Top 10 Loudest Animals In The World

Human ears are designed to tolerate sound levels up to 120 decibels.

Two people talking at a regular frequency do not cross 50 decibels. 

At 200 decibels, a human ear can rupture.

You may feel physical pain if the sound is louder than 120 decibels.

Sounds louder than this range are also not suitable for animals. 

Noise pollution is harmful to our hearing, and it may also cause many other physical and mental health problems. 

Many animals are so loud that they can even cross 200 decibels of sound level.

Even the loudest person on earth cannot be as loud as the sound produced by noisy animals.

Animals produce noise for different reasons.

Sometimes to attract their mate, sometimes to avoid the threat they may be feeling, and sometimes when they are in pain or joy.

Animals that produce louder sounds are a source of noise pollution.

Noise pollution is harmful to humans as well as animals too.

To protect our ears, we should remain away from animals that make very loud sounds. 

In this article, we’ve shared a list of the top 10 loudest animals in the world.

 

1) Howler Monkey

Howler monkeys howl at the top of their usual voice and make different sounds.

They are known to be the loudest of land animals. 

As you can understand from its name, they howl. That is why they are called howler monkeys.

Their howling and screaming can appear louder in the areas where the sound echoes.  

Their howling can reach up to 140 decibels, a very high frequency of sound.

This is so loud that it can be heard even at a distance of 3 miles. 

These monkeys are very social creatures, primarily in large groups making noise.

Howling can take so much energy that these monkeys can sleep up to fifteen consecutive hours to recharge themselves. 

 

2) Wolf

Wolves are amazingly loud.

Among all wolf breeds, grey wolves are the noisiest. 

Their howls can reach up to 115 decibels.

They howl to define their territory or to inform their friends about any danger that may follow.

Wolves move in packs.

When they start howling together, they may produce a lot of noise at once.

Even while everyday communication is in their packs, they are very loud. 

One of their purposes of howling may also be to announce the pack’s location. 

 

3) Lion

Lions belong to the cat family known as big cats.

A lion’s roar can be distinguished easily from other animal sounds. 

Being the king of the jungle, lions have a thundering roar.

Their roar can get as loud as 115 decibels, and it can be heard from a distance of 8 km (5 miles). 

Lions roar to define their territory to other male rivals.

A lion’s territory can stretch up to 160 square miles.

A lion’s roar helps him to keep his territory safe without having to cover the whole distance. 

Lion also roars for different other reasons.

They sometimes roar to communicate with their other family members. 

Cubs can’t roar as loud as their parents do.

But with time, as their bodies develop, they get trained by their parents, and they grow up to become big lions and roar very loudly.

 

4) Blue Whale

Blue Whale

Blue whales and sperm whales are the loudest among all the whale breeds. 

A blue whale’s sound can be as loud as 190 decibels.

This is louder than a jet engine.

This sound can reach as far as 500 miles underwater.

This is way too louder than sounds that a human ear can tolerate. 

Blue whales are considered to be the largest among discovered animals till now.

Their tongue is so big that it can weigh as much as the weight of an elephant. 

Sperm whales have a louder sound frequency reaching up to 233 decibels. Some researchers say that these are the loudest sea animals.  

They sing and whistle to communicate. But in such a loud voice that any humankind can never enjoy it. 

These whales can also make a different kind of cooing sound that they produce when they need to socialize with other animals. 

 

5) Tiger Pistol Shrimp

Tiger pistol shrimps produce sound at a very high frequency.

Their sound can be even higher than 200 decibels.

This sound is even louder than a gunshot. 

Even while hunting, they make a unique kind of sound. Their sound is so loud that an average human ear can’t tolerate it. 

This animal has an exciting way of hunting.

It has a claw that shoots jets of water at its prey. The speed is so high that it makes up an air bubble. A shock wave is created when that air bubble explodes, eventually killing its prey. They can kill their prey from as far as 2 meters. 

We are very fortunate that this animal lives under the sea. If it were a land animal, it could have destroyed human ears. 

 

6) Kakapo

These birds are considered to be one of the loudest.

When they make noise, they can even be heard from a distance of 7 km.

Their sound frequency can reach as high as 132 decibels. 

The sound they make is produced using a thoracic air sac. They make booming sounds as well as high-pitched metallic calls. 

They belong to the parrot family.

Males Kakapos make up the noise which helps the female to find her mate easily. 

They are also known to be the heaviest parrots in their family.

Kakapo can weigh up to 3 to 4 kg.

They can live a long life up to the age of 90 years.

 

7) Elephant

Elephants have a unique physical structure.

They have very big ears and massive bodies. 

Thanks to their large-sized ears, they are excellent listeners.

Along with good listening skills, they can also produce very loud sounds. 

When they make their trumpeting sound, they are considered one of the loudest in the animal kingdom.

They make this trumpeting sound when they are angry or excited.

Elephants have many ways to communicate and are also considered among the most intelligent animals in the animal kingdom. 

They can also produce infrasonic sounds that can travel up to 6 miles.

These sounds are as loud as 117 decibels, but human ears can’t hear them because their frequency is too low.

These sounds are below the audible range of humans. 

 

8) Hyena

Hyena

Hyenas travel in packs, so they need to communicate. They make a lot of noise while moving.

Their sound can reach up to 112 decibels. 

They make giggling and whooping noises when they feel threatened when they are out hunting. 

Physically they resemble dogs. They have a lot of strength.

Hyena is even known to kill lions, the king of the jungle.  

They are so fierce that they only spread terror where ever they go. 

 

9) Greater Bulldog Bat

If you think that bats are silent, then you are wrong.

Greater bulldog bats are from the family of bats that produce a sound that can even cross 140 decibels. 

These are the loudest members of the bat family.

But these sounds are not audible to the human ear because they have less frequency. 

These bats use sound to navigate and hunt. This technique is called echolocation. 

They are a mammal, and physically they don’t look very appealing. 

 

10) Moluccan Cockatoo

Loudest Animals in the World - Cockatoo

Moluccan cockatoos are also birds that belong to the parrot family.

They are one of the loudest animals in the world.

They can scream as high as 127 decibels which is way too much higher than the sound of multiple jet engines. 

Like guard dogs, these birds also scream when they sense anything suspicious.

If you own a Moluccan cockatoo, they will help guard your home, but they can damage your eardrums. 

They can be very destructive to your ears if you are close to them.

Moluccan cockatoos also scream to alert their flock whenever they sense any danger nearby. 

They also follow a ritual of screaming for 20 to 25 minutes in the evening and sometimes in the morning.

This could not be very pleasant if you have them as a pet.

And if you own more than one, they would all start screaming simultaneously. 

 

Conclusion

Our earth possesses so many different sea and land animals.

No animal on this earth is created without a purpose. They all play a vital role in human lives.

In one way or another, they assist in the existence of humankind. 

Some animals are mute, while others are too loud and unbearable to human ears.

We must take care of their habitat and let them be the way they are. 

Animals who make too much noise and that are too loud should be kept in jungles, away from city life.

In this way, they can live their lives the way they want. 

This would help a lot in reducing noise pollution.

Noise pollution could harm human health and animals that love to live peacefully. 

We hope this article helped you in knowing all the facts about the loudest animals in the world.

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