Nowadays there are many animals that we think are cute. However, this was always not the case, as some of these animals had ancestors which were terrifying in appearance and giants in size. These giant versions of today’s adorable animals were things right out of nightmares.
Wombats:-
Wombat is a native of Australia and is a small burrowing animal that is only 47 inches long and weighs only about 36 kg on average today. These small and adorable looking wombats had ancestors called Diprotodon which being the largest marsupial animal to eve roam the face of earth, were much larger in size that what their predecessors are today.
On average a Diprotodon would have measured 10 feet long, 5 feet 7 inches from shoulder to shoulder and would have had weighed about an amazing 2500 kg. In perspective of today, they were even more terrifying than today’s White Rhinos. Their pouches were o big that they could fit an entire human being. They were carnivorous by nature and preyed on their natural prey, a 20 feet lizard called Megalania.
Penguins:-
Penguins are one of the most popular animals in the world with about 15 to 17 different species. The smallest species is 10 to 12 inches tall whereas the largest is 3.7 feet tall. Large penguins usually thrive in cold temperatures like that of Arctic region whereas smaller species lives in more temperate regions like Australia and Galapagos.
Today, Emperor penguin might be the biggest penguin species but their ancestors, “The Water King” could stand tall in front of any human 36 million years ago. On average these penguins might have weighed about 82 kg while standing on average at a height of 5 feet. There fossils were discovered back in 2010 in Peru.
Kangaroos:-
Kangaroos are today a well known animal species and their particular species Red Kangaroo is quite well known as well. They are native of Australia and are regarded as the largest marsupial animal currently roaming on face of earth. On average a Red Kangaroo stands tall at a height of 5 feet 3 ices while weighing about 90 kg and still they can travel as fast as 56 km/h.
While Red Kangaroos today might be biggest marsupial and kangaroo species but they could not hold a candle against their ancestors, “Procopotdon Goliah”. His kangaroo was as short faced goliath with claws on its hands and forward facing eyes on a body height of 6 feet to 10 feet while weighing on average 200 kg. These kangaroos lived in harsh climates and depended upon tough fiber plants fro sustenance. Like today’s kangaroos they also had pouches to keep small babies inside.
Pigs:-
Pigs can be raised as house pets but when they are riled up they become feral. Tiny potbellies were even owned by many celebrities their pets. On the other hand domesticated hogs are dangerous as they can be reverted back to their feral nature in few months. They will start to grow tusks and get hairy with an extremely aggressive attitude. Pigs are omnivore meaning that they can eat nearly anything making them true survivors. Largest recorded wild boar was measured at 7 feet in length and 272 kg in eight.
If you think that a 7 feet long wild boar is terrifying then consider one with a body of 12 feet in length, 6 feet in height and weight of 1000 kg. The name of that pig was “Daeodon” that was the largest living pig n this earth 23 million years ago. It was probably the size of a rhino with powerful tusks and crushing jaws that had most vicious nature.
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