Sucker-Foot Bat
This freaky animal has a name that is quite misleading. While he appears to have suction cups on his body, recently scientists have realized that suction is not used, but in fact a wet adhesive is secreted from the “suction cups”. This particular bat is found in Madagascar and is classified as “least concern” on the endangered species watch list. Read more . .
Elephant Shrew
The Elephant Shrew is a rare, but not an endangered freaky animal. They are found all over Africa, but their population is not particularly dense in any one region. They can be found in desert areas, to thick forests. *Beware* If you have ever been pregnant, you might be horribly jealous of this next little tidbit of information...Females gestate for only roughly 45 days! That’s right, a month and a half of pregnancy. Their young are born quite developed but will stay safe in the nest with mommy for several days before being tossed out into the cruel cold world. Read more . .
Geoduck
Despite it’s name, the Geoduck is in fact in no way related to Ducks. The freaky animal is a very large species of salt water clam. Sometimes it is known as the King Clam, or as translated from Chinese, Elephant Trunk Clam, and for good reason. A funny little tidbit about the Geoduck is that it is the official mascot of The Evergreen State College, in Washington. The school’s Latin motto is Omnia Extares, which means “let it all hang out”. Whether or not this is intentional, many have remarked that this appears to pay homage to the Clam’s phallic appearance. Read more . .
Glass Frog
With such a perfectly accurate name as this, there isn’t much else to say about this freaky animal. Read more . .
Hooded Seal
In Greek, the official name for the hooded seal means “bladder-bearer”, humorous and accurate. The bulge atop the head of the freaky animal begins to develop when it is 4 years old. The male can blow this bulge up to be about the size of it’s head. The Hooded Seal lives to be between 30 and 35. Out of the endangered classifications, it is in the least danger, officially classified as “vulnerable”. Read more . .
Liger & Tiglon
Ligers and Tigons and bears oh my! The Liger and the Tiglon are exactly what you think they are, crosses between lions and tigers. For a very long time, these freaky animals were thought to be sterile, but recently, it has been discovered that only the males are sterile. Meaning they can’t perpetuate their species naturally, but the females can breed with other lions and tigers. Read more . .
Long-Beaked Echidna
This freaky animal is classified as “critically endangered”, and inhabits areas such as New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania. Read more . .
Naked Mole Rat
This is one freaky animal if I ever did see one. It’s highly unusual physical features also have highly unusual features. For example, in order to survive in such a harsh climate, the naked mole rat has a lack of pain sensation in it’s skin, and a very low metabolism. It also lives for an extremely long period of time, and holds the record as longest living rodent. They generally live up to about 28 years. They also have a high resistance t cancer. Cancer has never once been detected in a naked mole rat. Due to their toughness and their apparent immunity to cancer, they are not endangered what so ever. They seem to be the cockroach of the rodents, they just keep surviving no matter what anyone does. Read more . .
Narwhal
This almost mythical in appearance freaky animal lives mostly in the inlets and fjords of Northern Canada and Western Greenland. They are classified as “near threatened”. Their unusual appearance leads to the following mythology:
“In Inuit legend, the narwhal's tusk was created when a woman with a harpoon rope tied around her waist was dragged into the ocean after the harpoon had struck a large narwhal. She was transformed into a narwhal herself, and her hair, that she was wearing in a twisted knot, became the characteristic spiral narwhal tusk.
Some medieval Europeans believed narwhal tusks to be the horns from the legendary unicorn. As these horns were considered to have magic powers, such as the ability to cure poison and melancholia, Vikings and other northern traders were able to sell them for many times their weight in gold. The tusks were used to make cups that were thought to negate any poison that may have been slipped into the drink. During the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth received a carved and bejeweled narwhal tusk for £10,000—the cost of a castle (approximately £1.5—2.5 Million in 2007, using the retail price index). The tusks were staples of the cabinet of curiosities.” Read more . .
Giant Coconut Crab
Doesn’t seeing this picture just give you the shivers? This hugely gigantic freaky animal is the largest land-living arthropod in the world. It lives in areas bordering the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Interestingly enough, with the exception of the larvae stage, coconut crabs cannot swim. Read more . .
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