Top 10 Animals

Nature plays by its own rules. It creates many surprises. Sometimes those surprises are good, and sometimes… Well, let’s just say that some of them look as a fruit of imagination of a horror movie director. Whether you’ll like the animals from our top 10 list of the weirdest creatures, or not, is simply the matter of your personal preference. We don’t find these creatures ugly, but only unique and unusual.

10. Alpaca
Alpacas are residents of South American highland regions. They are domesticated members of Camelidae family kept for high-quality wool which is used for clothes, blankets, etc. They are characterized by sheep-like bodies, particularly long necks and soft, up to 50 cm long, hair. Alpacas come in many different colors, and they live in herds.

9. Proboscis Monkey
Male representatives of Nasalis larvatus have extremely big noses and the bellies that resemble brewer’s tummies. The function of the noses hasn’t been proven scientifically, but it is assumed that they exist in order to attract females during mating. They also produce trumpet-like noises. Noses of Proboscis monkeys can reach the a length of 17.5 cm, which makes them the longest-nosed primates. They inhabit coastal areas of Borneo.

8. Star-nosed Mole
Star-nosed moles inhabit the Eastern part of the North America. These very strange mammals are characterized by a set of 22 long pink tentacles placed around the nostrils, forming the shape of two stars. These tentacles enable them to find the food and dig underground because they are sensitive to touch and electro impulses. They also prevent the food or the dirt from entering into the nose. They are excellent swimmers and wonderful diggers, they can dig enormous nets of tunnels in the medium dry areas.

7. Angora Rabbit
Angora is a long-haired breed of rabbits with well-shaped body and long hair, which is used for different purposes. It originates from the countries around the Black Sea, from where it was transferred to England, France and other European countries in 1723. Their original color is white, but, today they are bred in many different colors. Their fur is very popular, and it is used for clothes making.

6. Komondor Dog
“The king of Hungarian shepherd dogs “ as it is often called, is a big dog covered with a thick, long, gnarly white hair which looks like a huge mop. This unusual miracle almost doesn’t bark in daytime. It is distrustful of strangers, but it is one of the best livestock and yard guardians. It is easy to train, but it is very stubborn and jealous.

5. Tapir
Although they look like pigs with extended muzzles, tapirs actually belong to the family equidae, as well as horses and rhinoceroses. In spite of their lazy looks they are very active, and they are excellent swimmers, too. Their natural habitat are  forested areas of Southeast Asia and South America. There are four species of Tapirs, and all of them are at the edge of extinction.

4. Armadillo
The word Armadillo is of Spanish origin, and it means “ small and armored ”. Its name refers to the tabular shield covering the neck, back, tail and legs. Amadillo is the only existing mammal with this type of armor. It has an amazing ability to hide itself from danger by digging into sand with its pointed claws. It lives in Central and South America.

3. Dumbo Octopus
This creature got its name after a baby elephant from Walt Disney’s cartoon. Its chubby body and fins that resemble elephant’s ears are responsible for this name. Dumbo Octopus can be found in the ocean dephts (from 400 to 4800 meters). There are 18 species of this unusual animal. They feed by moving slowly above the ocean floor.

2. Aye-Aye
Aye-Aye is a rare primate which can be found only on the island Madagascar. It is dark-brown or black with large sensitive ears, saucer eyes, long fingers, and a furry, long tail. Its long claws enable it to swing on the branches. This animal spends its life in the trees where it finds insects under tree bark with the help of the long middle finger. The rest of its diet consists mainly from coconuts and other fruit. Indigenous belief that it brings bad luck, which led this species almost to extinction. Today it is protected by law.

1. Sloth
These mammals live in the forests of Central and South America. There are six species of Sloths, and their size is similar to a size of  a small dog. Their most important features are: flat head, small face, long limbs with big, strong hook-like nails, and grey fur, which, as they grow old, becomes greenish, due to a specific algae that grows on it. Everything connected to these creatures is slow–their movements, their metabolism… Most of their lives they spend hanging upside–down from the trees. The mothers even give birth in that position. They sleep 18 hours a day, they rarely come to the ground and they live up to 30 years.

Some may call them freaky and bizarre animals, some may find them irresistibly sympathetic, but before you decide if you are going to like hybrid animals or not, take a look at top ten hybrid animals. Hybrid animals are products of mixing two breeds of animals with the same genus. They are usually infertile, and most commonly are the product of human interference in genetics.

