If you think you’ve already seen it all after an afternoon at the zoo, take a look at nature’s 10 strangest animal species. Some bizarre creatures are living on this globe!
1) Blobfish
The blobfish is a deep-sea fish that swims in the seas around Australia and New Zealand at a depth of 600-1200 meters. Because the pressure on its body is enormous, so deep in the ocean, its body consists of a kind of jelly with a slightly lower density than that of water. The blobfish has been voted as the ugliest animal on Earth.
2) Long-eared Cow
In some ways, they look a bit like ruminant rabbits. We don’t know if they can hear better with these mega ears, but they seem to be useful for chasing away flies. You can find these animals in rural Thailand.
3) Proboscis Monkey
The proboscis monkey is on the heels of the long-eared cow in terms of strangeness. These primates are one of the largest monkey species at about 76 centimeters in length. Of course, their most distinctive feature is their enormous snuffles, which can grow up to four inches long and hang gracefully over their mouths. Excellent detail: only males develop these mega-noses, and female monkeys love them—the bigger the nose, the more attractive the male. You’ll find proboscis monkeys in Malaysia on the island of Borneo.
4) Okapi
The okapi is a type of forest giraffe with the striped butt of a zebra, the middle body of a deer, and the giraffe’s front end. The endangered mammal is found only in the Congo rainforest in Africa. Its tongue is so long that it can clean its ears with it.
5) Thresher Shark
The exceptionally special thresher shark grows to more than 20 feet long, and half of its length is taken up by its large tail. This bizarrely elongated appendage is used for hunting. This shark strikes through the water to sting its prey, usually a tuna and sometimes seabirds. Thresher sharks are found in the North Pacific Ocean, but the best place to see one is with an organized dive in Malapascua, Philippines.
6) Albino Alligator
At first glance, you might think this is a crocodile that doesn’t see enough sunlight, but albino alligators do occur in the wild as such, though they are scarce. You can see these creepy reptiles at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in Florida.
7) Platypus
When British explorers first sent samples of the platypus, scientists thought it was a good joke. In addition to its crazy mouth, this creature has a poisonous horny spur on its hind leg, making it one of the few venomous mammals. Not only that, but it is also a cloaca animal, a mammal that lays eggs. These bizarre creatures can be found in Western Australia, but the best place to see one is in Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.
8) Maned wolf
Is it a wolf? Is it a deer? You may wonder when you see the maned wolf, this high-legged wild dog from the pampas of South America. The maned wolf looks like something out of the Twilight movies. Fortunately, the beast is shy of people, and the chance of you meeting him just like that is relatively small.
9) Pangolin
Pangolins live in Africa and Asia. Their skin is made up of scales that sit on top of each other like tiles. When the pangolin rolls up like a hedgehog, the scales all fold together like a puzzle, and the animal is protected from enemies.
10) Irrawaddy Dolphin
The Irrawaddy dolphin is one of the most extraordinary animals in Southeast Asia. This dolphin has a blunt head and therefore looks very different from “normal” dolphin species. The animal is unfortunately threatened with extinction. The Irrawaddy dolphin swims in the sea and is also found in South Asia’s rivers; in Myanmar (Irrawaddy), Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand (Mekong), and in some rivers of Indonesia.
Do you know any other bizarre animals? Let us know in the comments below!