The blue whale is the biggest animal that has ever lived. That is true as of November 2026. It is bigger than any dinosaur known. A blue whale can be about 100 feet long. It can weigh 150 to 200 tons. An elephant is the biggest land animal. The whale weighs many times more.

The blue whale eats tiny shrimp-like animals called krill. It takes in a huge mouthful of water and krill. Then it pushes the water out. Baleen plates trap the krill. A newborn calf is already about 23 to 25 feet long. Blue whales are also among the loudest animals on the planet.

The ostrich is the biggest bird in the world. That is true as of November 2026. It has wings but cannot fly. It runs instead. One stride can be 10 to 16 feet long. Ostriches lay the biggest eggs of any living land animal. One egg weighs about 3 pounds.

The whale shark is the biggest fish in the sea. That is true as of November 2026. It is a shark, which is a fish. It is not a whale. It filters plankton and small fish out of the water. The ocean sunfish, or mola, is one of the heaviest bony fish in the world.

The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard. That is true as of November 2026. It can grow to about 10 feet long. The polar bear is the largest meat-eater that lives on land. The Japanese spider crab has legs that can spread about 12 feet from claw to claw.

Words to know

• krill: tiny animals
• baleen: whale strainer
• plankton: tiny sea life
• stride: long step