With millions of different species roaming our planet, there are bound to be animals you’ve never seen before. From fanged deer to rabbit-like creatures with teddy bear faces, here are the strangest…
1. Aardwolf
Aardwolf in Africa (Shutterstock)
Don’t let the name fool you. Aardwolves are related neither to wolves or aardvarks. Rather, their name means ‘earth wolf’ in Afrikaans, a reference to their voracious appetite for insects.
Native to east and southern Africa, aardwolves are most closely related to hyena. Having said that, you’re more likely to find them tearing into a termite mound rather than a carcass abandoned by a lion.
Aardwolves can eat up to 200,000 termites in a sitting, imbuing them with both protein and moisture, allowing them to live successfully in some of the driest corners of the planet.
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Nature & Wildlife
13 cute, crazy and downright weird animals you’ve probably never heard of
With millions of different species roaming our planet, there are bound to be animals you’ve never seen before. From fanged deer to rabbit-like creatures with teddy bear faces, here are the strangest…
Peter Moore
11 August 2022
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1. Aardwolf
Aardwolf in Africa (Shutterstock)
Don’t let the name fool you. Aardwolves are related neither to wolves or aardvarks. Rather, their name means ‘earth wolf’ in Afrikaans, a reference to their voracious appetite for insects.
Native to east and southern Africa, aardwolves are most closely related to hyena. Having said that, you’re more likely to find them tearing into a termite mound rather than a carcass abandoned by a lion.
Aardwolves can eat up to 200,000 termites in a sitting, imbuing them with both protein and moisture, allowing them to live successfully in some of the driest corners of the planet.
2. Bilby
A bilby in the Australian desert (Shutterstock)
The bilby is a rare, desert-dwelling marsupial from Australia, renowned for it’s long tail, silky fur and big ears.
Also known as a rabbit bandicoot, the bilby has become a symbol of Easter in Australia, replacing the Easter Bunny, with proceeds from the sales of chocolate Easter bilbies used to ensure the species survival.
With their strong forelimbs and well-developed claws, bilbies are fearsome burrowers. In fact, a female bilby’s pouch faces backwards to prevent it getting filled with dirt while she’s digging.
3. Pink Fairy Armadillo
A Pink Fairy Armadillo (Mariella Superina)
The smallest of all armadillos, and only found on the grasslands and sand plains of Argentina, pink fairy armadillos are unbearably cute. Measuring less than 11cm long, with a pink shell and white silky fur, their pocket size makes them sought after pets.
Sadly, their natural habitat is also being lost to agriculture and cattle ranching. Organisations likeXenarthrans are doing everything in their power to ensure the species’ survival.
4. Chinese Water Deer
‘I’ve come to eat your grass’ – the Chinese water deer (Shutterstock)
Native to the Yangtze flood plain and some parts of Korea, the Chinese water deer and is more closely related to a musk deer that a true deer.
The males have no antlers. Instead, they grow long tusk-like canines, giving the breed the fearful nickname of ‘vampire deer.’
Not that you are in any danger should you encounter one in the wild. The tusks are largely ornamental and used to root around for food. They’re not after your blood. They much prefer to nibble on weeds, grasses and herbs.
5. Streaked Tenrec
A streaked tenrec in the rainforest of Ranomafana, Madagascar (Shutterstock)
Despite being covered in spikes, the streaked tenrec is not a hedgehog. Sure, it rolls up into a ball when it is threatened, and it will shoot quills into the mouth of any predator silly enough to try and eat it – but it’s more closely related to otters and moles.
Tenrecs are native to Madagascar, and you’ll find streaked tenrecs scratching around on the floors of the rainforests in Ranomafana, looking for worms and other insects to feast upon. Largely nocturnal, stumbling across a streaked tenrec is sure to give you a fright.
6. Star-nosed mole
Star-nosed mole (Shutterstock)
Found in the more ‘moist’ parts of North America, the star-nosed moles are not uncommon, just uncommonly seen.
The distinctive star-shaped organ on the end of their nose is touch-sensitive and made up of over 25,000 minute sensory receptors that they use to feel their way around.
No bigger than an average hamster, these moles also use their noses to blow bubbles under water to sniff out their prey, making them the only known mammal that can smell underwater.
7. Ili Pika
First discovered in 1983 in China’s Tian Shan Mountains, the incredibly rare ili pika was not seen again until 2014. Known locally as the ‘Magic Rabbit’, it is thought that there are less than 1,000 in existence.
Looking like a short-eared rabbit with a teddy bear face, ili pika like to eat grass, herbs and mountain plants. They spend the summer collecting food, that they stockpile amongst rocks in distinctive ‘hay piles.’
Scarcer than pandas, ili pika are rarely spotted in the wild, although camera traps set around Tian Shan Mountains are giving scientists a better idea of how this elusive, magically cute animal lives its life.
8. Markhor
Known as the old man of the mountains, this extraordinary goat is only found in the remote mountains of north-eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Despite its strange and unexpected appearance, it is Pakistan’s national animal. Sadly, it is also on the world’s most endangered wildlife list.
Bizarrely, markhor spittle is highly sought after as an anti-venom. It is easily harvested. Markhor are sloppy eaters, so when they chew their cud, spittle falls from their mouths and dries on the ground.Locals simply scrape it up off the ground.
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