Intersting Animal Facts

24 Worlds Weirdest Creatures

Red Panda

Yeti Crab

Tarsier

Pink Fairy Armadillo

Pygmy Marmoset

Tapir

Komondor Dog

Hagfish

Blobfish

Narwhal

Emperor Tamarin

Angora rabbit

Shoebill

Star-nosed Mole

Sloth

Proboscis Monkey

Frill-necked Lizard

Sun Bear

Alpaca

Sucker-footed Bat

Axolotl

Dumbo Octopus

Aye-aye

Saki Monkey

 Egg-Eating SnakeThe Egg-eating Snake is truly a remarkable creature. Some snakes eat birds’ eggs and other animals which are much wider than their own bodies. They can do this because their jaws are not rigidly fixed together, but are instead connected by ligaments which can stretch, allowing the snake to force its mouth over it’s of prey.

 

  Hybrid Animals & Birds

 Liger / Tigon : Though they are fascinating animals, they get the last of the list because they are the most popular known among the hybrids. Ligers are crossbreeds between a male lion while Tigons are crossbreds between a male tiger and a female lion. Ligers are the world’s largest cats. Tigons on the other hand, are prone towards dwarfism and are usually smaller than either of their parents. Male Ligers/Tigons are sterile while the females are often fertile. Below shows a liger and its trainer Dr. Bhagavan Antle at a Renaissance Festival in Massachusetts, USA, October    2005.

  

 Wolf Dog : Dogs and wolves tend to crossbreed rather freely. The wolf is a shy animal depending on nuances in body language, facial expression and on hunting skills to survive. Their jaws are much stronger than those of a dog and are often used to exert dominance. For a dog wolf hybrid, it is not known when it will display a wolf behaviour or dog behaviour or something in between. Obedience training is a must in order to tame the animal.

Iron Age Pig Domestic Tamworth pigs are crossbred with wild boar to create ‘Iron Age Pigs’. The hybrids are tamer than wild boar but less tractable than domestic swine and generally become specialist pork sausages. Most of them are bred for the specialist meat trade.

Zebroid : A zorse is the result of crossbreeding a horse and a zebra. A zonkey is the result of crossbreeding a donkey with a zebra. The Zony is the result of crossbreeding a pony to a zebra. All these three are called zebroids - defined as a cross between a zebra and any other equid. Zebroids are preferred over zebra for practical uses such as riding because of its body shape. However it is more inclined to be temperamental and can prove to be difficult to handle.

A Zorse

                                                                  A Zonky

A Zony

 Cama : A Cama is a hybrid between a camel and a llama. They are born via artificial insemination due to the huge difference in sizes of the animals which disallow natural breeding. A Cama usually has the short ears and long tails of a camel but the cloven hooves of a llama. Also most noticeably is the absence of the hump.

Rama’s parents shown behind, a camel and llama.

This is Rama the Cama at two days old

Rama at two years of age as a young adult.

 Grolar, Pizzly : A grolar/pizzly hybrid is the product of a grizzly bear and a polar bear. Although the two bears are genetically similar, they tend to avoid each other in the wild. During 16 April 2006, a hybrid bear was shot dead by Jim Martell,a hunter from the United States, in Canada. It was the first time a hybrid was found in the wild where previous records of grolars or pizzlies have only been found in zoos.

A grolar, pizzly displayed at the Rothschild Museum

Leopon : A Leopon is the result of breeding a male leopard and a female lion. The head of the animal is similar to that of a lion while the rest of the bodies carries similarities to leopards. The most successful breeding programme was at the Koshien Hanshin Park in Nishinomiya City, Japan. Leopons are larger than leopards and likes to climb and enjoy water.

                                        A leopon at a zoo

                        

Hybrid Pheasant : The Golden Phesant has commonly been crossed with the similar Lady Amherst’s Pheasant. The result is a hybrid with distinguished colors from its parents.

 

A Golden Pheasant

A Lady Amherst Pheasant

 
Hybrid Pheasant displayed at Rothschild Museum Copyright Sarah Hartwell

 Wolphin : A wolphin is a rare hybrid formed from a cross between a bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale. There are currently only two in captivity at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii. A wolphin’s size, colour and shape are intermediate between the parent species. The first captive wolphin was Kekaimalu, which shows mixed heritage even in its teeth: bottlenose dolphins have 88, false killer whales have 44 and Kekaimalu has 66!

