Humans are believed to be superior to animals in various ways. We are known to have better mental capacity, use complex symbolic language, and have moral and self-awareness. However, animals can also outshine us with their own unique characteristics. Just like bats that can see in total darkness, beetles that can carry 850 times their weight, or blue whales that are 16 times bigger than a person.

To humble the human kind and remind us just how superior nature can be, the team at Bored Panda compiled a list of some of the biggest representatives of the animal kingdom. Scroll down to find them, and be ready to believe that what you’re about to see is real.

#1 Little Lady Next To A Giant Dog

Image credits: millre01

#2 I Had No Idea That Wombats Could Get This Big

Image credits: Aealo

#3 Here Is Hogarth, My Absolute Unit Of A Snail

Image credits: Clokkers

The previously mentioned antarctic blue whale holds the title of the biggest animal on earth. It can weigh up to 400,000 pounds and reach a length of 98 feet. The giant’s heart is the size of a car.

One of the most fascinating facts about these animals is that they reach such mind-boggling size by almost exclusively consuming tiny shrimp like organisms called krill. During feeding season, they can eat 7936 pounds of them a day.

#4 My Pet, The Giant Hooded Katydid. He’s Bigger Than My Hand

Image credits: anotherpeskybird

#5 Behold

Image credits: unusuals86

#6 That’s Not A Guinea Pig, That’s A Guinea Hog

Image credits: -stay-

They consume them by gulping a big amount of water and pushing it through baleen (comb-like keratin plates attached to the upper jaw). The food is left behind in the mouth and then swallowed.

In fact, their feeding type is the reason for their size.

#7 Big Irish Wolfhound

Image credits: FormerFruit

#8 Meet Cuddles

Image credits: taozee3

#9 Kefir, The Giant Maine Coon Cat

Image credits: yuliyamnn

Called lunge feeding, it allows blue whales to consume a large amount of food at a time, providing the nutrients and energy needed to reach such enormous size. And a sudden rise in ocean upwelling (when nutrient-rich water rises to the surface of the ocean) provided them with ample supply for prey—a perfect recipe for growing this big.

#10 In Case You Haven’t Seen One, This Is A Percheron! 5’5″ Human For Scale

Image credits: reddit.com

#11 Roger’s Favorite Game Is Crushing His Feed Bucket! He Is Our Alpha Male Kangaroo, He Is 10 Years Old, Height 6’7”, Weight 200 Pounds And 100% Muscle

Image credits: The Kangaroo Sanctuary Alice Springs

#12 Our Old Generator Storage Structure On Montana’s Eastern Front Has Become Brutus’s Personal Scratching Tree

Image credits: jamiegogues

The second runner-up is another aquatic animal—the colossal squid. It can grow as long as 46 feet and weigh as much as 1,650 lbs.

Since it inhabits cold and deep regions of the Southern Ocean ranging from 66 to 6,562 feet deep, scientists have never succeeded in observing the biggest invertebrates (organisms without a backbone) in their natural habitat.

They only get a good look at them when fishermen accidentally catch them in the nets.

#13 Absolute Lad Of A Tortoise

Image credits: thomaspeschak

#14 The Cecropia Moth, Largest Moth In North America, Has A Wingspan Between 5-7 Inches (13-18 Cm)

Image credits: TheFartingKing_56

#15 Found This Huge Jellyfish On The East Coast Of Australia

Image credits: DeftPerception

It’s not a coincidence that most of the biggest animals in the world live underwater. Scientists believe that it would be too cold for warm-blooded animals to survive without being an appropriate size. The amount of warmth a body can generate depends on how many cells it’s comprised of. Therefore, a smaller body means that it doesn’t generate enough heat and loses it relatively quicker than a bigger physique with a wider surface area.

#16 The Size Of This Saltwater Crocodile

Image credits: franny.plumridge

#17 This Massive Bison Is Being Tagged And Blood Tested By Vets Before Export From Canada To The USA. It’s Easy To See How Male Bisons Can Weigh Nearly A Ton

Image credits: WestlockVeterinaryCenter

#18 Absolute Rhino Beetle

Image credits: reddit.com

Having a bigger body has other benefits for animals as well, like avoiding predators, catching prey, and enduring hardships. Having larger footsteps or swim strokes also allows them to cover greater distances to find food and reach mating places.

#19 We’re Going To Need A Bigger Hook

Image credits: coreyisthename

#20 The Giant Tasmanian Freshwater Lobster Is The Largest Freshwater Invertebrate In The World

Image credits: Australian

#21 Bow Before The Mighty Sea Cow

Image credits: Extra_Excrement

The reason animals on land can’t reach the size of some of the biggest aquatic animals is because they aren’t being supported by water. On the ground, they have to hold their weight against gravity. The bigger the animal, the thicker their legs have to be so they could support the weight without snapping. Meanwhile, a whale floats in water without the stress of gravity.

