Some of Earth’s most fascinating creatures come in the most unexpected forms.
From cats that love water to meat-eating parrots, here are 8 animals that shouldn’t exist,
but do!
8.
POISONOUS BIRDS
Native to the rainforests of New Zealand, the pitohui is the only known genus of poisonous
bird in the entire world.
The feathers and skin of at least three species of the bird contain a strong poison.
Of those species, Hooded and the Variable Pitohuis are considered the deadliest.
The vibrant colors of the pitohui, which we tend to think of as exotic and beautiful,
are believed to actually be a warning sign to other animals of the bird’s toxicity.
The bird’s poisonous properties were unknown until 1989, when Jack Dumbacher, a researcher
from the California Academy of Sciences, who was studying New Guinea’s birds of paradise,
was scratched by a pitohui he’d caught in a net.
He began to feel a burning and tingling pain in his hands.
He put the cut to his mouth to put some saliva on it, and shortly after, his lips and tongue
developed the same burning sensation, which lasted for hours.
Later on, Dumbacher placed a pitohui feather in his mouth and was overcome, yet again,
by a feeling similar to that of licking a 9-volt battery.
Yikes!
Dumbacher remained curious about the source of the bird’s poison and set out to find
answers.
He brought back some feathers and gave them to Chemist John Daly, who had isolated the
toxin of the poison dart frog in the 1960’s.
It was eventually determined that the poison, which contains neurotoxic alkaloids of the
batra-cho-toxin family - the same group of toxins as the lethal substance emitted by
poison dart frogs - may not be produced by the birds themselves.
Instead, it’s thought to come from beetles of the Choresine family, which are an abundant
source of the pitohui’s diet.
While ingesting a toxic substance is typically damaging to an animal, this poison benefits
the pitohui by permeating its body without causing any harm and serving as a defense
mechanism against predators such as snakes, raptors, and humans, as well as ectoparasites.
Dumbacher is lucky he only barely sampled the pitohui’s poison - in higher doses,
it can cause cardiac arrest, paralysis, and death.
A word to the wise: when it comes to the pitohui, it’s best to adhere to a “look, but don’t
touch” policy!
And don’t go around sticking feathers in your mouth if you are not a biologist!!
7.
CARNIVOROUS PARROTS
The cartoonish kea, native to New Zealand, is the only alpine species of parrot in the
world, making it uncharacteristically capable of handling heavy winds, cold temperatures,
and even snow.
It possesses thick, insulating feathers and soars like a raptor as it flies.
While the kea’s olive green hue may seem boring or drab at first glance, it becomes
much more colorful in flight, displaying its bright red underwing feathers.
This endangered species is also unique due to its eating habits.
Using its sharp, hooked beak, the kea swoops in like a hawk or a vulture to scavenge mammal
carcasses or to attack and consume live prey such as its favorite snack, shearwater chicks.
It’s even gained a reputation among farmers for having an alleged tendency to attack sheep.
The kea is particularly attracted to humans, but they clearly have more to fear from us
than we do them.
Some of the biggest threats to the species, which is estimated to number between just
3,000 and 7,000, are caused by human activities.
Included among those threats are accidents involving manmade objects; risks associated
with pest control; and the attractive, sweet taste of lead, which often leads to poisoning.
Some people consider the kea’s behavior to be pesky due to occasional property damage
caused by the sometimes mischievous bird.
Although it’s illegal to shoot the kea, it happens anyway, courtesy of annoyed humans.
6.
FRESHWATER SEALS
Meet the Baikal seal, a species of seal endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia.
The Baikal seal, known locally as the Nerpa, is related to the Caspian seal and the Arctic
ringed seal.
One major difference sets the Baikal seal apart from others, however: it’s the only
true freshwater species of seal in the entire world.
The Baikal seal species is thought to be up to half a million years old and is exclusive
to Lake Baikal, the deepest, oldest, and largest freshwater lake on the planet.
The origin of the species is somewhat of a mystery to scientists, who have yet to figure
out what led the seals to the lake and to become an established endemic species.
Most of the 3,600 plant animal species that call Lake Baikal home are endemic to the lake.
In recent years, scientists have become increasingly concerned about threats to the lake’s unique
biodiversity.
The omul fish, a type of salmon that has lived in the lake for several centuries, is rapidly
disappearing, resulting in a commercial fishing ban.
Harmful algae is growing at an unprecedented rate, and endemic species of sponge are dying
out.
Experts haven’t agreed on one sole cause of the lake’s alarming decline, but they
have cited several plausible theories, including climate change and pollution.
It’s most likely a combination of both.
One thing remains certain: if urgent efforts aren’t made to preserve Lake Baikal, which
has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it could ultimately lose all of its
amazing wildlife - including the Baikal Seal.
5.
FISHING CATS
Even if you’re a cat person, it’s probably very unlikely that you’ve ever had to bathe
a cat because for the most part, they are famous for hating water.
But there is always an exception to the rule and there is a species of cat that not only
tolerates water, but prefers it!
The appropriately-named Fishing Cat is native to Southeast Asia and lives in a number of
watery environments, including wetlands, the edges of rivers and streams, and mangrove
swamps.
They hunt for aquatic prey, such as fish, by diving in the water and snatching up their
victims with their sharp teeth and claws.
