7 of the Strangest Looking Animals on Earth

Not all animals end up as extravagant and colorful as peacocks or as cute and cuddly as giant pandas. Some of them look very strange and sometimes even scary. However, even if these animals are a bit of a fright to look at, most of them are actually pretty harmless.
Below are 7 of the strangest looking animals on earth.

California condor

A very rare bird that’s found in North America, the California condor shows a lot of grace when it glides above the deserts and canyons of North America’s west coast. Up close, however, this giant bird definitely isn’t photogenic. Its head is bald, adapting to its nature as a scavenger. Feathers on the head might become bothersome and clotted with blood as it feeds on carrions.

Blobfish

This fish looks more like a ball of goo with a face. It’s slimy, gelatinous appearance actually helps it survive its natural habitat. Blobfishes live in very deep parts of the world’s oceans, so its pudding-like body helps it endure the high pressure and stay buoyant.

Naked mole rat

Life’s very difficult when you can’t see. However this isn’t an issue for naked mole rats. These hairless rodents spend most of their time underground, dinging for insects and worms in colonies. Their furless bodies help them adapt to the underground environment and they have very little need for sight. For an animal its size, they have a pretty long lifespan, reaching about 30 years.

Proboscis monkey

We humans might think that a giant nose is embarrassing, but for these monkeys, the bigger their nose is, the better it helps with looking for a mate. Proboscis monkey live in groups composed of a male and multiple females and their young. Some all-male groups also exist, composing of juvenile males. Their big nose also helps them make loud warning calls.

Warthog

A wild member of the pig family, these animals are characterized by their snout, medium sized tusk that protrudes from their mouth, and a curvature that looks like a wart on their face, hence their name. They also have a mane that runs down their backside. Commonly seen in the grasslands and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa, these pigs are well adapted to surviving the harsh heat of their environment.

Star-nosed mole

These moles look like any other regular mole, except for their noses. They have a bizarre star shaped nose which they actually use to help them find their way around their habitat. Star-nosed moles have 22 small, fleshy appendages on their snout that function more like sensitive fingers. Their snouts contain 25,000 sensory receptors that the more uses to guide itself though their underground lair.

Aye-aye

This creature, which looks more like a gremlin, is actually related to monkeys. Not only do they look unusual, they also have strange traits like tapping on tree branches and trunks with their long, bony fingers to looks for grub and insects. Found in Madagascar, many locals say that this animal brings bad luck, but it’s actually just a harmless creature of the night.

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The Proboscis Monkey

With its long nose, the Proboscis Monkey is certainly one of the most easily identifiable Old World monkeys, with its reddish hued coat adding a certain unique physical trait to its already stand out characteristics.

Found in Borneo, it is also known as the bekantan, and is also even popularly referred to as the orang belanda or the “Dutchman”, as well as the monyet belanda or “Dutch Monkey”, namesakes which owe their origins to how the people of the Southeast likened the monkey’s large bellies and long noses to those of Dutch colonizers.

Known for being among the largest of monkeys found in Asia, the Proboscis Monkey’s nose is so unusually large that they have been described as “living caricatures”, with most caricatures typically exaggerating physical attributes such as large eyes, large ears and large noses.

With the average Proboscis Monkey measuring somewhere between 21 to 76 inches in head to body lengths, they are known to weigh as small as 15 lbs to as much as 50  lbs.

The nose of the Proboscis Monkey, particularly in males, can grow in lengths of up to 4 inches, typically hanging lower than the monkey’s mouth. Though the noses of female Proboscis Monkeys aren’t as long as those found in males, they are still quite long for a monkey to have.

Also, apart from their long noses, both male and female Proboscis Monkeys have “pot bellies”, which essentially makes them appear more “human like”, to a certain extent.

Primarily, Proboscis Monkeys partake on diets mostly made of fruits and leaves, but they are also known to feast on small insects and flowers from time to time. As with most monkeys, they also have their own set of natural predators, which includes crocodiles, clouded leopards, and pythons.

Classified as an Endangered species, Proboscis Monkeys are certainly among the stranger and more unique monkeys in the world, with their long noses giving them an uncanny look that is somewhat similar to the faces of human beings.

 Proboscis Monkey Video

 

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