The ox and the strongest animals in the world
The ox may sound like a simple animal, but when it comes to strength it is a serious contender in the animal kingdom. Here is an old ranking of animals, rewritten to be fresher and clearer, featuring creatures whose strength is especially surprising when you compare it with their own body weight.
Why does the ox matter in this ranking?
When people talk about strength, they often think of the gym: the barbell, the plates and the reps. The animal kingdom works differently. What counts there is what an animal can pull, carry, grip, lift or hold on to. Some big animals win on sheer mass, while some small ones surprise us with how much they can do relative to their body weight.
That is exactly why this kind of comparison is interesting. The grizzly bear and the elephant look powerful right away, but mussels, leafcutter ants and the rhinoceros beetle show that size is not the only yardstick. A simple truth: relative strength can be far more impressive than a big number on its own.
The ox and other strength numbers
10. Grizzly bear
The grizzly bear is considered one of the strongest animals living in the mountains. Grizzlies can lift about 0.8 x their body weight. The biggest bears weigh up to 700 kg, so their lifting capacity may be 550 – 560 kg. At that kind of weight, most people would stop joking and start talking about real strength.
9. Mussels
Mussels don’t look like strong animals. Yet these creatures can hold on to something that is 2 x as heavy as they are. Judged by the mussels’ own mass and size, their grip is very strong. It is a good example of how strength doesn’t always have to show.
8. Anaconda
An anaconda’s strength comes from its body and its grip. It can squeeze to death a living creature that weighs as much as it does itself. Anacondas can weigh up to 250 kg. With an animal like this, we’re not talking about one quick movement but about enormous squeezing strength.
7. Ox
The ox is an especially practical example in this ranking. Oxen can pull and carry a weight 1.5 x their own body weight, and they can pull it even over rough, uneven ground. The biggest oxen weigh up to 600 kg and can pull 900 kg. That is a load equal to about thirteen adult humans.
6. Tiger
The tiger is an explosive, powerful animal. Tigers can drag things twice their own weight for 10 – 12 feet, or roughly 3 – 4 meters. The biggest tigers weigh up to 270 – 275 kg, so they can drag approx. 550 kg. It puts into perspective just how strong a big cat really is.
How does the ox compare with the others?
5. Eagle
Eagles are the strongest flying birds. In flight, they can carry a weight 4 x their own body weight. That makes their strength especially remarkable, because the load has to be held in the air rather than simply dragged along the ground.
4. Gorilla
Gorilla strength is easy for a human to picture, because the build feels more familiar than that of an insect or a mussel. Gorillas can lift 10 times their body weight. The biggest individuals weigh 200 kg, so they can lift as much as 2 tons. On average, a big, strong gorilla could lift about 30 adult humans.
3. Leafcutter ants
Leafcutter ants are small, but their relative strength is astonishing. They can lift things that are 50 x their own body weight. Can you imagine a person who could lift a passenger car? It is exactly that kind of comparison that explains their place on this list.
2. Elephant
In terms of absolute strength, the elephant is a true heavyweight. Elephants are the strongest mammals. They weigh approx. 4.5 – 5.5 tons themselves, the biggest up to 7000 kg, and they can carry up to 9 tons. That is about as much as 130 average adult humans.
1. Rhinoceros beetle
The rhinoceros beetle wins when you look at strength relative to body weight. These are the strongest insects, and at the same time the strongest animals of all once their own body weight is taken into account. They can lift a weight of about 850 x their own body weight. A small body with staggering relative strength.
Ox, insect or mammal: what should you look at?
When you read rankings like this, it always pays to check what exactly is being measured. Is the animal lifting a weight? Pulling it? Holding on? Carrying it in flight? These are not the same thing. The ox is strong at pulling and carrying, the eagle at carrying in flight, the gorilla at lifting, and the rhinoceros beetle at relative strength.
It also matters whether you’re comparing total strength or strength relative to body weight. An elephant moves an enormous mass, but a small insect can pull off an even wilder feat relative to its own body. So what really happens? The yardstick decides the winner.
The article comes from: http://scienceray.com/biology/top-10-strongest-animals-compared-to-body-weight/
A video summary on the same topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF0WPmNk11g&feature=player_embedded
FAQ
Is an ox stronger than an elephant?
Not in terms of absolute strength. An elephant can carry up to 9 tonnes, while an ox can pull 900 kg. Still, the ox is very strong, especially when it comes to pulling and moving loads.
Why does the rhinoceros beetle take first place?
Because this ranking takes strength relative to body weight into account. The rhinoceros beetle can lift about 850 times its own body weight, which makes its relative strength extraordinary.
Do all these numbers describe the same type of strength?
No, they don’t. Some animals lift, some pull, some carry and some hold on. That’s why the ranking is more of a fascinating comparison than a strict one-to-one scientific contest.
Translated by Janar Rückenberg
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