Unusual Animals

The World is full of weird, unusual and fascinating Animals, here we list just a few.

Angora Rabbit
The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Turkey. The rabbit has a humorous appearance, as they oddly resemble a fur ball. The Angora Rabbit was popular with French royalty in the mid 1700s,and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States in the early 1900s. There are many individual breeds of Angora rabbits. Such breeds include, French, German, Giant, English, Satin, Chinese, Swiss, Finnish, to name a few.

Axolotl also called Mexican Walking Fish, though the Axolotl is not a fish but an amphibian belonging to the Tiger Salamander complex. The Axolotl remains in its larval form throughout its life. This means that it retains its gills and fins, and it doesn’t develop the protruding eyes, eyelids and characteristics of other adult salamanders. Axolotls have 4 different colours, 2 naturally occurring colours and 2 mutants. The 2 naturally occurring colours are wildtype (Varying shades of brown usually with spots) and melanoid (black). The 2 mutants colours are leucistic (pale pink with black eyes) and albino (golden, tan or pale pink with pink eyes).The animal is completely aquatic, and although it does possess rudimentary lungs, it breathes primarily through its gills and to a lesser extent, its skin.

Amazon river dolphin Of the five freshwater species of dolphins in the world, the pink Amazon River dolphin or “botos” as they known in in Brazil, are considered to be the most intelligent. The neck vertebrae of this Dolphin are not fused together, and therefore the Boto is able to bend its neck in a 90 degree angle to its body, and skillfully hunt fish in the flooded forest. These friendly, sensitive, mammals with a brain capacity 40% larger than that of humans, now face extinction due to destruction of the South American tropical rainforest.  The reasons for the unique coloration is poorly understood, but the presence of capillaries near the surface of the skin probably accounts for much of its characteristic pink flush. Other factors may include age of the animal, chemical disposition of the water (especially iron content), and the temperature of the water.

The Blob Fish -  The Blobfish is a gelatinous mass that very much looks like a ‘blob’. It is found in the deep waters off Australia, at depths where the pressure is several dozens of times higher than at sea level. Due to the inaccessibility of its habitat, it’s rarely seen by humans. To remain buoyant, the flesh of the Blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; which allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. The blob fish does not require being equipped with muscles. Instead, they have a feeding strategy that comprises of sitting and waiting for something edible to pass by.

Proboscis Monkey also known as Long-nosed Monkey, is found only in the coastal areas of Borneo and the Mentawai islands west of Sumatra. With its huge pendulous nose, pot belly and strange honking sounds, it is one of the most peculiar and ugliest (or beautiful?) animals in the world. The nose of male, can be 4 inches long, hangs down like a small trunk to the end of the monkey’s mouth. The males’ big nose is a secondary sex characteristic: the bigger the nose is, the sexier the monkey is. It has also been suggested that the nose aids in radiating excess body heat. The Proboscis Monkey also has a large belly, as a result of its diet. Its digestive system is divided into several parts, with distinctive gut flora, which help in digesting leaves. This digestive process releases a lot of gas, resulting in the monkey’s “bloated” bellies. A side-effect of this unique digestive system is that it is unable to digest ripe fruit, unlike most other simians. The diet consists mainly of fruits, seeds and leaves.

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