A 400-pound wall of pure muscle wrapped in a surprisingly gentle soul—until you threaten its family. The silverback gorilla can bench-press an estimated 1,800 pounds and possesses grip strength capable of crushing a crocodile's skull with its bare hands. Pound for pound one of the strongest animals on Earth, and smart enough to learn sign language while doing it.

Patrolling the world's oceans for over 400 million years of evolutionary refinement, the great white shark is nature's most efficient killing machine. Armed with 300 serrated teeth and electroreceptors that detect a heartbeat from yards away, nothing in the sea is safe. A single bite delivers up to 18,000 newtons of force—enough to chomp through bone like breadsticks.