Extreme Records (Animal Talent 3)

Record holders

8 » Carrying the heaviest burden

Record holders 10 » The strongest bites 12 » Sophisticated senses

14 » Those wh o ca n take the strain 16 » Ancient ones

Top performances and Guinness records also exist in the animal kingdom. An entire collection could be assembled of the special physical characteristics and the stunning results that they can produce.

Human beings are often outperformed by various species of animals, be it in the areas of physical strength, fasting, going without drinking, senses and speed.

There are some that have quite good appetites and super strong jaws, while at the same time, some that are truly old the ancient ones.

18 » Starving a n

d parched

20 » Voracious ones

22 » The most athletic 22 » The fastest nt!

24 » What an achieveme

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Record holders

t s e i v a e h e h t g n i Carry burdens

Some species of anim als possess strong skeletel structures, jo ints and muscles, so it is no wonder that they are capable of carrying enormou s burdens. At the same time, there are some that can "shoulder" great weig hts in comparison to their own body mas s. ant African eleph

N ACHINERY O M L IA R T S U IND N as much THE HORIZO is capable of lifting

land animal rs.

The world's largest e weight of nine ca which is equal to th s, m ra g og in kil rry 00 ca r 9,0 fo as is used e Indian elephant, , it Its close relative, th dustry. Many times in r be tim e th in gs lo ul to operate. goods and to ha achines are unable m re he w in rra te is successful in

rhinoceros beetle

TINY BUT STRONG

dung beetle

LET'S ROLL!

The sun-loving dung beetle can be found in Hungary, the Mediterranean region and the tropics.

The fully grown specimen forms a ball from droppings, which, with one species, can be more than a 1,000 times heavier than itself. It rolls these balls with its rear legs, in a characteristic posture, and then generally buries them for later consumption.

...and how strong! The European rhinoceros beetl e, also indigenous to Hungary, can lift 850 times its own body mass . This is equivalent to the same as a human being lifting 65 tons. This insect is protected by law and can grow as long as 4-5 centimetre s.

golden eagle

RISE UP!

en spaces. It This predator rules op cle high up, cir uses air currents to its prey. For the for t keeping an eye ou bits, foxes and most part, it hunts rab of lifting small deer. It is capable are up to four at th animals into the air times its own weight.

Did y o These u know? of da ants can c m a ch str age with use a lot ippin their g act b ivity. rant leafcutter an

VES MOVING LEAes of leaf that are up to 50

piec ews the This insect can carry body weight. It ch n ow its as y av he s it with its times as pulp and then mixe a to in r te at m e bl e mass, vegeta oscopic fungi on th icr m s ise ra It t. en excrem umes with relish. which it then cons

n tiger

CATS iberian E H T F S ING O ctually the

Siberia

K

y, it is a capaliving toda ngest. It is ro st d n a Of felines twice est is the larg ilograms – k 0 0 5 r e tiger that v fo p a tree. ing prey o gging it u ra ble of slay d d n a – ight its own we

Wow! consume as Every day, it might ams of meat and much as 40 kilogr s the carcass. continuously revisit

muskox

WOOLY FREIGHT TAXI

The muskox inhabits North America, in the freez ing tundra zone. It can carry burdens on its back weighing 900 kilog rams, one and a half times as heavy as its body weight, for an exten ded period of time over difficult terrain. These animals are prote cted by law; only breeding and re-introduction programmes have saved it from extinction.

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Brains over brawn...

28 » The smart and the dumb 30 » Masters of memory

32 » The most versatile

Brains over brawn…

Only the most cunning and sharp animals can be successful in nature. Some of them are very street smart: many manipulate other species or make use of opportunities inherent in human civilization.

Others use tools or protect themselves with huge, constructed facilities. How do they accomplish all this? Let’s find out!

34 » Champions of burping 36 » The most skilful ones: tool users r u t c e t i h c r a f o s 38 » Artisan

e

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Brains over brawn...

The smart b m u d e h and t d First off, mammals an velbirds possess very de e oped brains. They ar d an capable of learning ory. they have a good mem me However, there are so mber that are a little bit du than their fellows…

Japanese macaque

LET THE ZIMA COME!

As its name indicates, this primate is erindigenous to Japan. Its special charact it , keys istic is that contrary to other mon tolerates cold well. It is an intelligent animal with a good learning ability and an lives in large troops. It has many hum with play forms of expression: it likes to , snowballs, sit around in thermal springs ding ven even buying delicacies from food machines, using found coins.

elephant

IN BRAINS LOTS OF AD! A BIG HE legendary. elephants is

of mThe memory ents, the exa e of experim rs u co ry e ve th e r Ove gnized ens have reco ho they had ined specim ,w n o out excepti even years person, with it w ndship h, ie fr a d e p lo deve ilarly to us – e time – sim m sa n e th t A . ago before certai me stressed co ol e to b y n b ca d y the aracterize ch so al e ar events. They lodies and nition of me g co re e th , use experience. learning via Interesting!

Children and chim panzees participated in a ps ychological study. The scie ntists who conducted the rese arch hid food under a glas s and then moved the other em pty glasses back and forth.

