Top 10 Most Dominant Predators
Predators are hunting animals that attack smaller creatures for meat and make up the top of the food chain. They are extremely powerful and aren't to be messed with. However, most predators need to battle other predators for meat and prey, and normally there's a balance between these two with losses and gains for both animals. However, some predators completely dominate. In their territory, they destroy all competition and get what they want for various reasons. Apex Predator is a term to describe the ones that are above all others, but there can be more than one extremely dominant predator in an area, so that's why I didn't put it in the title. Enjoy!
Humans (Homo sapiens) are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and large, complex brains. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, and language. Humans are highly social and tend to live in complex social structures composed of many cooperating... read more Humans, of course, are the ultimate predator. Nothing rivals us because we completely dominate. We have killed practically every other organism on Earth, mainly for food but sometimes just to show that we can. I bet humans have killed every single other animal on here for food before.
Humans are one of the most populous animals in the world, and they dominate almost everywhere. They kill and eat so effectively that we're barely conscious of it. Most predators hunt for themselves, but humans are so powerful and capable that only a tiny percentage of the population needs to hunt. A larger but still small percentage processes the food and makes it tasty - a process other animals aren't advanced enough to do yet.
The rest can do other jobs, like continuing to spread over the entire world. It's awesome that we're so capable. Humans are obviously number one, and it's not close. If they were ranked anywhere lower, the list would be inaccurate.
The Orca, or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca), is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is recognizable by its black-and-white patterned body. Orcas are a cosmopolitan species and can be found in all of the world's oceans, in a variety of marine environments,... read more Killer Whales, sometimes also known as Orcas, are arguably the most dominant predator in the entire world, excluding humans. Orcas are THE apex predator, the number one sea creature. They are at the top of the food chain, and other than humans, who don't hunt them for any reason other than to show that they can, no animals prey on them.
Killer Whales eat sharks, squid, octopi, sea turtles, rays, sea birds, and most other fish. If a Killer Whale and a Great White Shark got into a fight, the Killer Whale would almost definitely win. The only reason I didn't put this in second or first is because Killer Whales have some rival predators that could bring them down in the sea, and there are a lot of dangerous creatures down there that it has to compete with.
Still, don't go away from this thinking they aren't the perfect predator - they certainly are by all means.
The lion (Panthera leo) is a large cat of the genus Panthera native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body, short, rounded head, round ears, and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is... read more Lions are well known to be extremely scary and powerful creatures, partly because of The Lion King, where they dominate the animal world in Africa. This isn't far from true.
In the savanna, the other animals (except for things like elephants and rhinos, which are too big and sturdy to be attacked by lions very often) probably spend most of their time hoping lions don't come and eat them. It's the same with hyenas and cheetahs, but mainly lions.
Lion manes are actually not only a way of determining males and females or for beauty, but they also serve as extra protection. Most other predators go for the neck, but the manes protect their necks. It would be like trying to eat a pillow with marshmallows for teeth for the opposing animal. Such awesome predators.
When carnivores and strong predators come to mind, you probably don't think of Golden Eagles. They are pretty huge but not that big, and they're fierce but not really powerful. Well, they're higher than any other animal on the list excluding humans for a reason: they completely and utterly dominate the sky.
Golden Eagles are amazing creatures. They scour the sky, higher than almost any other animal, with impeccable speed and an amazingly keen sense. They can see practically anything with their incredible eyesight, and they're so fast nobody sees them coming. They are pretty much the ultimate sky predator.
There's a reason Eagles are associated with kings and gods: they're crazy fast, powerful, and they come from the sky gloriously before preying on anything they wish. Once, at my school playground, I saw a couple of small birds just bobbing around, not really doing much. Suddenly, an eagle came out of the sky and, quick as a flash, descended on one of them and flew back up with it in its talons. What an amazing creature.
They dominate the sky with practically no contest, and not even humans can do much to them. They're too quick, intelligent, and perceptive.
The polar bear is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. Polar Bears also earn a very high spot in terms of dominance. While it has been clearly stated that Grizzly Bears are better in a fight because of their superior strength and teeth/claw size, as well as fierceness, they have tons of other potential apex predators and enemies where they live.
Polar Bears can mainly just lounge around all day with no enemy creatures to contend with, occasionally diving into the ocean to get a nice juicy seal. They have no threats in the north other than the impending extinction that may happen due to the Arctic melting. (Stop your greenhouse gas emissions, please!)
Polar Bears are basically the lion equivalents of the north. Lions dominate the south, Polar Bears the north, Eagles the sky, Orcas the oceans, and humans dominate almost everywhere else, other than exotic areas like the Amazon Rainforest where Caiman reign.
Okay, you probably don't even know what a black caiman is. Heck, you probably don't even know what a caiman is as a species! Let me tell you. There are four animals in the Alligatoridae family (I think that's what it's called): the Alligator, Crocodile, Caiman, and Gharial.
