Yellow-bellied Sea Snake

Meet the yellow-bellied sea snake.

This reptile calls the ocean its home. As a sea snake with a flattened, flipper-like tail, it can swim many miles a day, often using currents to drift great lengths. Most sea snake prefer areas of the ocean closer to shores or reefs due to the greater abundance of prey.

The yellow-bellied sea snake can hold its breath for up to 3 hours.

The yellow-bellied sea snake hunts fish and sometimes uses its body to act like floating debris. It will stay still, unmoving, on the surface of the water, acting like a palm frond or inanimate jetsam until a small fish takes refuge underneath. Then it will attack.

This bizarre creature has a unique adaptation that most sea snakes do not have, the ability to swim backwards. Yellow-bellied sea snakes use this technique to strike at fish much like their land cousins do.

They are venomous and kill their prey with a toxin that paralyzes fish. When humans are bit, common symptoms include muscle stiffness, vomiting, and even paralysis.

Wooly Pig

Meet the sheep-pig!

The mangalica is the only wooly swine on Earth.

Native to Hungary, the wooly pig uses its unique fur to keep warm during frigid winters.

These pigs will eat about anything they forage and can weigh up to 300 pounds.

Their wool can come in a variety of colors including white, black, and red.

Recently, people have welcomed mangalicas as pets on their farm or even in their home due to their pleasant temperament.

Elephant Trunk Snake

The elephant trunk snake is also known as the Javan file snake.

Native to South-east Asia, these snakes are aquatics. The inhabit lakes and rivers.

The elephant trunk snake is non-venomous and captures its prey by ambush then wraps its body around the fish or frog. What is interesting about this reptile is that its unique scales, sharp, pointed, and keeled, help maintain its grasp of underwater prey.

File snakes have their eyes and nostrils positioned on top of their heads to help see and breathe when swimming.

Elephant trunk snakes are not aggressive and often won’t bite when threatened. Their primary defense is to swim away.

Solenodon

Introducing the solenodon – the animal most people don’t know exists.

Despite having a name that sounds like a kind of dinosaur, the solenodon is very much real.

It lives on the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. They hunt insects and worms under the cover of night and sleep in burrows or hollow logs during the day.

Although they appear to look like a mutated shrew, solenodons are actually their own unique species. How unique? Well, they are one of the few mammals on earth that are venomous.

Solenodons have grooves on their bottom incisors that release a venom into their prey as they bite down. Their venom causes blood pressure to drop dramatically and immobilize their prey. Their bite is painful, but not fatal to humans.

This creature also has an extremely flexible nose. Solenodons use their snout to root around in the undergrowth for bugs, but what’s really bizarre is that their nose has it’s own joint.

The same ball-and-socket joint that humans have in their shoulder, solenodons have in their nose.

Giant Salamander

There are actually two species of giant salamanders – Chinese and Japanese.

The Chinese giant salamander is the largest and can weigh over 80 pounds and reach lengths of more than 5 feet long.

They inhabit clear, fast-moving water where oxygen is abundant. Since salamanders breathe through their skin, it is important to have adequate source of flowing water.

The Chinese giant salamander is the world’s oldest amphibian and can live for over 100 years.

These creatures prey on just about anything that fits in their mouth and will wait patiently below a current to gulp in unsuspecting fish, frogs, and even other salamanders.

The Japanese giant salamander averages around 4-5 feet long and inhabits a similar biome as its cousin. This species can secrete a mucus that smells like peppers to ward off predators. Scientists have recently discovered that it can be used to glue wounds together more effectively than medical glue.

The Japanese giant salamander earned its place in Japanese mythology as the Hanzaki or Kappa. This yokai was known in legend to have regenerative powers. If they were cut or harmed, they would regrow the missing limb.

Although it is myth that the giant salamander is a monster, salamanders do have regenerative abilities.

Capybara

This is the world’s largest rodent.

At 60 – 145 pounds, capybaras are about the size of a large dog. Native to South America, they live near sources of water – often along a river bank. Their is derived from the Greek for water hog.

They are social in nature and live in groups of 10 -100. Capybaras have webbed feet and can close their ears and nostrils when submerged. They can stay underwater for up to 5 minutes.

Capybaras are herbivores and consume grasses and water plants. As a member of the rodent family, their teeth never stop growing and are worn down by the fibrous plant material they eat.

When happy, capybaras will often puff up their fur.

Indian Bullfrog

The Indian bullfrog is an amphibian native to the South and Southeast Asia regions. They are commonly seen in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan.

These frogs are quite large at about 6.5 inches long on average. They use their bulky size to consume larger prey such as mice and small birds.

Indian bullfrogs live in marshland habitats and inhabit brush or create burrows near a water source. During monsoon season, male frogs change color from olive green to bright yellow to attract mates. Their blue cheeks are actually vocal sacs that help them belt out their love song to nearby females.

Indian bullfrogs are territorial and will defend their patch of marsh-water.

Cormorant

The cormorant is a seabird that inhabits both freshwater and oceanic environments. They are a wide-spread species that often roost in groups.

Cormorants are black-feathered birds with cerulean eyes that match the waters they feed in. They hunt for fish by diving and can reach speeds of over 30 mph.

Their plumage is semi-waterproof which helps give them the weight needed to dive to deeper depths. Sometimes, cormorants have been observed to swallow pebbles and stones to reach bottom-dwelling fish then regurgitate the rocks before eating.

Because their feathers are permeable to water, they must sun the moisture from their wings to dry off.

Opossum

The opossum isn’t a rare animal, but it is a bizarre one.

As North America’s only marsupial, the opossum has a few odd traits. Most people agree that this creature looks like a giant rat. However, they are not a part of the rodent family and are more closely related to kangaroos.

Opossums are famous for their ability to play dead when threatened. If confronted, an opossum will bare its 50 teeth and hiss. If that doesn’t dissuade a predator, they will “play dead”. This is actually an involuntary reaction that the animal cannot control; it is similar to how some people faint when they see blood. The opossum will suddenly “die”, start foaming at the mouth, and emit a foul odor. To a hungry predator, their prey will appear diseased and inedible.

Because of this bizarre defense mechanism, many people believe opossums have rabies. It is nearly impossible for opossums to contract rabies because their body temperature is too low for the virus to survive. Furthermore, they have a robust immune system since much of their diet consists of carrion.

Opossums will eat almost anything from fruit and vegetables to lizards, eggs, and insects. They eat over 5,000 ticks each season which helps lower the spread of Lyme disease.

Opossums have a short lifespan, especially in the wild, where they are prey for many predators and often only survive for 3-4 years. In captivity they can live up to 8 years old.

Opossums are marsupials and raise their young in their pouch until they are old enough to come out and clamber all over mom.

Jackal

There are three species of jackals: black-backed (seen above), golden, and side-striped. All call the continent of Africa their home.

Jackals are about the size of a German Shepherd and often hunt alone. Although some jackals form packs to make hunting easier.

Jackals mate for life and both parents care for their pups. The mother will switch den sites every two weeks in order to keep her litter safe from predators.

These canines are resourceful, tough, and can live in harsh environments with little water. They are omnivores and will eat almost anything, but often follow larger predators, like lions, so they can scavenge any leftovers after a kill.

Because of this, jackals are commonly seen at the site of a death which is why the ancient Egyptians revered the jackal as their god of the dead, Anubis.