List of heaviest land mammals

The heaviest land mammal has a weight up to 6 short tons (5.4 t), the African elephant.^[1] This enormous mammal measures approximately 24 feet (7.3 m), and eats 500 pounds (230 kg) of vegetation like grasses and leaves a day. Their two elongated teeth-tusks can grow continuously during their lives and reach about 9 feet (2.7 m) in length. The average walking speed of an elephant is 4.5 miles per hour (7.2 km/h), but they can run at recorded speeds up to, and sometimes exceeding, 15 miles per hour (24 km/h).^[2]

Heaviest land mammals

This list is of the heaviest land mammals when including their tusks, horns, etc.

Rank	Name	Family	Taxonomy Classification	Mass
1	African elephant	Elephantidae	African bush elephant, North African elephant, African forest elephant, Loxodonta atlantica, Loxodonta exoptata	10,000–13,000 pounds (4,500–5,900 kg)^[3]
2	Asian elephant	Elephantidae	E. m. asurus, E. m. maximus, E. m. indicus, E. m. sumatranus, E. m. borneensis	8,000–10,000 pounds (3,600–4,500 kg)^[3]
3	White rhinoceros	Rhinocerotidae	Ceratotherium neumayri, Ceratotherium mauritanicum, Northern white rhinoceros, Southern white rhinoceros	3,000–5,000 pounds (1,400–2,300 kg)^[4]
4	Giraffe	Giraffidae	G. c. camelopardalis, G. c. reticulata, G. c. angolensis, G. c. antiquorum, G. c. tippelskirchi, G. c. rothschildi, G. c. giraffa, G. c. thornicrofti, G. c. peralta	1,544–4,255 pounds (700–1,930 kg)
5	Black rhinoceros	Rhinocerotidae	South-central Black Rhinoceros, Eastern Black Rhinoceros, Western Black Rhinoceros	1,500–4,000 pounds (680–1,810 kg)^[4]
6	Hippopotamus	Hippopotamidae	H. a. amphibius, H. a. kiboko, H. a. capensis, H. a. tschadensis, H. a. constrictus	2,500–3,300 pounds (1,100–1,500 kg)^[4]
7	Gaur	Bovidae	B. g. gaurus, B. g. readei, B. g. hubbacki	1,000–3,000 pounds (450–1,360 kg)^[4]
8	American bison	Bovidae		700–2,200 pounds (320–1,000 kg)^{[citation needed]}^[5]
9	Water buffalo	Bovidae	B. bubalis carabanesis, Bubalus bubalis, B. bubalis bubalis, B. bubalis arnee	660–2,200 pounds (300–1,000 kg)
10	Cape buffalo	Bovidae	Syncerus caffer caffer, S. c. nanus, S. c. brachyceros, S. c. aequinoctialis, S. c. mathewsi	1,100–2,200 pounds (500–1,000 kg)^{[citation needed]}

References

^ ©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org;Animals: The Animal Kingdom; Largest Living Animal on Land Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011
^ Stanford News Service Stanford News Service Retrieved April 3, 2016
^ ^a ^b LARRAMENDI, ASIER (July 10, 2015). "Shoulder height, body mass, and shape of proboscideans" (PDF).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Macdonald, David (September 27, 2001). The New Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford University: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198508239.
^ Meagher, Mary (1986). "Bison bison". Mammalian Species (266): 1–8. doi:10.2307/3504019. JSTOR 3504019.