#22 87.5% Gray Wolf, 8.6% Husky And 3.9% German Shepherd

Image credits: brit_allen_

#23 My Mom’s Big Cat Bob

Image credits: ptrk83

#24 Just Found Out About The Existence Of The Giant Oarfish

Image credits: sealface89

Even though being bigger in the animal kingdom has its perks, they are at greater risk of going extinct, mostly because of humans. The blue whale population was drastically reduced, almost driving it to the edge of extinction, after commercial whaling started seeking whale oil. Such hunting was made illegal in 1966. However, their recovery is minor, as larger animals take longer to reproduce.

#25 My Baby, Me, And My Sister’s Draft Mule

I’ve seen them in pictures pretty big but it’s another thing to be standing next to one in person! My sister took the picture since his hip was above my head and I can’t stop laughing at it.

Image credits: asyouwissssh

#26 I’m An Evolutionary Geneticist Who Studies Hybridization. This Is Apollo The Liger, The Most Beautiful And Adorable Wild Cat I’ve Met. Humans For Spatial And Size Perspective

Image credits: AgaricX

#27 Big Boy

Image credits: reddit.com

#28 Tasmanian Giant Crab

Image credits: HighlightExtension71

#29 Absolute Unit Of A Prawn

Image credits: EncyclopEdith

#30 Spanish Mastiff Unit

Image credits: cassious64

#31 Flemish Giant Rabbits

Image credits: PuertoRicodesdeelAire

#32 Big Rabbit

Image credits: elliottwilson94

#33 Saltwater Crocodiles Are Kind Of Big

Image credits: BoosieStojakovic

#34 Australian Huntsman Spider Found In Cairns, North Queensland. Can Bite If Cornered, But Mostly Harmless

Image credits: Browndog888

#35 Galápagos Tortoise. One Of The Biggest Vertebrate And An Endangered Species Which Can Weigh As Much As 400 Kg And Live Up To 100 Years Old. Horse For Reference

Image credits: Terminal_Monk

#36 Just A Big Leatherback Sea Turtle

Image credits: Geeky_

#37 This Bald Eagle Was Found Caught In A Trap And Rehabilitated By The Montana Raptor Conservation Center. Bald Eagles Are Huge Compared To A Human

Image credits: jeckles

#38 We Can Sometimes Forget How Huge Bears Really Are

Image credits: crosspostninja

#39 Chunky Boy

Image credits: Halfang

#40 Got Invited Fishing But Had To Work. Then I Get A Text At Noon With This

Image credits: Relaxed_Meat

#41 Grandma Came To Visit LJ, And She Could Barely Pick Him Up. He’s Become So Big. I Reminded Her He’s Going To Grow For Another 2 Years

Image credits: jeremy_moss

#42 Unit Of An 8-Week-Old Kitten. They’re From The Same Litter

Image credits: CommercialBox4175

#43 Black Sea Hare, The Largest Species Of Slug In The World

Image credits: stshank

#44 This Frog We Found On A Bike Ride. Size 10 Men’s Shoe For Scale

Image credits: cairuhh

#45 Imagine Seeing This Unit On The Road

Image credits: zoo_and_safari_world

#46 Human Compared To A King Cobra

Image credits: yashicasaran

#47 A Huge Great White Swimming Alongside A Fishing Boat

Image credits: cas2ie

#48 Arapaima, One Of The Largest Fresh Water Fish

Image credits: AJ9600

#49 Size Of An Orangutan

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#50 I Give You My Absolute Unit Of A Frog

Image credits: Intelligent_Quote823

#51 Sadie The Squirrel Has Eaten 3 Jack-O’-Lanterns So Far

Image credits: ElizabethDangit

#52 The Largest Caterpillar I’ve Ever Seen Has Decided To Call My Front Yard Home For The Next 10 Months. It’s A Cecropia Moth, Which Is The Largest Native Moth In North America

Image credits: YesYoureRacist

#53 Giant Squid Washed Up In Wellington, New Zealand

Image credits: Petaaa

#54 Hickory Horned Devil Is The Largest Caterpillar In The World, Native To The Eastern US. Can Grow Up To 6 Inches Long And Is Completely Harmless, Except Visually Terrifying

Image credits: reddit.com

#55 This Guy Is Not The Norm. Definitely An Outlier With Some Sort Of Hormonal Imbalance

Image credits: Afro_Herper

#56 The Largest Tuna Ever Caught In Norway

Norwegian fishermen caught this 400 kilogram unit of an Atlantic bluefin tuna off the coast of Western Norway. A whopping 600 meters of fishing line was used to pull it in.