Peculiar Creature #11: The Mandarin Duck

The Mandarin Duck is a relative of the Wood Duck, common in North America:

However, the Mandarin Duck is more endangered than our familiar American duck friend. They are not a species of endangered status, but are being watched. Fortunately, these ducks have a gross taste, so aren't hunted for food by humans. They have a few wild predators, but their endangerment results mostly from habitat loss.

These ducks are very unique as far as behavior. The male courts a female, and the pair tends to stay together from breeding season to breeding season, much like the patterns of the penguin. The Mandarin Duck males even keep watch over the babies. Because of this devotion, the Mandarin Duck is considered a symbol of love, happiness, and marital fidelity in China and Japan. And, of course, we can marvel at the beauty of the duck, especially the male, with its brilliant colors. I think it's more beautiful than our common wood duck. I wish we had wild ones here, but the closest ones are in parts of the UK.

Now, of course, what's cuter than the Mandarin Ducklings? It makes them even more precious knowing how much their parents care about them and how much effort they put into raising them. The ducklings are raised in a high tree hole to be safe from predators. But when it is time to head to the water, the ducklings have to jump out of the tree after their mom because they can't yet fly, and they land on the soft ground with a painless bounce. After that, they have a precarious mile long walk to the nearest water source. You will see why these ducklings are one of my favorite animals after watching this video, from Planet Earth (what else?):

http://dailydoseofcute.net/video/mandarin-ducklings-leaping-from-a-tree-video/

Now you can see why these peculiar ducks are one of my favorite animals, and maybe one of yours too!

Peculiar Creature #10: The Pine Marten

First of all, what is a Marten? It's a weasel-like animal that resembles the domesticated ferret, with a longer tail. These fuzzy creatures are certainly adorable-- I was introduced to them while watching a segment of Planet Earth in my Intro to Geography class. The narrator explained that the Pine Marten, only found in taiga climates (for those less seasoned geographers, these are cold forest climates that have cool springs and summers), was hunting for some spring food while it climbed a nearby tree. I expected a screenshot of the Marten cracking open a pinecone and eating some seeds. Instead, it entered a hole in a tree and came out with a dead, limp squirrel. A carnivore? I was very surprised. Although the Marten can survive on plants, it is a hunter, and so prefers to hunt squirrels and small rodents.

The Pine Marten prefers to live in very old forests, because dead trees make great homes for them, and the forest provides plenty of food for the Martens to hunt. They are expert tree climbers, and their sharp teeth make them great hunters. The martens don't hibernate, they are active all year long, and they prefer to live by themselves. They are extremely territorial wild animals. The species is hunted and coveted for its very soft fur, but it is only endangered in some areas. In more rural areas, the Marten thrives in deciduous forests within the taiga climate. This website encourages viewers to donate to the Endangered Resources Fund in Wisconsin to help save the Pine Martens and other endangered species threatened by humans: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/mammal/pinemarten.htm

Logging is also a danger to the Martens since they thrive only in old forests. They need this habitat to continue to thrive as a species. I tried to find a video of the cute Marten taking advantage of an innocent squirrel, but I couldn't find any hunting videos-- the cute pictures above will have to suffice, although they might leave you with a different visual impression than the one that I initially had.

Needless to say, this ferret-like animal definitely deserves the title of unique because of its adaptations to cold climates and its hunting abilities. Not many species can be found in the taiga climate, especially species that roam year-round.

Peculiar Creature #9: The Alligator Gar

Though it features "alligator" in its name, this animal is not nearly as scary as the real alligator. However, it is the largest gar species alive today and is only found in the Americas. It is prehistoric-- it lived with the dinosaurs! The alligator gar is only aggressive when provoked. If you try to catch it, it will put up a fight. Alligator gar fishing is a sport of choice in many leisure fishing circles. It may look quite scary with its double row of upper sharp teeth, capability to grow up to 10 feet long, and its recorded weights of over 300 pounds. The scariest part? This fish is a brackish and saltwater fish. Imagine water skiing in the middle of a lake and upon a fall, having your leg brushed by none other than the Alligator Gar. I'd be a little scared, to say the least. You can see where this fish gets its name. It looks like an alligator in size and shape, and it also features sharp teeth and sometimes aggressive behavior.

The middle picture features a recently caught gar caught in an Oklahoma lake, supposed to weigh 327 pounds and measure to be 8 feet 10 inches tall. There are debates about whether or not this information is accurate, but nonetheless, the immensity of the fish is unbelievable. Although bigger numbers have been reported such as the ones above, the "world record" Alligator Gar was caught in 1951 in Rio Grande, Mexico, weighing 279 pounds. No one has beaten this world record since because of strict regulations on fishing, differing standards of weighing scales, and other similar factors. However, a 302 pound gar was also reported in the same area at the same time period.

Although you probably haven't awed at the cuteness factor of this slimy brethren, you've at least learned something interesting about a prehistoric creature and its current popularity with the competitive fishing crowds!

