You've probably heard that hummingbirds beat their wings 15 times in one second - all thanks to their unique heart, which beats up to 21 times per second and ensures rapid delivery of oxygen to muscle mitochondria.
mountain goose
Migration is not an easy process for all birds, but bar-headed geese are the least fortunate in this regard: their route runs directly over the Himalayas. These birds regularly fly over mountain passes at an altitude of 6,000 meters above sea level - and all thanks to the fact that they have an unusually strong heart, connected to the muscles that are used in flight, a set of additional capillaries.
Emperor penguins
Emperor penguins are famous for their soft hearts. Emperor penguin pairs spend most of their time caring for each other and their offspring. Less known, but very important, is the fact that the hearts of emperor penguins work extremely slowly, especially when immersed in water: they beat about 15 times per minute, cutting off blood supply to all (except vital) organs and providing the body with just that much oxygen , which is necessary for deep-sea hunting.
Reptiles and amphibians
wood frog
Many animals' hearts, from bears to marmots, slow down when they hibernate, but for all we know, wood frogs' hearts may stop beating altogether during this period. In winter, these frogs essentially turn into “icicles”: thanks to a special solution in their cells, they can suspend metabolic activity and allow most of the water in their bodies to solidify without any consequences. Their hearts take it for granted; they stop beating when the world freezes and resume activity when it warms up.
Glass frog
All frogs have a three-chambered heart with two atria that receive blood from other parts of the body and one ventricle that shunts it back. Glass frogs are unique in that you can observe this entire process with your own eyes - their translucent skin on the belly allows a person to see the work of the heart and blood vessels inside these amphibians.
Python lies in wait for its prey
Python
After a python has had a good meal, its heart increases in size by 40 percent due to fatty acids supplied with food. (This speeds up digestion, a process that can take up to several days for pythons.)
Mammals
The heart of a blue whale, which is kept at the Royal Ontario Museum
Blue whale
Popular legend says that the blue whale's heart is the size of a car, and a person can easily fit through its aorta. This is not entirely true. According to Jacqueline Miller, the blue whale's heart is the size of "a small golf cart or an electric circus bumper car," and its aorta can only fit one human head.
Giraffe
The giraffe's heart must fight against the pressure of gravity every day to deliver blood to the long-necked animal's head. It manages to do this thanks to very thick and durable walls and blood vessels that expand and contract at a rapid pace. As the giraffe's neck lengthens, the blood vessels also undergo changes, becoming thicker.
Cheetah
A cheetah's resting heart beats about 120 times per minute - about the same as the heart of a human jogging. While a human's maximum heart rate is approximately 220 beats per minute—and takes some time to reach—the cheetah's "heart rocket" can reach 250 beats per minute in just a few seconds. This change is so intense that it allows the cheetah to run at top speed for only about 20 seconds before the predator's organs begin to overheat and become damaged.