10 Terrifying Prehistoric Creatures That Are Thankfully Extinct

While there are still some very large creatures in the animal kingdom that are truly staggering, such as blue whales, the vast majority of living creatures on the planet are much smaller than those that lived in the past. Throughout the history, the Earth has been inhabited by giants such as dinosaurs that don’t have any modern equivalent. Yet, there were once terrifyingly huge creatures that roamed the land, some of which were so big and frightening it is probably a good thing they no longer exist.

Entelodon

Unlike modern pigs and other related species that have lived, entelodon was primarily a carnivore. Most pigs will eat meat as part of their diet if the opportunity arises but usually prefer to remain vegetarian for the most part. That wasn’t the case for this giant beast, which stood at 6 feet tall, that would hunt live prey.

Gigantopithecus

Gigantopithecus has jumped into the public consciousness recently as the animal is due to appear in Disney’s live action version of The Jungle Book. The enormous orangutan lived for millions of years in Asia before they were wiped out around 100,000 years ago. Fossils suggest that they weighed upwards of 1,000 pounds and stood at more than 10 feet tall, making them the biggest ape to ever live.