Big butts are not a human quirk. Across the animal kingdom, oversized rear ends serve real biological jobs, from broadcasting fertility to storing fat reserves to providing raw pulling power on a farm. Some of these animals with big butts belong to familiar species like giraffes and elephants, while others are obscure sheep breeds bred specifically for their backsides.
What follows is a tour of 13 animals whose rear ends do more than sit there. A few are famously social creatures, while others lean toward territorial or lone animal behavior, guarding a patch of forest, riverbank, or reef with the same intensity they use to defend a mate.
1. Baboons
Few primate features draw more attention than a baboon’s rump, and for good reason. Baboon butts are big, public social cues, and the red-rumped genus that includes several baboon species develops especially large, colorful rears during mating season, when the buttocks of females swell and turn red to communicate their ovulation windows. Species such as the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) rely on this visual signal because scent and posture alone don’t travel far across open savanna.
Interestingly, the old assumption that a bigger backside makes for a better mother hasn’t held up under scrutiny. Recent research found that rump size did not correlate with how long a baboon’s offspring survived infancy, nor did it attract more mates; the only real difference researchers found was that males preferred females who had experienced more ovulation cycles since their last pregnancy. Baboons also carry some of the largest canine teeth of any primate, a feature covered in more detail in this guide to animals with the most teeth.
2. Giraffes
The Giraffa camelopardalis uses its backside for something surprisingly practical: a pillow. Giraffes rest their heads on their big butts when they sleep, contorting their entire body into a circle-like lump and getting only 3 to 5 hours of rest in a full 24-hour period. That minimal sleep schedule is a trade-off for a body built to stay alert against predators on open plains.
A giraffe’s oversized eyes are just as noteworthy as its rear, giving it a wide field of view while dozing in that curled position; read more in this piece on animals with big eyes. Giraffes are also one of the few large mammals whose name and habits are frequently referenced in animals that start with G lists, thanks to their unmistakable silhouette.
3. Hippos
The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) pairs a massive body with an equally massive rear. Hippos are among the animals with the biggest butts in the world, typically measuring between 10.8 and 16.5 feet in length. That bulk isn’t just for show. Hippos are notoriously territorial animals, and males use tail-flicking dung showers to mark riverbank boundaries and warn off rivals.
All that mass is backed by one of the most powerful jaws in the animal kingdom, a trait explored further in this breakdown of animals with the strongest bite force. Despite their bulk, hippos can move surprisingly fast on land, another reminder that size and speed aren’t mutually exclusive in the animal world.
Pro Tip: When comparing “biggest butt” claims across species, look at the ratio of rear size to body mass rather than raw measurements alone. A hippo’s rump is enormous in absolute terms, but relative to its own body, humans and several sheep breeds actually rank higher.
4. Elephants
Elephants carry some of the thickest hindquarters on land, built to support several tons of body weight on long-distance treks. Both the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) have padded, muscular rear ends that act almost like shock absorbers with every step.
That structural investment pays off over an unusually long life. Elephants regularly live 60 years or more in the wild, a lifespan explored further in this look at animals with the longest lifespan. Their size also means elephants have few natural predators once fully grown, letting them travel and forage in tight-knit, socially complex herds rather than living as lone animals.
5. Horses
Domestic horses (Equus caballus) owe much of their athletic power to a well-developed rear end, technically called the croup. Tall stature, muscular backs, and powerful hindquarters made the draft horse a source of horsepower for farming, hauling freight, and moving passengers. That same muscle structure is what lets a galloping horse generate explosive forward thrust.
Horses also happen to top plenty of animals that start with H lists, and their memory for people, places, and routines is often underestimated compared to more “obviously” intelligent species. A horse that learns a trail once can often retrace it years later.
6. Kangaroos
A kangaroo’s rear end isn’t just for sitting. The muscular hindquarters and thick tail work together as a tripod, letting the animal balance on two legs while using its powerful hind claws to kick during territorial disputes or self-defense.
These sharp hind claws are a defensive weapon in their own right, discussed further in this guide to animals with claws. Male kangaroos, in particular, are known to box and kick over territory and mating rights, making them one of the more visibly aggressive animals with big butts on this list.
7. Hissar sheep
Few domestic sheep breeds pack on rear-end mass quite like the Hissar. The Hissar sheep is widely regarded as the largest sheep breed in the world, known for its massive frame, rapid growth, and distinctive fat tail called the dumba. That fat tail functions as an energy reserve, similar to a camel’s hump, letting the breed survive lean seasons in Central Asia.
Rams can reach up to 375 to 400 pounds of live weight and stand 42 to 45 inches at the shoulder, while ewes weigh up to 250 to 275 pounds, with body length reaching 5.2 to 5.6 feet. This breed belongs to the same domestic species (Ovis aries) as ordinary farm sheep, yet its rear end and tail have been shaped by centuries of selective breeding for exactly this trait. Learn more about the breed at Hissar Sheep U.S.
