Strongest Animals in the Jungle (Facts & Pictures)

While traveling around the world, I was lucky enough to book a jungle tour package. I got a chance to see and learn about wild animals up close. As we were nearing the end of the tour, the tour guide asked us if we had any questions. What are the strongest animals in the jungle? I asked the question.

The African jungle elephant certainly deserves the title of king of the jungle. Ironically, it was given to lions, not wild animals.

Elephants are known for their immense strength, being able to lift tons of pounds in one hold. No animal in the forest can take as much as he can.

Let’s learn more about elephants and other strongest animals in the jungle in this list:

Top 5 Strongest Animals in the Jungle

African Forest Elephants

As mentioned, African forest elephants are the strongest animals in the jungle. They can be found in the West and Central African rainforests. These magnificent animals are currently considered endangered due to human activities.

Unlike their savanna-roaming elephant cousins, forest elephants are smaller and have slower reproductive rates. However, this does not affect the fact that they are the strongest animals in the jungle.

Weighing up to 8,000 pounds, these animals can lift 400 pounds with just their trunks. Elephants’ strength is also important in carrying their large body weight.

Elephants have an average of 40,000 muscles in their trunk, which is probably why they have so much strength. In comparison, a human body has an average of 600 muscles, which is about 67 times fewer muscles.

Even with their large size and strength, African forest elephants are herbivores, eating mainly tree branches and leaves.

An adult African elephant can eat 300 pounds of food a day. As a result, these giants forage day and night for long distances without much sleep.

In addition to their herbaceous diet, elephants visit mineral-rich waterholes to drink nutrients that are lacking in trees.

African forest elephants, just like their cousins, roam in herds and are led by a male. Once one of them gives birth, all the elephants will join in raising the baby.

Read Also: Animals With Big Feet

Dung Beetles

Dung beetles are found almost everywhere, including forests. Well, except for Antarctica. As long as intestinal contents are present, dung beetles can survive.

These insects will roll the mill into a ball to serve as a food source and breeding chamber. To form a ball, dung beetles use their hind legs to scoop up the intestinal material and their front legs to dig it up.

It is remarkable that dung beetles can lift a ball 1,141 times its weight. You can compare that to an average 150-pound person carrying six double-decker buses.

Because of their strength, these small and strong animals are often compared to elephants. Some people also share the sentiment that these insects definitely deserve the title of the strongest animal in the forest.

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However, even though dung beetles can lift thousand times their own weight, elephants still carry the heaviest weight.

Interestingly, these insects can carry so much weight due to their small size. Following the square-cube rule, the larger the creature, the less strong it is pound for pound.

Strength varies depending on the muscle’s cross-sectional area. Therefore, if an animal doubles in length, its volume and weight increase by 8 times but its muscle cross-section increases by 4 times.

In other words, as a creature increases in size, it needs more and more muscle to achieve the same level of strength.

Crocodiles

Many regions of the world are home to crocodiles. They live mostly in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Sahara, Madagascar, the East and West Indies, Australia, Mexico, and Central and South America.

Because of their rough build, these archaic animals are deemed strong. An adult alligator can weigh up to 2,200 pounds, about as heavy as a compact car.

In addition to their hard exterior, crocodiles have long jaws and about 67-70 large teeth. With a single bite, these reptiles can exert up to 3,700 pounds per square inch of force.

Compared to a human bite, it is 23 times more powerful!

Alligator champs are strong enough to dismember a human limb. Although they will not actively hunt humans, they are opportunistic killers and are responsible for an estimated 1,000 human deaths each year (worldwide).

Their fierce bite makes them one of the strongest animals in the jungle. If you ever encounter an alligator, back away slowly and don’t make any sudden movements that could surprise them.

Crocodiles will act aggressively when provoked or threatened. This is an automatic mechanism to protect yourself.

Run straight ahead if it starts to move in your direction. Contrary to common zigzag running advice, humans run faster than crocodiles on a linear path.

A recent study asserts that crocodiles are highly intelligent creatures in addition to their raw power. They differ from other animals in that they are capable of communicating, providing sophisticated parental care, and using tools.

Gorillas

King of the jungle is actually a common title at this point as gorillas also share it with tigers. And these primates may deserve it for better reasons.

Gorillas were given this title after being recognized as the largest primate. An adult male can weigh up to 500 pounds and most of that is muscle.

They walk on all fours to carry their weight. However, they can occasionally walk on both feet. This primate stance is typically reminiscent of a very large man walking.

Gorillas can also be divided into upland and lowland varieties.

There are physical differences between the two species. Higher primates have dark, thick, long fur, while lowland primates have lighter, softer, shorter hair.

In terms of strength, gorillas are stronger than other primates, with the western lowland gorilla being the strongest gorilla subspecies. These large primates can lift up to 4,000 pounds, while a well-trained human can only handle 880 pounds.

Also, a western lowland gorilla has a bite force of about 1,300 PSI, one of the strongest of all animals.

According to estimates, the strength of a gorilla is equal to four to nine people. Gorillas have muscle mass, four times that of heavily muscled humans.

If a person is attacked by a gorilla, he or she will be seriously injured or even killed. A gorilla punch can exert between 1,300 and 2,700 pounds of force, strong enough to shatter a human skull.

Thankfully, gorillas are not particularly dangerous to humans and are known to be peaceful primates.

Read Also: Animals with Hands

Leafcutter Ants

The last member on our list of the strongest animals in jungle is the leafcutter ant.

Leafcutter ants are native to South America, Mexico, and Central and South America. They are commonly found on the forest floor, helping to disturb the soil to create biochemical patches.

These insects are the smallest yet one of the strongest animals in the forest. You may wonder how?

Well, leafcutter ants can lift up to 20 times their own weight!

Like dung beetles, leafcutter ants have these extreme strength capabilities due to their size. At the same time, it helps that they have muscles that cover their entire body.

Leafcutter ants are light, and their muscles do not need much support. Therefore, they are able to transfer this power instead of carrying heavy objects.

These little bugs are not aggressive. However, if you disturb their nest or their activity, leafcutter ants won’t hesitate to bite you.

Even with their numbers, leafcutter ants are susceptible to attack by predators. For example, an armadillo can quickly crawl through an entire nest without fearing an ant bite.

Read Also: Animals That Eat Both Plants And Animals

Last words

With this, we conclude our article on the strongest animals in the jungle.

Examples of the strongest animals in the jungle include African forest elephants, dung beetles, crocodiles, gorillas, and leafcutter ants.

I hope that reading this article has increased your knowledge. Now if someone asks you who the strongest animals in the jungle are, then you can tell him in detail.

Thank you for reading.