10. Savannah Cat
This big–eared feline creature came to existence as a mixture of a domestic cat and a serval, a wild African cat. They are the biggest domestic cats in the world, an the highest jumpers of all the cats, too. Savannahs are very intelligent, and as loyal and cuddly as dogs are. In 2001 it was accepted as a new breed by the ICA, but laws governing ownership over these cats differ from state to state.

9. Blood Parrot Cichlid
This garish orange little creature is a mixture of a Midas cichlid and a Red devil cichlid. It was first produced in Taiwan around 1986. Though they look very cute, they have a few anomalies that make their lives harder: beak-shaped mouth that causes difficulties while feeding, and deformed swim bladders. This is why animal lovers demand this breed not to be produced and sold any more.

8. Coywolf
Coywolves are the outcome of coyote and wolf interbreeding. They are bigger than regular coyotes, they are aggressive pack-hunters,like wolfs, and they have less fear from the urban areas. That is why, this quickly increasing breed is becoming a trouble in some areas, such as Durham Region, where farmers suffer major losses of livestock. Some biologists claim that this animal is a product of people’s spreading their own areas at the expense of reducing the natural habitat of wolves and coyotes.

7. Cama
This offspring of male Dromedary camel and female lama was first created in 1998 in a lab in Dubai with the aim to create an animal as big and resistant as camel is, but as easy –going, and of greater wool productivity, as lama. Interestingly, all the camas are fertile, but since mating it is physically impossible, the only way to get them pregnant is artificial insemination.

6. Yakow or Dzo
Dzo is a result of cross breeding a yak and usually a domestic cow. The males are infertile, but very strong and resistant, and that is why they are used as ‘pack animals‘ in  Mongolia and Tibet. Females or Dzomos are fertile, can be further interbred with either yaks or bulls. They give a higher yield of meat and milk than the ordinary cows.

5. Zebroids
Zorse = Zebra + horse, Zonkey = zebra + donkey and Zoni zebra + pony, are commonly named Zebroids, cross-breeds of male zebra and females from equidae family. Although their practical use, e.g. riding, can not be denied, they are usually very moody and difficult for training. None of these breeds is naturally produced, so they are almost always sterile and are often born with a certain form of dwarfism.

4. Grolar Bear
Prizzly, or Grolar bear is a product of matching polar and grizzly bear. It  has both been found in nature and produced artificially. It is known that grizzlies and polar bears live, feed and mate in different ways, so this mixture is very puzzling. However, scientists claim that, due to ice melting in the areas which are polar bears’ natural habitat, they are forced to come closer to grizzly territories, and when they come closer Prizzly happens. Prizzlies are one of the rare fertile hybrids, and the one shot on Banks Island in the Canadian Arctic proved there has been a second generation of this hybrid.

3. Wholphin
A very rare hybrid, which has only two representatives, both of which are created in captivity, is a combination of a false killer whale (not a real whale, but a very large dolphin breed) and a bottlenose dolphin. Both of the examples live in Hawaii, in the Sea life Park. The first one is a mother Kekaimalu, who had two unsuccessful pregnancies before she gave birth to her daughter Kawili Kai, whose father is a bottlenose dolphin.

2. Killer Bees
This dangerous breed is a result of a mistake. In 1956 Tanzanian queen bees were brought to Brazil to be cross bred with European bees in order to produce bees which would give more honey and adopt better to tropical conditions. They were accidentally released, and they started breeding with local Brazilian bees, and ‘created monsters‘ - Africanized Honey Bees, or AHBs. Since then, their number has increased, and the have migrated, so today they can be found both in South and North America. Their sting is not more dangerous than the one from the average honey bee, but they always attack in swarms, they are easily provoked and they chase their victims for longer distances. Every year they kill approximately two people in the US.

1. Liger
Liger is a big cat, an offspring of a father lion and a mother tiger. It looks like a big lion with tiger stripes, it takes friendliness after its father, and love for swimming after its mother. In 1953 a liger was successfully paired with a male lion, thus busting the myth of their infertility. Today, they can be found only in captivity. The most famous liger is Hercules, from a theme park in Miami, and he is also the biggest living example of the cat family.

If you are tired of ordinary creatures, check out our list of 10 weirdest sea creatures. Some of them are positively weird, some aren’t, but they are certainly not boring. Prepare to meet some of the most unusual living beings. Explorers, put on your diving equipment and follow us into the furthest, most secret, and most terrifying depths of the sea !

