At first glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking some of these images are the work of Photoshop.
But
no, all these animals belong to a gang of rare and somewhat
comical-looking creatures that hide away in the farthest corners of the
earth, and you might not have seen them until now.
From
the African antelope with the freakishly long neck, to the tiny
kangaroo-legged rodent which can bounce an astonishing ten yards, feast
your eyes of the animal kingdom's most charmingly bizarre characters.
The gerenuk
The
gerenuk is, unsurprisingly upon inspection, the longest-necked antelope
on earth. Found in the Horn of Africa, they take their name from the
Somali term 'giraffe-necked', and they use their lithe appendages to
reach high-growing foliage.
Gerenuks can also stand on their hind legs and use their gangly forelegs to feed - sometimes reaching up as high as eight feet.
Their somewhat comical stature is only enhanced by their large ears, which help them keep cool in the searing African heat.
The ribbon seal
Ribbon seals are rarely seen by humans
and thus not well researched, but they populate Arctic pack ice and all
have four white bands on their black bodies. dailymail
Ribbon
seals inhabit pack ice in the north Pacific Ocean and the adjacent
fringes of the Arctic Ocean, and due to their remote habitat, little is
actually known about them.
Adults all have four white bands on their black bodies, but are born completely white.
It
has been suggested that their distinctive markings help them identify
one another during mating season, but that the pattern also works to
camouflage them when seen from a distance against the broken ice and
water.
The sunda flying lemur
Is it a bat? Is it a
squirrel? No, it's a sunda flying lemur - and confusingly it isn't
actually a lemur either, nor can it fly, but this beady-eyed colungo can
do a mighty good job of gliding
The
sunda flying lemur looks like a happy hybrid between a bat and a
squirrel, with big beady eyes and furry wing-like structures.
But
all is not what it seems. Despite their name, these chaps aren't lemurs
and they can't fly. They can glide rather effectively, however, for
distances of around 300 feet.
Sunda's
live in various forests around South East Asia and belong to the
colugo species. While gloriously graceful mid-air, they are known to be
clumsy on foot.
The maned wolf
Is it a red fox on stilts? No, it's the only one of its species, the chrysocyon, and is a solitary mammal found in South America
This
spindly-legged mammal is not a fox, nor, as its name suggests, a wolf.
It is special enough to have its own species, the chrysocyon.
The
maned wolf lives across central regions in South America and possess
big ears and very long legs. Unlike wolves or dogs, they mate for life
with one partner and don't form packs.
Generally they are shy beings but if threatened, the fur on the scruff of their necks puffs up - thus the name.
The fossa
The fossa, with its
chunky paws and long dexterous tail, is unique to forests of the African
island of Madagascar and is most closely related to the mongoose
Another confounding-looking creature which seems hard to categorise, the fossa is most closely related to the mongoose.
Until fairly recently, it was thought to be some sort of primitive cat.
The
fossa, with its chunky paws and long dexterous tail, is unique to
forests of the African island of Madagascar, where it is the largest
carnivore, but is sadly endangered due to having lost 90 per cent of its
habitat, thanks humans.
The white peacock
White peacocks lack the kaleidoscopic
colour we are used to seeing with this bird, due to a genetic mutation
which means they are missing melanin
These startling peacocks are not albinos, but rather a subspecies of the blue peacock born by genetic mutation.
White peacocks boast beautiful blue eyes but thanks to a lack of melanin have no colour to their plumage.
When
two of them breed, their chicks are yellow but all turn white, so they
have been mated and multiplied in captivity. Generally, though, they
remain a rare sight.
The white reindeer
Not an albino, despite the pinkish hue of its horns, this rare sight in Swedish Lapland is another example of a genetic mutation
Much
like the white peacock, this magnificent creature is of the same
species as a brown reindeer but is another case of a genetic mutation.
White
reindeer, which appear in the wilds of Finland, Norway and Sweden, are
extremely rare, though they have been born in captivity elsewhere,
including England.
In their northern homeland, they are seen by some as magical and a signal of good luck.
The Japanese dwarf flying squirrel
This little pocket-sized pipsqueak is
native to Japan, and hidden under those furry armpits is a thin membrane
which allows it to glide through the air. dailymail
The Japanese dwarf flying squirrel looks as if it could be straight out of a Disney film.
With
huge cartoon-ish eyes, grey-striped fur and the ability to glide thanks
to a fine membrane connecting its wrists and ankles, it's hard not to
find these little chaps appealing.
