40 Photos Of Massive Animals That Put Their Size Into Perspective

If you pit humans against every other creature, we wouldn’t stand a chance. Some of Earth’s biggest animals look as though they’ve jumped straight out of a fantasy novel, while others are so dinosaur-like that surely they must have arrived here via a time machine! And nature is teeming with critters that are bigger than we expect — from the hammer-headed bat to the blue whale. In some cases, they’re so colossal that we can’t help but feel like pipsqueaks just looking at them…

40. Sunfish

Is this fish cute or creepy? Decided? Good. Now, would your answer change if you learned that a sunfish can weigh close to 5,000 pounds? We have to give this snorkeler some credit. If we’d suddenly found ourselves face-to-face with such a prehistoric-looking swimmer, we wouldn’t have stuck around for a photo op!

39. Wombats

Furry belly, sweet smile, adorable little eyes... a wombat wouldn’t hurt a fly, right? But despite that cuddly appearance, these marsupials can gallop up to 25mph. And if you look closely, you may see an agile, aggressive predator just waiting to come out.

38. Bison

You’d never guess from this bison’s docile gaze, but in certain situations, it’s a downright beast. Or maybe the size of this bison’s head alone is enough to convince you of its might. Either way, experts say you shouldn’t approach a wild bison. On a bad day, it just may charge in your direction.

37. Giant African land snails

An invasive species to the U.S., giant African land snails can wreak some serious havoc. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these snails eat at least 500 different varieties of vegetation. And if that wasn’t enough to worry about, they’ve been known to lay waste to stucco and plaster and can even transmit meningitis to anyone unlucky enough to cross their slimy paths. Plus, they’re huge!