Kekaimalu, The Wolphin

Ti-Liger, Ti-Tigon, Li-Tigon, Li-Liger :

The top spot goes to ti-ligers/ti-tigon/li-tigons/li-ligers because it is a hybrid among the hybrids. It is a cross breed between a male tiger and a female liger/tigon or a male lion with a female tigon/liger. Do note that female ligers or tigons are fertile. They are extremely rare and are in mostly private ownership within a behavioural studies programme. In the case of ti-ligers, they have unusual striping where it breaks up and display a blotchy appearance. Since they are 3/4 tiger, their characteristics inhibit more of those of a tiger than a lion.

     Snakes do not dislocate their jaws, that is an urban myth.

A snake’s stomach can also stretch enormously, allowing the prey to be swallowed whole. A snake which has just eaten a big meal looks very strange indeed. Its head and neck are the normal size, then there is a huge bulge where the unlucky prey is located, before the body tapers to its usual size towards the tail.

Snakes that swallow eggs whole have a unique way of breaking them open once they are inside their bodies. They have special bones in their throats which they squeeze against the egg until it breaks and then they manage to spit out the crumpled eggshell before any pieces slip down into their stomach.

Hippo Killer..?

The Hippopotamus is the third biggest land animal, slightly smaller but heavier than a white rhino - the elephant is the biggest. Surprisingly, no animal has killed more people than the hippo.

They are hoofed vegetarians, feeding on grass, fallen fruit, and occasionally on cultivated crops such as sugar cane or corn during the night. They spend most of the day in the water. The hippo, weighing in at 4,000 pounds and more, lives in Africa and prefer rivers with deep water and nearby reed beds and grasslands. If you ever come across a hippo with his mouth open like he’s yawning, don’t be fooled… it’s not sleepy… Hippos are very protective of there turf and their young. It’s warning you to stay away by showing you his long, thick, razor-sharp canine teeth, or tusks, with which it is capable of biting a small boat in half. Hippos have killed more than 400 people in Africa - more than any other wild animal.

Worlds Smallest Snake

Here’s something cool… Just days ago, the soil-burrowing, Barbados Thread Snake was discovered and is being called the world’s smallest.
At about ten centimeters long (less than four inches), the new snake species was confirmed through genetic tests and studies of its physical features by biologist Blair Hedges.

Amazing Gorilla Discovery

A fantastic discovery was made yesterday when researcher, Hugo Rainey, discovered an estimated 125,000 Western lowland gorillas living in a swamp, just north of the Congo in Africa. What makes this discovery so wonderful is that these gorillas are a critically endangered species and up until this discovery there were only believed to be 50,000 left in existence.

Top 10 Most Shocking Animal Attacks

1.Double Great White Attack

 In a truly rare event, an unfortunate surfer gets attacked by not just one, but two sharks at the same time...and lives to tell the tale!

2.Polar Bear Zoo Attack

When a tourist ventures too close to a polar bear cage at the zoo in Anchorage, Alaska, disaster follows as the bear plunges his canines directly deep into her leg.




3.Lions Maul Zookeeper

 Feeding time at a zoo turns into a horrifying lion attack on the zoo keeper himself. Watch his amazing story of survival.




4.Kangaroo Goes Berzerk

 All is going well for Killer Willard The Boxing Kangaroo's live television debut, until he becomes frightened and turns on his handlers.




5.Leopard Attack

 A leopard attacks the very man who's trying to return it to the wild. Will the big cat's savior wind up its dinner?




6.Elephant Seal Attacks Divers

 An elephant seal attacks a pair of divers during a filming expedition. The two are forced to fight off the enormous, one-ton male for 45 heart-pounding minutes.




7.Pilot Whale Attacks

 A snorkeler swims with a pod of pilot whales off the coast of Hawaii when suddenly one of the 3-ton animals grabs her ankle and drags her 30 feet below the surface.




8.Trained Lion Attacks Owner

 A trained lion attacks its owner during the Goldon Lion award in Berlin, Germany.




9.Hawk Divebombs Zookeeper

 A hawk divebombs a zookeeper and her trained cockatoo, Scooter, during a bird show at the Los Angeles Zoo. The bird of prey, Flash, was looking to make a meal out of Scooter.




10.Giant Octopus Attacks Diver

 A deep sea diver gets an unwelcomed hug from an eight legged fiend. Not only is the octopus pulling at his mask and regulator, but the diver is also dangerously close to the beast's beak.