10. Fangtooth
If a name can be an indication of the appearance, this is definitely the case! Extremely large pointed teeth of this deep sea fish are perfectly built to imprison anything that gets in its way. According to BBC experts Fangtooth has the largest teeth, comparing to its body size, of all the known fish species. It has a big head and mouth and a short body covered with small, prickly scales. Honestly, they are a real eyesore, but, fortunately, way too deep for us to look at them.

9. Viperfish
One of the most dangerous predators of deep sea whose striking looks you’ll never forget. Its most impressive features are its curved needle-like teeth, so large they can’t even fit in its mouth, and of course, a very noticeable antenna on top of its head. The antenna, which top flashes light on and off is used, as a luring device for naive victims, and mates, but also to send a message to the rivals : " Don’t mess with me ! "

8. The Piglet Squid
This unbelievably cute, surreal creature can be found in the deepwater (between 100 m and 200 m ). It got is nickname from the obvious resemblance to a piglet. Little is known about this funny guy, but what we know for sure is that he is a real exception in his family, here are some of the reasons : a typical head –down orientation, tentacles that resemble spiky hair, habit of swimming upside down, photophore –a large light producing organ located beneath each of its large eyes.

7. The Barreleye
This unique life form was first discovered back in 1939s, but till 2004, when the first video recordings from sea depths were released, we could have only imagined a living one. Its unusual, tubular eyes, placed inside the transparent shield will leave you breathless.

6. Axolotl
Australians often call it “ Walking Fish” , others think it is some kind of water lizard. They are all wrong! Axolotl is neither fish, nor a reptile, it is an amphibian, a salamander. The most specific characteristic of this little Mexican is its ability to regenerate its limbs, which is probably why its name is connected to Aztec god of deformations and death - Xolotl. Another interesting fact is the one that, unlike other amphibians, which change from egg into larva and in the adult form, Axolotl stays in the form of larva throughout its whole life. The fact that it doesn’t develop characteristics of other adult salamanders, such as protruding eyes and eyelids, and that it retains fins and gills, made its appearance so unusual, thus our honorable member of the weirdest 10.

5. Yeti Crab
This unusually large crustacean(15-cm-long), was discovered in 2005 in the South Pacific Ocean. Its legs and claws are cowered in feathery hairs or "setae", which is why it was nicknamed yeti lobster" or "yeti crab". Setae are covered with filamentous bacteria, which are speculated to be  its food, or to be used as detoxifiers of poisonous minerals from the water emitted by the hydrothermal vents in which it lives. It feeds on green algae and small shrimp, as well. Although it is often called "furry lobster" by the non-scientists, it is more closely related to hermit crabs and squat lobsters.

4. Blobfish
This lazy, gelatinous fish lives in the deep waters off the coasts of mainland Australia and Tasmania. It has very few muscles, it barely moves, and it swallows whatever floats in front of it. No wonder this Ziggy –like creature looks so miserable when it is faced with extinction, and it’s not even edible, it is just a collateral damage of fishing.

3. Leafy Sea Dragon
One of the best camouflaged sea creatures is certainly Leafy Sea Dragon. Thanks to its brown to yellow colour, and its leaf-shaped appendages over its entire body, it can easily be mixed up with the floating seaweed. So, next time you see a yellow-brownish chunk of something floating, look at it thoroughly, it may be this little fellow. And, try to remember it! Due to pollution this species are threatened with extinction.

2. Vampire Squid
This phylogenic relict is the only surviving creature of the order Vampyromorphida. This red-eyed weirdo is a small creature (up to 6 inches long) which has large fins, that look like bat’s wings, on its body, and tentacles connected by black webbing. Both, the fins and the webbing help it move really fast through the water. Too much resemblance to Stoker’s ‘Dracula’? Wait to see this! Thanks to the existence of light-producing organs called photophores, which cover its body, it can hypnotize its prey and defend itself.

1. Guineafowl Puffer
This unusual sea creature, also known as White-Spotted Balloon Fish, can be recognized by its black skin covered with white spots, and its strong beak –like mouth, which it uses for eating small invertebrates. It is famous for its ability to inflate itself whet threatened, in order to scare the predators. Then, its size reaches sometimes even 50 cm. Their unusual looks made them very popular, so they can often be found in saltwater aquariums.