8. Percheron horse
The Percheron takes the horse family’s naturally powerful hindquarters and scales them up dramatically. Originating in northern France, the Percheron is a large, powerful draft horse that has at times held the record for the biggest horse in the world. Its rear end isn’t just large; it’s engineered for pulling force.
Percherons are also among the strongest horses in terms of pulling power, rivaling other heavy breeds such as the Shire, Clydesdale, and Belgian draft. Breed standards are specific about this trait, calling for long and wide hindquarters with no suggestion of a goose rump, according to the British Percheron Horse Society breed standard. This breed is a frequent entry in animals that start with P roundups thanks to its size and instantly recognizable silhouette.
9. Coconut crab
Land invertebrates rarely get big enough to have a “butt” worth discussing, but the coconut crab (Birgus latro) is an exception. Its broad, armored abdomen tucks beneath the body, giving the animal a compact but heavily built rear section that helps protect it from predators and rough terrain across Indo-Pacific islands.
Coconut crabs are largely solitary animal species, foraging alone at night and retreating to burrows or rock crevices by day rather than forming groups. That antisocial lifestyle, paired with a body built like a small tank, has made the coconut crab one of the more unusual entries among animals with big butts.
10. Bismarck flying fox
Also known as the great flying fox, this megabat is one of the largest bat species by wingspan, and its rounded rear end is proportionally substantial for a flying mammal. The great flying fox, also known as the greater flying fox or Bismarck flying fox, is a species of megabat found throughout lowland areas of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.
Its scientific name, Pteropus neohibernicus, reflects its wide range across island habitats in the region. Like many fruit bats, it relies on unusually big eyes rather than echolocation to navigate at night, a trait shared with several species covered in this guide to animals with big eyes.
11. Japanese spider crab
The Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) has the longest leg span of any living arthropod, and its body, including a proportionally wide, rounded rear section, sits at the center of that sprawling frame like a small dinner plate. It spends most of its life on the seafloor off the coast of Japan, at depths where sunlight barely reaches.
This species tends toward lone animal behavior, drifting across the seabed alone rather than in groups, except during the mass molting and mating gatherings that bring adults into shallower water. Outside of that brief window, it is largely a solitary, slow-moving giant.
12. Celebes crested macaque
Native to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra) has a bare, pink-to-red rump that stands out sharply against its otherwise black fur. As with baboons, this coloration functions as a visual signal tied to social status and reproductive readiness within the troop.
Macaques are known for strong problem-solving skills and social memory, remembering individual troop members and past interactions over long periods, a trait explored further in this guide to animals with good memory. The species is critically endangered, making its distinctive rear end one of the more recognizable features left to identify a shrinking wild population.
13. Kallipygos sheep (muscular buttock sheep)
Named after a Greek statue of Aphrodite admiring her own backside, callipyge sheep are the closest thing the animal kingdom has to competitive bodybuilders. Scientists have discovered an elusive, mutated gene named for the Greek goddess Aphrodite Kallipygos that causes certain sheep to have unusually big and muscular bottoms. The condition is a naturally occurring mutation within the domestic sheep species (Ovis aries), not a separate breed.
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture famously compared the animals to a certain bodybuilder, noting that they pack on huge muscle with virtually no fat, unlike ordinary fat-storing sheep breeds. While researchers found 600 distinct genetic markers, only one turned out to be unique to these sheep: a single base change from A to G in the DNA sequence. Full details on the discovery are available from Duke Health.
Key Insight: The callipyge mutation is imprinted, meaning it only produces the muscular-rump trait when inherited from the father. A lamb that receives the same mutated gene from its mother instead shows no unusual muscle growth at all.
How These Backsides Compare
| Animal | Signature Backside Trait | Notable Size Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Baboon | Swollen, color-shifting rump signaling fertility | Varies by species and season |
| Hippopotamus | Enormous rounded haunches on a massive frame | Body length of 10.8–16.5 feet |
| Hissar sheep | Fat tail (dumba) used as an energy reserve | Rams up to 375–400 lbs |
| Percheron horse | Long, muscular hindquarters built for pulling power | Historic record holder for largest horse |
| Kallipygos sheep | Double-muscled rump with almost no body fat | Muscle mass driven by a single gene mutation |
Taken together, these 13 animals with big butts show that an oversized rear end is rarely just decorative. It stores fat for lean seasons, signals fertility across long distances, powers heavy labor, or protects a soft body from predators. Whether an animal lives in a tight social troop or leads a solitary, territorial existence, its backside often tells a very specific survival story.