It would be easy to understand why certain animals are strong based on their size. Animals like the African elephant, the western lowland gorilla, and the grizzly bear possess phenomenal strength relative to their proportions.
However, the strength of an animal cannot always be determined by how big they are. For instance, dung beetles are some of the strongest animals in the world despite only being 0.125-1.25 inches long.
Also, something else to consider when it comes to strength is how powerful the bites of these animals are. Hippos, tigers, and anacondas are among those who can deliver a strong bite.
List of the Strongest Animals
1. African Bush Elephant
An elephant’s trunk is a complex tool made of 40,000 muscles, allowing the African bush elephant to lift over 700 lbs. while also being capable of lifting objects as delicate as a blade of grass.
2. Green Anaconda
A green anaconda can exert pressure of 90 pounds per square inch while constricting, and its bite has a force of 900 psi.
3. Horned Dung Beetle
Horned dung beetles can pull over 1141 times their body weight – which is remarkable even compared to other dung beetles, which can lift 250 times their body weight.
4. Harpy Eagle
One of the strongest birds on earth, the harpy eagle, can lift up to 40 lbs. With its strength, the harpy eagle carries away monkeys and sloths over 30 lbs.
5. Western Lowland Gorilla
The western lowland gorilla is the most powerful gorilla species, weighing between 200 and 300 lbs. and capable of lifting about ten times that much.
6. Grizzly Bear
A grizzly bear is one of the most powerful animals to walk the planet, capable of lifting 1102 lbs. – 0.8 times its body weight – and has a bite force of 975 psi.
7. Hippopotamus
With a bite force of 2000 psi, the hippo possesses the strongest bite of any creature on land.
8. Spotted Hyena
While smaller than many predatory mammals in its habitat, the spotted hyena can deliver a powerful bite with a force of 1100 psi.
9. Jaguar
Out of all the big cats, jaguars can deliver the strongest bite. The force of their bite has been measured to be 1500 psi.
10. Leafcutter Ant
Most leafcutter ant species can lift to 50 times their body weight.
11. Musk Ox
Musk Oxen are capable of pulling 1984 lbs. – 1.5 times its body weight – even over rough terrain.
12. Hercules Beetle
Named after the famed hero of Greek myth, the Hercules beetle can lift about 850 times its body weight.
13. Saltwater Crocodile
With a bite capable of generating a force of up to 3700 psi, the saltwater crocodile has the strongest bite of any animal alive.
14. Tiger
Tigers, the largest big cat in the world, can carry over 1200 lbs. into the branches of trees and can crack open the skull of even bears with a single swipe.
