Animal size comparison
How big are animals compared with each other? Here they are drawn to scale in small groups, from a garden ant to a blue whale, each measured the way it usually is: height, shoulder height, length or wingspan. Every size is a typical adult size from an encyclopedia or an official source.
Quick comparisons
- The blue whale is about 5.4 times as long as a great white shark (4.6 m).
- The giraffe is about 1.7 times the shoulder height of an African elephant (3.2 m).
- The Tyrannosaurus rex was about 3.3 times as long as a white rhinoceros (3.7 m).
From the black garden ant to the seven-spot ladybug
The seven-spot ladybug is about 1.8 times as long as a black garden ant (4 mm).
Black garden ant
4 mm (0.157 in) long
A queen black garden ant can live up to 29 years, the longest lifespan recorded for any social insect.
Seven-spot ladybug
7 mm (0.276 in) long
A threatened seven-spot ladybug oozes a foul-tasting fluid from its leg joints to put off predators.
From the house mouse to the little brown bat
House mouse
8.8 cm (3.46 in) long
A house mouse weighs only 11 to 30 g, yet it can jump up to 45 cm (18 in) straight up.
Monarch butterfly
9.5 cm (3.74 in) wingspan
Each autumn, monarchs from the northeastern US and southeastern Canada fly 1,200 to 2,800 miles or more to central Mexico.
Little brown bat
25 cm (9.84 in) wingspan
Weighing only 5.5 to 12.5 g, little brown bats can live for more than 30 years.
From the bell of a moon jellyfish to the mallard
Moon jellyfish
32.5 cm (1 ft 1 in) across
A moon jellyfish is almost see-through: you can spot its four horseshoe-shaped gonads through the top of its bell.
European rabbit
37 cm (1 ft 3 in) long
The European rabbit is the only rabbit species that has been widely domesticated, for meat, fur, wool or as a pet.
Mallard duck
58 cm (1 ft 11 in) long
Almost all domestic duck breeds descend from the mallard, apart from a few Muscovy breeds.
From the great horned owl to the dodo
The dodo was about 1.3 times as tall as a great horned owl (55 cm).
Great horned owl
55 cm (1 ft 10 in) tall
An owl cannot turn its eyes, so it turns its whole head instead; a great horned owl can rotate its neck 270°.
Labrador retriever
57 cm (1 ft 10 in) tall at the shoulder
Labradors swim well thanks to fully webbed paws, an otter-like tail and a waterproof coat.
Leopard
65 cm (2 ft 2 in) tall at the shoulder
Leopards can run at over 58 km/h, leap more than 6 m forward and jump up to 3 m straight up.
Dodo
70 cm (2 ft 4 in) tall
The last widely accepted sighting of a dodo, on the island of Mauritius, was in 1662.
From the European badger to the bald eagle
The bald eagle is about 1.1 times as long as a European badger (75 cm).
European badger
75 cm (2 ft 6 in) long
A single badger sett (burrow system) can have anywhere from a few to about fifty exits.
North American beaver
82 cm (2 ft 8 in) long
The largest known beaver dam, spotted by satellite in 2007 in Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park, is about 850 m long.
Scarlet macaw
84 cm (2 ft 9 in) long
Scarlet macaws typically live 40 to 50 years, and in captivity some reach 75 or even 90.
Bald eagle
86 cm (2 ft 10 in) long
Bald eagles build the largest tree nests recorded for any animal: up to 4 m deep, 2.5 m wide and about 1 tonne.
From the tiger to the greater flamingo
Red deer
1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) tall at the shoulder
A red deer stag grows a new set of antlers every year, and they can grow 2.5 cm (1 in) in a single day.
Emperor penguin
1.15 m (3 ft 9 in) tall
Emperor penguins can dive deeper than 500 m; one small female was recorded at 535 m.
Greater flamingo
1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) tall
A flamingo’s pink colour comes from carotenoid pigments in the small organisms it feeds on.
From the male wild turkey to the harbor seal
The harbor seal is about 1.5 times as long as a male wild turkey (1.1 m).
