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The next time you’re on holiday – exploring the local terrain, ambling along the beachfront or even just walking down the street, keep your camera handy because you never know when you might encounter a creature of unnatural bulk (and no, we’re not talking about the chip eating locals hanging around Blackpool pleasure beach)

Snake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvZ0xNVnc1Y

This apparently dead giant anaconda was spotted by some backpackers in Brazil – luckily for us the backpackers were carrying a video camera. Anacondas kill by constriction, eating anything they can overpower – including fish, turtles and rodents; even alligators and jaguars. Anacondas weigh up to 35 stone and grow to over 30 feet though Amazonian tribesmen claim to have seen much bigger specimens. Whatever, it’s hard to imagine many bigger anacondas than this one have ever been filmed in the wild.

Sunfish

Sunfish are the largest bony fish known to man and this monster was caught 99 years ago off Santa Catalina Island, California, by W. McMillan. Weighing in at an estimated 250 stones – that’s 1.6 tonnes – we’re willing to bet that Mr McMillan never landed anything bigger. It’s unclear what became of this deep-sea giant but apparently sunfish specials were rather popular on the menu of Catalina Island’s only restaurant during 1910, 1911 and 1912.

Bull

Locals on their way home from the pub in the Somerset village Ferne would be well advised to stick to the road – any shortcuts across fields could stand them face-to-face with Chilli, well face-to chest anyway. Chilli is the largest bull in the world and his stats are awesome – Height:  6 feet, 6 inches. Weight: 1.25 tonnes. Abandoned aged 6 days, Chilli was left on the doorstep of Ferne Animal Sanctuary in 1999 – his owners say he’s harmless;  we’d rather not be put in a position to find out.

Cat

We’re not sure what the name of this cat is, who it belongs to or how the photograph ever came into circulation but what we can say with 100% certainty is that this is the biggest cat we’ve ever seen in our lives. Making Bagpus look like a stick-thin supermodel pussycat doll,  this fatty feline looks like the cat who got the cream, the neighbour’s pet rabbit, all the pies and the belly-busting full English breakfast with extra toast. In conclusion: a big cat and no mistake.

Horse

Born in 1928, Brooklyn Supreme was a pure-bred Belgium stallion who in his prime weighed 3200 pounds, or 1.4 tonnes – that’s the heaviest ever recorded weight for a horse by some distance and a hell of a lot of horse power.  Standing at 19.2 hands – or 6 foot, 5 inches -  Brooklyn Supreme is also one of the tallest horses ever recorded. When he died in 1948, legendary status was already secured – from his regal stance in the photo we’re pretty sure Brooklyn Supreme knew he was a legend too.

Marlin

Hemmingway once wrote about an old Cuban fisherman’s titanic struggle with a giant marlin and this photograph adds extra context to the old man’s endurance as he fights to land the most powerful sea fish of them all. This marlin is the biggest ever caught on a rod and was landed by a group of 6 novice anglers and the boat’s staff off Hawai in 1970 – dubbed Choy’s Monster after the captain who finally brought it to the boat, it weighed just short of 129 stone.

Worm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJYPQJjS-s4

This rather peculiar, rather large, some might say rather fat green worm was captured on video while out for a wriggle along a pavement in Barcelona. As the film only lasts 20 seconds we have no idea where he was headed but would like to imagine he was off for an afternoon contemplating the idiosyncratic genius of Gaudi’s architecture before stopping at a cafe on Las Ramblas for a chilled glass of San Miguel, a spot of people-watching and a couple of plates of tapas.