Weird and Wonderful
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25 of the Most Unique Creatures in the World
The world is full of many weird and wonderful things and animals are no exception to the rule. From harlequin frogs to star-nosed mole's, there are millions of rare animals with some amazing abilities. But as wonderful as these animals are, many are endangered or near extinction. CTVNews.ca's Latoya Williams looks at 25 of the most unique animals in the world. -
Reptiles
Two-headed Snake
A two-headed albino Honduran milk snake is shown in Ridge Manor, Fla.
Most two-headed snakes only live for a few months, though some have been reported to live a full life and even reproduced with the offspring born normal. -
Albino Alligator
An albino alligator is seen at an aquarium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The lack of melanin, or pigment, in the skin of albino alligators creates the milky skin and cloudy eyes. In the wild, albino alligators make an obvious target for predators, and most are eaten before they reach adulthood. -
Aquatic Amphibians
Ozark Hellbender
Ozark hellbender's can be found in rivers and streams in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, but they are declining in numbers, with numerous threats to them and their habitat, so much so that it has been designated as a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. -
Kihansi Spray Toad
The Kihansi spray toad is a yellowish dwarf toad. The toad has become extinct in the wild. A captive breeding program is maintained at a few U.S. zoos, and it is hoped the Kihansi spray toad can be reintroduced back into its natural range in Tanzania. -
Atelopus Frog
Atelopus, commonly known as harlequin frogs, is a large toad from Central and South America. It is a neo-tropical toad that was once quite wide spread living throughout Costa Rica and Panama. The species is listed as critically endangered and is thought to be living primarily in Panama today. -
Axolotl
The axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum, is a neotenic salamander, closely related to the Tiger Salamander. As of 2010, wild axolotls are near extinction due to urbanization in Mexico City and polluted waters. -
Tiger Salamander
Tiger salamanders' are thick-bodied amphibians with short snouts, sturdy legs, and long tails. They are also the most wide-ranging salamander species in North America, living throughout most of the United States, southern Canada, and eastern Mexico. -
Crustacean's
Yeti Crab
A Kiwa hirsuta, also known as the Yeti crab, a new species is seen in this image. The Yeti crab can be found near Easter Island. The animal has strongly reduced eyes that lack pigment, and is thought to be blind. -
Felidae and Felinae's
Clouded Leopard
Rarely seen in the wild, clouded leopards typically weigh about 13 kg and are listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Animals. They are threatened by a high demand for their attractive pelts, which have ceremonial meaning in Taiwan. -
White Lion
The white lion is occasionally found in wildlife reserves in South Africa and is a rare colour mutation of the Kruger subspecies of lion. White lions are not albinos. Their white colour is caused by a recessive gene known as the chutiya or colour inhibitor gene, distinct from the albinism gene. -
Primates
Slender Loris
The slender loris is a small, nocturnal primate found only in the tropical rainforests of Southern India and Sri Lanka. They are able to live in wet and dry forests, as well as lowland and highland forests. They prefer thick, thorny vegetation wherein they can easily escape predators and find the large assortment of insects for their diet. -
Galago aka Bush Baby
Galagos, also known as bushbabies, are small, nocturnal primates native to continental Africa. Galagos have large eyes that give them good night vision, strong hind limbs, acute hearing, and long tails that help them balance. Galagos communicate both by calling to each other, and by marking their paths with urine. -
Stump-Tailed Macaque
The stump-tailed macaque has long, thick, fur covering its body, but its face and its short tail are hairless. -
Aye-Aye
The aye-aye is a primate native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth and a special thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unusual method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts its narrow middle finger to pull the grubs out. -
Proboscis Monkey
Proboscis monkeys live only on Borneo and are under risk of extinction. Proboscis monkeys generally live in groups consisting of one adult male, some adult females and their offspring. -
Emperor Tamarin
The Emperor Tamarin inhabits tropical rain forests, living deep in the forest and also in open tree-covered areas. This primate lives together in groups of two to eight animals. The oldest female leads the group above several mature males. -
Pygmy Marmoset
The pygmy marmoset or dwarf monkey is a New World monkey native to the rainforest canopies of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. They use special types of communication to give alerts and warning to its family members. These include chemical, vocal, and physical types of communication. -
Birds
Kiwi
Kiwi are flightless birds that are around the size of a domestic chicken. They are by far the smallest living flightless birds and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world. -
Crane
Cranes are a family of large, long-legged and long-necked birds. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Cranes live on all continents except Antarctica and South America. Most species of cranes are at the least classified as threatened, if not critically endangered. -
Mammals
Three Banded Armadillo
The Three Banded Armadillo makes its home in Bolivia, central Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. This class of armadillo doesn't bother to dig his own burrows. These blackish brown armadillos are the only species that can completely encase their entire bodies within their shell when they curl into a ball. -
Red Panda
The red panda, is a small arboreal mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. Slightly larger than a domestic cat, it has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs. It feeds mainly on bamboo, but is omnivorous and may also eat eggs, birds, insects, and small mammals. -
Matschie Kangaroo
The Matschie's tree kangaroo is naive to the Huon Peninsula on the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea. It is classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as endangered. They spend most of their time in trees and eat tree leaves. They also consume flowers, grass shoots, ferns, moss, and bark. -
Malayan Tapir
The Malayan Tapir is native to Asia and is easily identified by its markings, most notably the light-coloured 'patch' which extends from its shoulders to its rear. The Malayan Tapir was once found throughout the tropical lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia. However, its numbers have decreased in recent years, and today, like all tapirs, it is in danger of extinction. -
Star-nosed Mole
The star-nosed mole is a small mole found in wet low areas of eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States. It is covered in thick blackish brown water-repellent fur and has large scaled feet and a long thick tail, which appears to function as a fat storage reserve for the spring breeding season. -
Canine's
Komondor Dog
A Komondor, sometimes refereed to as 'mop dogs' is a large, white-coloured Hungarian breed of livestock guardian dog with a long, corded coat. The Komondor breed has been declared one of Hungary's national treasures, to be preserved and protected from modification.