Not only is the fishing cat unafraid of the water, it’s evolved to be one of most skilled
swimmers among predatory mammals, with powerful muscles, short tails and exceptional paddling
and diving abilities, along with the capability of walking through mud without sinking.
The fishing cat is insulated from the cold, wet waters it hunts in by a thick, short base
layer of fur.
Fish make up most of the fishing cat’s diet, but they’re also known for diving under
the water and attacking waterfowl by grabbing them by the feet, which ranks as one of the
creepiest known ways for a mammal to hunt.
The next time your fussy feline needs a flea bath, you could try telling them to toughen
up and be more like the fishing cat - or you could put on a ski mask, your thickest jacket,
and some heavy-duty gloves, and hope for the best.
4.
PLANT-EATING VULTURES
It’s common knowledge that a vulture’s diet typically consists of scavenged animal
carcasses, but there is one exception: the palm-nut vulture, which lives and breeds in
the forests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa and feeds primarily on the seeds, nuts, and
fruits of various trees, including the akacia, date palm, and kosi palm.
Although 60 percent of an adult bird’s diet, and 90 percent of a juvenile’s consist of
plants, the palm-nut vulture isn’t strictly an herbivore.
It also eats freshwater and marine crabs, reptile eggs and hatchlings, frogs, fish,
small mammals, and even domestic poultry.
It’s not picky.
One thing remains conspicuously absent from its diet, however: dead animals.
With a wingspan of under five feet, the black-and-white palm-nut vulture is the smallest of the existing
Old World vulture species and is known for its agility and its ability to hang upside-down
on tree branches.
3.
HYBRID BIG CATS
LIGERS AND TIGONS AND LITIGONS, OH MY! - wait, what?
I’ll explain.
If you’ve seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite, or other random videos here on youtube, then
you’ve at least heard of the liger - a hybrid between a lion and a tiger.
But did you know that it’s a real thing?
More specifically, a liger is the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger - parents
of the same genus, but different species.
The liger grows to be larger than both of its parents’ species and is the largest
known cat in existence.
It’s even bigger than its relative, the tigon, which is a cross between a female lion
and a male tiger.
There’s also such a thing as a litigon, an extremely rare hybrid between a male lion
and a female tigon.
Litigons grow nearly as large as ligers.
One litigon, a male named Cubanacan who was born in March 1979 at the Alipore Zoo in India,
reached an astounding 800 pounds!
Cubanacan was the only surviving cub out of the litter of three.
In the following years, his mother, a tigon named Rudrani, produced four more litigons.
Hybrid animals are often born sterile due to the genetic complications associated with
crossbreeding between species.
The crossbreeding of big cats has been a topic of controversy throughout the years.
It was banned in India, where Cubanacan was purposely bred, in 1985.
In the United States, efforts are currently being made to ban the practice, which many
animal rights advocates believe is unavoidably cruel.
They are often bred for their cuteness and taken away from their mothers at an early
age.
The ethical debates and fertility issues that come along with big cat hybrids means not
many more will probably come into existence in the future.
2.
NOCTURNAL GULLS
Hailing from Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, and Malpelo Island, Colombia, the swallow-tailed
gull is a little-known equatorial marine bird that also happens to be nocturnal.
During the day, this bird rests and tends to its young - a responsibility shared between
both parents.
At night, it forages for food, using its relatively good night vision to hunt fish and squid by
moonlight.
Its dark, large eyes are covered in a layer of reflective tissue, which aids it at night
by bouncing light back through the retina to the photoreceptor cells.
The swallow-tailed gull has evolved in other ways to accommodate its preference for a third-shift
hunting schedule, including biochemical adaptations such as reduced levels of the sleep-inducing
hormone melatonin.
The bizarre-looking bird, which has ghostly white spots on its plumage and a dark head,
is the only genuinely nocturnal seabird in the entire world.
1.
MARINE IGUANAS
Described by Charles Darwin as “hideous-looking” and “most disgusting, clumsy lizards,”
the marine iguana got a really bad rap.
But is a very unique animal.
Unlike most lizards, who stick to desert-like and tropical environments, the marine iguana
is what it sounds like - a water animal that forages under the surf and hangs out along
the waves, feasting mostly on the algae and seaweed of submerged rocks.
So, how did this dinosaur-like creature become the only ocean-going lizard on the planet?
Scientists believe that millions of years ago, land-dwelling lizards from South America
drifted out to sea on logs and debris, eventually ending up on the Galapagos Islands, where
they reside today.
There are marine iguanas of various sizes, shapes, and colors present throughout the
entire archipelago, and they tend to be unique to different islands.
Some grow up to three feet long (0.91 m) and weigh up to 22 pounds!
(10 kg)
Despite its homely and often intimidating appearance, the marine iguana is a harmless,
gentle herbivore that has evolved specifically for a life in and around the saltwater.
Its razor-sharp teeth are used for nothing more than scraping food off of rocks. and
its long, dagger-like claws enable it to cling to rocks or remain underwater against strong
currents.
After taking a dip in the frigid waters surrounding the Galapagos, the marine iguana’s dark
grey skin easily absorbs sunlight.
Special glands clean its blood of extra salt, that it consumes while eating, giving it that
characteristic crusty appearance.
That’s all for today, but there’s plenty more where that came from!!
Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe and give this video a thumbs up to let me
know to make more like these!
See you next time!!
Byeeeee!!!