The world is loaded with strange looking characters.
But there are a select few who really take the cake.
Prepare to get acquainted with these
fantastic beasts of nature.
We begin with a species that's hard to pin down.
Is it a horse?
Is it a zebra?
A giraffe?
It might look like make-believe, but it's real.
Meet the okapi.
Native to the Congo in Africa,
the okapi is the closest living relative to the giraffe.
And here's some fun trivia.
Okapis were only officially discovered in 1901,
making them the last large mammal discovered in Africa.
They were once dubbed the African unicorn
because an okapi sighting was the rarest of the rare.
Why the mishmashed outfit?
Scientists aren't really sure,
but one of the prevailing theories
has to do with their young being able to follow them
through the thick brush of the forest.
The okapis big ears can pick up on sounds far and wide,
keeping them aware of leopards in the neighborhood.
They don't talk much though.
And they're only interested in company
when it's time to mate or when raising their young.
These loners might look like
a genetic experiment gone wrong,
but in reality they're masters of stealth.
And their low frequency calls can travel far distances
through the rainforest, below the human range of hearing.
Guess the joke's on us.
Now, try this one on for size.
What has webbed feet like a penguin, fur like an otter,
a flat tail like a beaver and a ducks bill?
It can be no other than the
almost cartoonish looking platypus.
Unique to Eastern Australia,
the platypus belongs to a very rare
group of mammals who lay eggs, called monotremes.
Not only that, they have a sixth sense
most other animals don't.
Electroreception.
Platypuses can detect
electrical impulses from other animals.
Their unique bill makes this possible.
When an animal's muscles contract,
nerves send out tiny electrical pulses.
The platypus is designed to pick up on such pulses,
with 40,000 eletroreceptors on his bill.
When he closes in on the sight of those pulses,
it's meal time.
That bill's got skills!
The male platypus also packs a venomous attack.
During mating season, spurs on their back legs
can unleash venom on outside threats.
This defense mechanism is probably
a means of fending off rival suitors.
It's not deadly to your average human,
but it can result in an excruciating amount of pain.
Enough to put down a dog.
You might think they're having some sort of identity crisis,
but underestimate the platypus at your own peril.
Okay, riddle me this.
What animal has the face of a baby elephant,
the body of a hog and dresses like a panda?
The Malayan tapir.
The Oreo cookie of the animal kingdom.
Found roaming throughout Southeast Asia,
the closest relatives are rhinos and horses.
In Thailand, the Thais held an ancient belief
that the tapir's strange coloring
is due to it being created from slapping together
the leftover body parts of other animals.
But such an odd look may come
with some sound reasoning behind it.
Mostly active at night, the black and white sections
break up their profile in the dense forest.
See, look at that.
Tell me that doesn't look like a rock to you.
And that little truck nose doohickey they've got going on?
It's called a proboscis and it sure does come in handy.
It's good for sniffing out predators,
snorkeling in water and shoveling food in their mouths.
Tapirs can put down up to 75 pounds of fruit each day.
That's like 200+ bananas!
With a bounce in their step,
the ability to spray urine like a Super Soaker
and that signature high pitched squeal,
(tapir squeals)
these guys are really delightful.
To the unknowing eye, these beasts may be puzzling
and hard to categorize.
But let their existence be a lesson to us all.
Some of us aren't meant to squeeze into just one box.