The animal kingdom is home to a wide variety of animals that have different shapes and sizes. Interestingly, several animals that one would assume were fat because of how large they appear do not possess high body fat reserves. In the case of these animals, their massive body structure contains mainly muscle and bone and surprisingly less fat than one would expect.
List of 12 Fat Animals
1. African Elephant
While one of the heaviest terrestrial animals on the planet – the African bush elephant is the largest, while the African forest elephant is the 3rd largest – they have about 5.24-15.97 % body fat, making them less fat than most humans.
2. Army Cutworm Moth
These cutworms have over 72% body fat – the highest among living animals. Grizzly bears feed on them for their high calories before hibernating for the winter.
3. Asian Elephant
Similar to its African counterpart, the Asian elephant is not very fat, with a body fat percentage of 8.5-10%
4. Blue Whale
The largest animal alive today at a staggering 200 tons, the blue whale is also one of the fattest. On average, these whales have about 35% body fat, but some specimens have around 50%. The reason behind the blue whale’s impressive bulk can be attributed to its diet of krill. Blue whales filter feed on about 4 tons of krill daily.
5. Brown Bear
In the late summer and autumn, while preparing for hibernation, the brown bear puts on a lot of weight. Their body fat percentage becomes about 30-40%, and they weigh about 900-1500 lbs. during this period.
6. Camel
Most of the fat in the camel’s body is stored in its hump. These fat deposits serve as a source of sustenance when food is scarce.
7. Southern Elephant Seal
With 40% of their body weight consisting of body fat called blubber and reaching about 8,800 lbs., southern elephant seals are the fattest marine mammals that can live on land. Its excess fat helps it remain warm while navigating the cold waters of its environment while swimming.
8. Hippopotamus
Interestingly, the hippo may appear quite bulky, but most of that bulk is made of bone and muscle. Hippopotamuses only have a thin layer of fat underneath their skin, which makes up only 18% of these animals’ total weight.
9. North Atlantic Right Whale
With its high blubber content making up to 45% of its total body weight, this whale was dubbed the right whale by 19th-century whalers who believed they were “the right whale to hunt”. The North Atlantic right whale’s fat reserves let it remain buoyant while swimming and even after they were killed.
10. Pig
The domestic pig weighs about 300-700 lbs. and has a body fat percentage of 9.3-24.3%. As this animal is reared for its meat, the fat percentage tends to be adjusted depending on the breed.
11. Polar Bear
These bears live in the cold and must build fat reserves over time to sustain themselves. Polar bears eat seals like ringed seals, which have high-fat reserves themselves. Their body fat percentage is in the range of 49%.
12. White Rhinoceros
Like elephants and hippos, rhinos possess much less body fat than it would appear. Most of the white rhinoceros’ bulk comes from their bones and muscles. At the same time, their huge stomach and large intestinal tracts make them appear chubbier than they are.