Peculiar Creature #8: The Ermine

The ermine is an arctic animal much like a weasel. It populates the tundra climates of Canada, the USA, and Eurasia, and mostly hunts for its food underground (yes, this cute furry animal is a carnivore.) It has adapted very well to the unbearably cold tundra climates, often making its habitats in tree roots off of the tundra and hunting in burrows under the snow. The creature is thin and long, allowing it to burrow through the tunnels of the animals it preys on, most often favoring the lemming. Lemmings are cute and delicious furry rodents resembling domesticated hamsters and gerbils. They are herbivores and are commonly associated with "lemming suicide", a phenomenon that has been around for centuries, stating that the lemming migrations are really mass suicides in which the lemmings drown themselves or jump off of cliffs. This theory holds no truth, but shows up in a lot of media, especially from the earlier 1900s. Anyway, enough about lemmings-- the ermine has a magical coat that transforms from a summer and fall brown to a brilliant winter white to blend in better with its climate. The only part of the body that isn't white is the tip of the ermine's tail, which stays a jet black.

This nasty carnivore has a set of 34 sharp teeth, which helps it to trap and kill prey larger than itself. Ermines are, fortunately, neither threatened nor endangered. This arctic weasel is even more unique because of its extremely flexible spine, which allows it to engage in a "marten run", in which the hind feet are tucked by the front feet. The animal reaches maturity very early, which helps maintain its population in such a hostile climate.

Sorry, I had to.

How can this cute fluffy animal be a nasty and scary carnivore, preying on the innocent lemmings? I mean, apparently they also enjoy their whole grains....

Peculiar Creature #7: The Self-Cloning Lizard

Who needs men? We ladies don't...unless, that is, we plan on reproducing. This isn't the case for the newly discovered self-cloning lizard, who reproduces exact copies of itself as a species. The only diversity within the species takes place in the event of a mutation, which could be positive or negative. Self-reproducing lizards are not rare- many species only come in one gender and the females can ovulate and reproduce themselves. But this is the first self-cloning lizard that is sterile, kind of like the mule. There are arguments about whether or not this hybrid lizard will be advantaged or disadvantaged in the long run. So far, it hasn't seemed to have had any issues surviving as evidenced by its abundant populations in the Vietnamese forests. But sometimes, hybrid species are disadvantaged in the long run because their gene pools aren't as strong.

The discovery of this new lizard in November of 2010 is quite unscientific: scientists discovered the strange lizard being served in local Vietnamese restaurants, where it has been a specialty for many years. The lizards can be found abundantly in the local forests, so it's a wonder that they hadn't been discovered before then. Upon noticing that all of the lizards looked identical, the scientist thought it could be a type of self-reproducing lizard. Instead, he found a new species, a self-cloning lizard. How cool is that? Sounds like a phenomenon out of a science fiction movie, or even a horror movie: "The Attack of the Self-Cloning Lizards." Yes, they can take over the world! But they look pretty harmless to me...

Harmless? Yes. Tasty? Not so much. As I vowed as a child never to eat snails in France, I will also vow to never eat lizard. Or any reptile, for that matter.

Peculiar Creature #6: The Hairy-Nosed Wombat

Unfortunately, this marsupial does not come in three delicious varieties of chocolate, but it's still cool because it's one of the rarest mammals to still be walking the earth! That being said, and sorry to disappoint, the hairy-nosed wombat is highly endangered. It has two different species, the Northern and Southern, and the Northern species is far more endangered. The Southern hairy-nosed wombat is the state animal of South Australia. The species has been having trouble surviving the dry seasons there, because their young often can't survive so it's harder for the population to grow. This species, distinguished from regular wombats because of the fine soft hairs coating its nose, is nocturnal and spends its days in burrows. However, it is the most social of all the wombat species. In the wild, hairy-nosed wombats live for about five years and survive on vegetation for food. The hairs on their noses allow them to closely pick at plants- they have very low metabolisms, and so don't need a lot of water to survive.

Okay, so I obviously have a bit of a tendency to favor the cute baby animals.. but the baby hairy-nosed wombats are simply irresistible! I love their furry cuddle-ability combined with their repulsive yet adorable piggy snout. It truly is heartbreaking to me that so many of these unique animals are endangered mainly due to human influences. People are taking up their habitats, which were scarce in the first place. In the case of Australia, these animals have specifically adapted to life in the desert, and when people start to take away some of their habitats, they start to feel the impact almost immediately! I want to take action to save these Australian marsupials, the bilby included! The Northern hairy-nosed wombat is critically endangered due to human interference as well-- the animal's population is slowly shrinking. Maybe I should become a wildlife conservationist, or even better, a "save the marsupials" advocate! As a side note, how come people always immediately think of kangaroos when they hear the word marsupial? Kangaroos are so normal! How about bilbies or hairy-nosed wombats for a change?

