11 of the tallest animals on Earth

• Many impressively tall animals roam the Earth. 
• The giraffe is the tallest, with a height of up to 19 feet (5.8 meters).
• Here are 11 of the tallest animals in the world.

This planet is full of creatures great and small, but you might be surprised to learn how big some animals can get. Despite gravity's pull keeping everything down, some creatures do seem to win the fight against gravity and grow to extraordinary heights.

Elephants, for example, can come close to the height of giraffes, the tallest animals on Earth. 

Here are 11 of the tallest animals in the world. 

The giraffe is the tallest animal on Earth.

Formally known as Giraffa camelopardalis, the average giraffe stands 14 to 19 feet (4.3 to 5.8 meters) tall, according to National Geographic. Most of a giraffe's height comes from its famously long neck, which can extend almost 7 feet. They can weigh between 1,750 and 2,800 pounds (794 to 1,270 kilograms), depending on their sex. 

Giraffes in the wild have been known to live up to 40 years.

Elephants can get up to 13 feet (4 meters) tall.

Elephants primarily dwell in the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. They can live up to 70 years.

Though elephants are native to 37 African countries, the African Wildlife Foundation estimates that there are only about 415,000 elephants left on Earth. About 8% of the world's population of elephants is poached annually, and they are slow to reproduce — elephant pregnancies last 22 months.  

The ostrich is the world's tallest bird. It can grow up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall.

Ostriches are large flightless birds that are native to more than 25 countries in Africa, including Zambia and Kenya, and the westernmost part of Asia (in Turkey), but they can be found all over the world. They can be raised for their meat, though wild populations exist in Australia.

According to the African Wildlife Foundation, ostriches don't have teeth, but they do have the largest eyeballs of any land animal.