They are found in abundance in sub-alpine areas of Japan, and sadly are even kept as pets in some parts of the world.
The southern flying squirrel
This variation of airbourne squirrel lives in the US and Canada and is capable of gliding for distances of more than 100 feet
More widespread than its Japanese cousin, the southern flying squirrel is a remarkable critter found across the US and Canada.
They
are nocturnal, and very social - choosing not to hibernate during
winter but instead curling up together in groups of more than 20 and
hiding in tree hollows.
Again, they don't actually fly but they are capable of gliding for distances of more than 100 feet.
The Chinese water deer
This primitive breed of deer has roots
in China but has been introduced to other regions including the UK, and
has long fangs in its jaws instead of horns on its head
Upon first glance, the Chinese water deer doesn't appear particularly peculiar, until you zone in on their mouths.
These primitive deer grow long fangs instead of tanduk, which they use to fight one another, and have a wide vocal range of 'barks' and screeches when alarmed.
Despite their Chinese heritage, around ten per cent of their world population now resides in the East of England.
The blue-footed booby
The dance you see before you is the
male (right) desperately trying to prove the impressiveness of his blue
feet, which signify good genes, to the female (left)
Nice feathers, very impressive feet.
The
blue footed booby is a bird found in tropical regions of the Pacific
Ocean, and particularly the Galapagos islands. It gets its
brightly-coloured walkers from the carotenoid pigments present in its
food.
When
mating season rolls around, males perform splendid dances to showcase
these dazzling feet - and the bluer the better in terms of attraction.
The caracal
This tuft-eared feline may look serene
but in fact, when enraged, it's one of the most vicious and formidable
members of all the wild cats
The caracal is a medium-sized wild cat that lives in Africa, the Middle East, Persia and the Indian subcontinent.
Once
used in Iran and India to hunt birds, the caracal boasts handsome dark
turfs on both ears and is often referred to as 'the desert Lynx'.
Don't
cross one though. Caracals are known for being extremely viscous - the
grumpiest and hissiest of all the wild cats in the world.
The jerboa
This peculiar-looking fellow has
powerful legs which can propel it to distances of up to seven feet in
height and ten feet in length through the hot desert sands of the Gobi
and Sahara. dailymail
This
teeny jumping rodent has a bit of everything going on. A mouse-like
head, long cat-like whiskers, kangaroo-style hind legs and a long tufted
tail.
It
may look fragile, but the jerboa is supremely adapted to its boiling
hot habitat, stretching from Asia to Northern Africa, where they happily
make their homes in the Gobi and Sahara deserts.
Its incredible legs can mendorong
it to distances of up to seven feet in height and ten feet in length,
making it one of the bounciest little joy bundles you are likely to
(not) come across anywhere.
The fennec fox
Enormous ears distinguish the fennec
fox from other members of its species, and are essential for dispersing
heat in the hot environment of the Sahara, the only place they are found
in the world
The
fennec fox is a very small nocturnal fox with disproportionately giant
ears which it uses to disperse heat, found only in the Sahara of North
Africa.
They
have hairy feet which act somewhat like snowshoes to help them navigate
over hot sand, and double up as good diggers for all their burrowing
needs.
Fennecs
live in small communities in wild underground dens, but alas, their
adorable features make them prime targets for use in the captive pet
trade.
The dumbo octopus
This rare deep ocean dweller is
something of a mystery in many ways, but we do know it can change colour
and grow up to six feet long
The dumbo octopus is a rare breed, often called the Blind Octopus due to its large but rather useless eyes.
It
lives very deep in the ocean and can use jet propulsion to move through
the water, as well as a crawling motion to cross the seabed.
Although
not much is known about these shy ocean dwellers, they can grow up to
six feet long and are capable of changing colour.
The spoon-billed sandpiper
Sadly, this little wader bird, which breeds in north-eastern Russia and migrates to south-east Asia, is critically endangered
Fewer
than 100 pairs of spoon-billed sandpipers remain in the wild, together
weighing less than a single swan. Illegal hunting is the main culprit
for this.
The tiny wader birds breed in north-eastern Russia and migrate to south-east Asia for winter.
Thanks
to a dedicated effort from various conservation programs around the
world, two females laid eggs for the first time in captivity earlier
this year at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Gloucestershire. Hope
remains, for now at least. dailymail
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus