From giant chickens to car-sized horses: The biggest ‘normal’ animals

Animals do come in all shapes in sizes but we’re used to seeing giant elephants, giraffes and emus. But what about furry friends closer to home like giant dogs and chickens? We’re used to seeing massive animals like elephants, emus and bears but what about some more unusual species or breeds closer to home? Turns out even domesticated animals like chickens and dogs can grow to the height of small children. Here we look into some of the biggest species of “normal” animals around the world.

This will come as no surprise due to the rise in popularity of these felines but the Maine Coon Cat is the largest domesticated cat breed. A male weighs between 5. 9 to 8.

2kg while a female weighs up to 5. 4kg. Adult Main Coons can grow to 41cm tall and nearly a metre long.

Here you can see a comparison of the Maine Coon cat with an average cat, for example, a tabby cat. The Maine Coon is nearly double the size of a small tabby cat to put into perspective how big these felines can get.  The Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox is one of the largest bat species in the world with its wingspan averaging more than 167cm long.

That’s bigger than the average height of an Australian woman, which is 161cm. The “megabat” is endemic to the Phillippines and lives on several kinds of fig and some leaves. To put it into perspective the giant bat’s wingspan is nearly double that of an Australian flying fox.

The Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox is named due to its distinctive “golden” fur on the top of its head. The species is however endangered due to deforestation.  If you have a fear of snakes – look away! The green anaconda is the largest snake in the world considering its length and weight.

It can grow up to nine metres and weigh up to 227kg – about half the weight of a grand piano to put it into perspective. The green anaconda isn’t venomous rather is a member of the constrictor family so it wraps its body around its prey and squeezes until the creature dies.  In Australia, we might be used to the idea of snakes but we don’t have a native species that reaches the length and weight of the whopping anaconda.

Anacondas are native to South America. To put into perspective how big this snake is, in Australia carpet pythons are one of our biggest growing up to four metres long and weighing in about 15kg. Bet you never thought there would be a giant chicken – well, there is.

The Jersey Giant Chicken is of course an American breed of domestic chicken and was created in New Jersey in the late nineteenth century. A male chicken weighs 5. 9kg and a female weighs 4.

5kg.  Meanwhile, your average chicken weighs about 2. 5kg.

Although these are mammoth chickens they are a calm and docile breed. The hens lay very large brown eggs and cocks aren’t aggressive.  The Jersey Giant Chicken was initially bred to replace turkey.

The Sumatran Bamboo Rat can grow up to 50cm long and 20cm tall and weigh up to 4kg. It is one of several large rat species in the world and is mostly found in South East Asia including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. But you might be thinking this doesn’t look like a very large rat? Well you would be wrong.

Common rats grow between six and nine centimetres and weigh between 250 to 700g.  The Sumatran Bamboo Rat is therefore nearly double the size of a normal rat.  Horses are generally quite large, with the exception of the Shetland Pony.

However the Shire Horse takes the cake. The British breed of draught horse is used for cart work like ploughing and other farm labour. A stallion can weigh more than a tonne and grow to nearly two metres tall.

 Shire horses are far taller and stockier than the average horse which made them particularly helpful at pulling large weights.  In 1924 at a British exhibition, a pair of horses are estimated to have pulled a load equivalent to 50 tonnes. Shire horses aren’t really used to pull loads anymore considering the advance of technology.

Now they’re bred for shows, riding and even used as therapy horses due to their easy going nature.  If you’re a lover of massive dogs, why not fall in love with this more than 70cm tall pup? The Central Asian Shepherd Dog is believed to have been initially bred in Turkmenistan – where it is a symbol of pride and there is even a golden statue of the animal. Male dogs grow taller than 70cm and 50kg while females are larger than 65cm and 40kg.

 If you take a Cocker Spaniel which is a very popular breed of dog at the moment, the Central Asian Shepherd towers over it at a little less than half the height.  The breed was traditionally used for guarding sheep and goat herds. It can be either short or long-haired in a variety of colours from white, black, grey straw, flecked and more.

Its lifespan is between 12 and 15 years. .