Contrary to expect ations, the chimpanzees foun d the hidden food faster than the children!

chimpanzee

HUMAN-LIKE ANIMAL

The memory of th is primate is even better than that of human beings; according to certain researchers, while we learn by repetition, the chimpanzee do es so by thinking. For example, it uses hammers made of stone or wood, a fishing rod to “fish” for termites, sometimes larger leaves as an umbrella or fo r toilet paper. It is ca pable of recognizing its own mirror imag e in a puddle.

rro nd pa

t

R ME FO Y A L TP parrot, DON’ ! ealand Z w e L N d It did A FOO s, green feathere ion. In the past, is

eala New Z

htles od; it xtinct It is a flig n the edge of e had plenty of fo ot seem n o d s which is ny enemies an son that it doe s, or a a e z e not hav ecause of this re htened, it free ig b fr s . from it perhap t. When it gets n jumps h e ig h r t b , e y r re e v at to climb begins

dolphin

D MIND DEVELOPEte the intentions of their fellows andssofess alua mirror, and po Dolphins can ev themselves in a e iz gn co ens have re , gs ications. Specim human bein un m m co of e system h to the surfac a sophisticated g consumed fis tin ita rg gu re it. ed t been observ who tried to ea ng the seagulls and then catchi

Inte r The esting! mal the es, d m will ating uring p e rese ven co eriod, urt t arch he obs ervi ers ng t hem .

giant pand a

MEMORY!

ME

MORY! The cute little pa nda is certainly no rocket scient as its food is no ist. The bambo t particularly no o th urishing, so it ju as the plant do st eats all day. Bu at serves es not stimulat t to no avail, e its brain very recognize its ow effectively. It do n cubs and occa es not always sionally it accide killing the little ntally lies on on one. e of them,

ig domestic p

E BRAIN PIGGY, THlligent domestic animals is

t inte gs kept in One of the mos r than a dog. Pi te ar sm en ev ularly supposedly nnels, are partic ke e rg la in , es tion for a spacious venu g a remote loca in us e, en gi hy r visible on keen on thei od that is only fo d fin so al n others of toilet. They ca to manipulate ks ic tr oy pl em a mirror, and . uff their bellies their kind to st

cane toad

LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDS

The cane toad is a toad with one of the largest bodies in the world, but it has little in the way of brains. During the mating season, the male also tries to court mice and salamanders. It inhabits Central and South America, but can be found in many places because of introductions elsewhere. It consumes insects and other species of frogs.

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Extreme sizes

42 » Giants of the animal kingdom 42 » Mammals

44 » Huge dogs

Extreme sizes 46 » Birds and reptiles 48 » Amphibians and fish

If we look through the animal kingdom, we can find species possessing the largest and smallest body sizes in every phylum and order. Is it a blessing or a curse to be a lord of extremes? Usually, these characteristics are beneficial, although there can be some situations where extreme size is not particularly fortunate. The pictures display some species to scale, meaning that they are exactly the same size as shown.

50 » Arthropods 54 » Enormous eyes

56 » Sizeable sp ines

58 » Giant eggs

60 » The tiniest ones

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Extreme sizes

Giants of l a m i n a the kingdom

2,700 g! are both ed lf a c n r o Interestin lop wb nd its ne e as a fully deve a e u g n Its to me siz s, the sa kilogram mus. ngs, and ta fit in its lu n a c hippopo ir a of 00 litres ams.

Some 5,0 ighs 600 kilogr xiting its e w t artery e in its hear a m e eter of th The diam centimetres.

23 heart is

Mammals

IMAL N A T RGES Y A L e E TH ODA al with probably lothng T G LIVINhale is the anim . It is 30 metres the

blue

etimes coupled Vast size is som ostrength and pr with enormous otection when vides effective pr t predators. defending agains

whal

e

ew Earth nt to The blu dy living on quivale nsumes e is o is h b o largest hs 180 tons. T 50 cattle. It c h as 3.5 1 r ig uc and we 0 elephants o onsume as m ot 3 c f dly is n mass o ing krill. It can hich admitte at ,w tiny, flo em each day shment. h t pli f tons o ificant accom n ig an ins

capybara

THE LARGEST RODENT

The capybara lives in South America and can grow as large as 80 kilograms. It is as large as a medium-sized domestic pig. This is quite a large rodent! Its fingers are moderately webbed, and this is what it uses to swim so well. Its diet consists of plants.

African ele phant

THE LARG EST LAND MAM MAL The Afri

can elephant ca n weigh as much as 10 tons; its should er height can reac h 4 metres. It is as heavy as 10 pa ssenger cars, so on land, it is sure to win the gold medal.

lowland gorilla

THE BIGGEST PRIMATE

land gorilla in We can encounter the all-muscle low e of the the eastern Congo, in Africa. The mal its height of with p hea the of species is at the top weight. One in s ram kilog 164 170 centimetres and and painful e hug a give ld cou thing is for sure; he slap to somebody.

giraffe

THE TALLEST MAMMAL

The 5.5-metre tall gi raffe lives on the savannas of Af rica; they are three times the he ight of an adult man. Thanks to its lofty size, it can reach the highest shoots of the trees, and gets early notice of approaching enem ies.

Wow! an even c Its kick , and it n o i l red kill a onside c o s l a s i good to be a tance is long-d . r e runn

Siberian tige r

THE LARGES

TF

ELINE The Siberian tiger lives in the far-easte rn sections of Russ Northern China; th ia and in e male of this spec ies weighs 280 kilog and can reach a len rams gth of 3.8 metres. Th is majestic predator ambushes its prey ; unfortunately, it is already threatened extinction. with

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