Wild turkey
1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) long
A wild turkey has about 5,000 to 6,000 feathers, and a male’s hair-like breast "beard" keeps growing all its life.
Sea otter
1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) long
Sea otters have the densest fur of any animal, with up to 150,000 hairs per square centimetre.
Mute swan
1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long
The British monarch keeps the right to own all unmarked mute swans in open water, but uses it only on parts of the Thames.
Harbor seal
1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) long
Harbor seal pups can dive for up to 2 minutes when they are only 2 to 3 days old.
From the plains zebra to the red kangaroo
Plains zebra
1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) tall at the shoulder
No two zebras look exactly alike: every individual has its own stripe pattern.
Hippopotamus
1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall at the shoulder
Hippo skin secretes a red substance nicknamed "blood sweat" that works as a natural sunscreen.
Holstein cow
1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall
An average Holstein cow in the United States produces about 10,000 kg of milk a year.
Red kangaroo
1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall
Red kangaroos can hop at around 60 km/h, and a male can cover 8 to 9 m in one leap.
From the Thoroughbred to the dromedary camel
The dromedary camel is about 1.2 times the shoulder height of a Thoroughbred (1.63 m).
Thoroughbred horse
1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) tall at the shoulder
All modern Thoroughbreds trace back to three stallions brought to England: the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian.
Llama
1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) tall
Used as pack animals, llamas can carry about 25 to 30% of their body weight for 8 to 13 km.
American bison
1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) tall at the shoulder
Bison have been seen running at 65 to 70 km/h (40 to 45 mph).
Dromedary camel
2 m (6 ft 7 in) tall at the shoulder
A dromedary’s hump holds up to about 36 kg of fat, which the camel can break down for energy.
From the adult Atlantic bluefin tuna to the great white shark
The great white shark is about twice as long as an adult Atlantic bluefin tuna (2.25 m).
Atlantic bluefin tuna
2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) long
Bluefin tuna are warm-blooded fish: they keep their core muscles warm, which lets them hunt in the chilly North Atlantic.
White rhinoceros
3.7 m (12.1 ft) long
A white rhino bull weighs about 2,000 to 2,300 kg, yet it can sprint at up to 64 km/h in short bursts.
Saltwater crocodile
4.3 m (14.1 ft) long
The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile, and adult males weigh about 4 to 5 times as much as females.
Great white shark
4.6 m (15.1 ft) long
A great white has about 300 serrated, triangular teeth, and lost teeth are continuously replaced.
From the bottlenose dolphin to the giraffe
Bottlenose dolphin
3 m (9 ft 10 in) long
Bottlenose dolphins can recognise another dolphin’s signature whistle after more than 20 years apart.
Woolly mammoth
3 m (9 ft 10 in) tall at the shoulder
Small groups of woolly mammoths survived on Wrangel Island until about 4,000 years ago.
African elephant
3.2 m (10.5 ft) tall at the shoulder
Adult male African bush elephants stand about 3.2 m at the shoulder and weigh around 6 tonnes on average.
Giraffe
5.5 m (18 ft) tall
Giraffes are the tallest living land animals: big males reach about 5.5 m, more than three adults stacked up.
From the Brachiosaurus to the Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus
12 m (39.4 ft) tall
Brachiosaurus could not chew: it swallowed leaves whole and let bacteria in its gut break them down.
From the Tyrannosaurus rex to the blue whale
The blue whale is about twice as long as a Tyrannosaurus rex (12.3 m).
Tyrannosaurus rex
12.3 m (40.4 ft) long
Sue, one of the largest and most complete T. rex skeletons, measures about 12.3 m from nose to tail.
Humpback whale
14.5 m (47.6 ft) long
Male humpback whales sing complex songs lasting 4 to 33 minutes; in Hawaii, humpbacks have been recorded singing for 7 hours.
Blue whale
25 m (82 ft) long
Blue whales are the largest animals known to have lived: adults are typically over 20 m long, and the longest on record was about 30 m.