The Black Caiman is a very special member of the Alligatoridae family. You know the Amazon? Not the company, or the Greek movement, or the river, but the rainforest - the biggest land ecosystem and tropical forest in the world? Out of all the animals there, and there are millions upon millions of them, the Black Caiman dominates at the top of the food chain of the place with the biggest food chain on Earth.
Jaguars, as well as some snakes and piranhas, can make a feeble argument, but these are top class. Congrats to them.
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ungulates such as deer and wild boar. It is territorial and generally... read more Tigers are quite the awesome creature. They are actually the more powerful of the big cats, despite the popular belief that lions would win in a fight. (Obviously, it depends on the specific lion and tiger as well as the surroundings and many other factors.) However, they aren't really as dominant, and I'll tell you why.
First, I have to say that tigers are still amazing predators, which is why they're on the list. Tigers have many other powerful animals in the jungles where they live, like in Siberia, that they have to fight. Lions, on the other hand, aren't contended like that. Tigers have a much harder territory to dominate.
Lions have the clear savanna, where there's nothing to do but keep running because you can't hide. Tigers have to dart around trees and avoid all the lush greenery, and they aren't the smallest creatures either.
Yeah, this probably doesn't seem like quite the dominant predator to you. Same with me! But in reality, dragonflies are the apex and dominant predator of the bug world. They have a literal 95% success rate, which means that out of every 100 prey they go after, 95 of them are caught and eaten. In comparison, tigers only have a 20% success rate. Can you see the huge difference?
Dragonflies are amazing in the way they take down other bugs, not stopping to mess around at all. I've seen dragonflies a lot at my grandparents' lake, and they don't seem too impressive, though they definitely earn merits for being extremely annoying. But no! They're amazing!
So scary. They use their light bulbs on their antennae to attract other fish to eat.
The saltwater crocodile, also known as the estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile, marine crocodile, sea crocodile or informally as saltie, is the largest of all living reptiles, as well as the largest riparian predator in the world. The Saltwater Crocodile is an enormous and powerful creature. It silently slides through the water before lunging out of the surface and dragging enormous prey under the water to eat it.
They don't really have any rivalries because they're so strong, powerful, and durable that nothing can stand up to them. They are actually extremely fast both on land and in the water. They don't mess around and get straight to business instead of relishing the kill like some animals do, which makes saltwater crocodiles quick and efficient.
There are much better predators out there, but saltwater crocodiles are basically unrivaled elsewhere.
Foxes are small to medium sized animals and belong to the Canidae family along with other animals such as jackals, wolves, and domestic dogs. There are 37 species of fox but only 12 are considered true Vulpes. A fox's prey is small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, eggs, insects, worms, fish, crabs,... read more
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat and native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph) with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being 93 and 98 km/h (58 and 61 mph), and as such has several adaptations... read more
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus Panthera native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected... read more Snow leopards aren't exactly a model apex predator. They aren't extremely big or powerful, and they're small compared to other big cats like jaguars, lions, and tigers. They don't have huge, powerful jaws or anything like that.
However, they are extremely dominant in their territory. There are few to no other predators and barely any carnivores in their area. They can basically do whatever they want whenever they want because nobody is able to fight against them where they reign.
They're quite the surprising dark horse, actually. Snow leopards are pretty cool, almost as cool as sloths. (Stress on the word 'almost.')
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is notable for its size, with larger female individuals growing to 6.1... read more Despite what I said earlier about killer whales dominating the sea, great white sharks have a lot to wear on their sleeves. They dominate as the most powerful fish.
What a cool fish. A big one too! What an apex predator. They've got huge teeth. Yikes! Don't make him angry!
The grizzly bear less commonly called the silvertip bear, is any North American morphological form or subspecies of brown bear.
The king cobra is an elapid found predominantly in forests from India through Southeast Asia.The King cobra is probably best known as the species of choice for the South Asia snake charmers. Even though cobras can hear, they are actually deaf to all ambient noises instead, they sense the ground... read more
The wolf (Canis lupus), also known as the gray or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. Over thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, with gray wolves comprising the wild subspecies. As the largest extant member of the Canidae family, the wolf is distinguished... read more
Spanish for "small fly," mosquitoes are insects that have been known to cause various diseases. A sample of diseases caused by mosquitoes: malaria, yellow fever, Chikungunya, West Nile virus, dengue fever, filariasis, Zika virus.
Centipedes are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are mainly carnivorous and they prey upon insects, spiders, small birds and rodents, and even other centipedes. These bugs are one of the most dominant species in the arthropod world. The largest ones, like the one in the picture, can take on spiders, scorpions, frogs, rodents, and even snakes.
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. With a body length of up to 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) and a weight of up to 158 kg (348 lb), it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world. Its distinctively... read more
Anacondas are group of large snakes of the genus Eunectes. They are large snakes found in tropical South America.