Peculiar Creature #5: The Bilby

This animal comes in 3 delicious chocolate flavors: milk, dark, and white. Sounds like Valentine’s Day- I know I want one! The chocolate bilby is the equivalent of an American Easter chocolate bunny, because the bilby is the symbol of Easter in Australia in an attempt to de-Americanize the holiday (What did the Easter Bilby bring you this year?).

The real bilby that’s not made from cacao and dairy products is a marsupial the size of a rabbit with abnormally large ears, giving the animal an acute sense of hearing to make up for what it lacks in sight. Its eyes are very bad, although it is a nocturnal animal. It inhabits arid areas of Australia, most commonly desert regions. The bilby has very strong claws and is able to burrow into the ground very quickly, which serves as a sort of defense mechanism against its main predators, which include mostly birds of prey, especially owls. The bilby also uses its claws for food, and it gets most of its water from food since water is scarce is desert climates. The bilby is mousy in appearance, with long ears, a long snout, and their personalities are commonly solitary and territorial. Unfortunately, the bilby is nearing extinction, though it used to inhabit more than 70 percent of the Australian continent. Other animals have taken over the bilby habitats, and their populations have declined also due to hunting for food and for pelts. Droughts have a heavier effect due to competition with other animals, and fire patterns have changed which have altered their habitats significantly. The bilby is a protected animal in Australia, and is most famous for its association with Easter. In case you’d like to order some chocolate bilbies for this upcoming Easter, here’s a link that allows you to do so:
http://www.easterbilby.com.au/save_bilby/chocolate.asp

save the bilbies for a delectable price of only $5.95!

Peculiar Creature #4: The Capybara

The capybara is the world's largest rodent, only found in parts of South America.  It enjoys heavily forested areas with ample amounts of water.  The capybara consumes 6-8 pounds of grasses a day, and can hold its breath underwater for up to 5 minutes at a time.  In addition to these quirky facts that make the capybara uniquely cool, it also has a strange combination of physical features that make it adorable (the babies are especially cute). Rodent? Adorable? When's the last time you heard that in the same sentence?

After viewing these animals that resemble a combination of a rat, guinea pig, squirrel, and rhinocerous, you've hopefully reversed your initial disgusted reaction of the "world's largest rodent". Hearing this phrase made me picture the giant scary rats from the Nutcracker, but the capybara is far from frightening.  It has a squirrel face: squirrel eyes and little squirrel ears, and it's short and stocky like a guinea pig.  Its body looks like a rhinocerous, and the texture of its fur is that of a rat.  Who thought combining these strange characteristics into the world's largest rodent could turn out well?  I don't know about you, but I'd be first in line for a cuddly capybara stuffed animal.

Looks aside, the capybara differs from other members of the rodent family because of its calm nature.  It's a social animal that travels in groups dominated by males, but it can be easily domesticated.  It's loyal, protective, and cuddly, like a puppy! Except better.  This woman in Texas keeps a capybara as a pet, saying he gets protective sometimes and often follows her around with frequent "eep" noises erupting from his mouth:

He looks like a cat sitting on her lap like that! Who would have thought that a rodent could be so cute, cuddly, and affectionately friendly? Not me.  I'd much rather have a capybara instead of a dog or a cat- I now know what I want for Christmas next year.

Here's a link to the article about the Texas woman and her capybara, Caplin: http://www.peoplepets.com/news/strange/texas-woman-keeps-world-s-largest-rodent-as-a-house-pet/1

Peculiar Creature #3: The Aye-Aye

This animal's name is only the first highly peculiar thing about it.  It's a type of lemur that originates in Madagascar, and uses its long middle finger to pull grubs out of small holes in trees to forage for its food.  This middle finger is similar to the usage of a woodpecker beak, and it was adapted to give the animal an advantage in finding food for survival.  Now let's take a look at this quite peculiar creature:

Scary.  This animal sort of looks like it crawled out of my nightmares.  It's skinny, scraggly, long-nailed, long-eared, and googly-eyed.  It resembles a rabid squirrel- certainly not cute, but certainly peculiar and intriguing.

You're not the only one that might be creeped out by this nocturnal animal.  It is often killed in Madagascar because of rampant superstitions there, which has resulted in its decreased numbers in the past few decades  (What do you know- another peculiar animal that's endangered).  Because the aye-aye displays an unusual degree of fearlessness around humans, people are more scared of it.  A native group called the Sakalava believe that the animal enters houses through the roofs at night and murders its sleeping members by using its elongated skeleton-like middle finger to cut the aortic vein.  Another superstition is that the aye-aye appears right before a villager dies, and the only way to stop the death of the villager is to kill the aye-aye.  Those native villagers have a valid reason to be suspicious and afraid of the aye-aye- I would probably view it as an omen, too.

Here's a short video that shows an up-close image of the creepy skeleton finger and documents the aye-aye's process for finding food. Grubs- tasty, and nutritious!

http://www.arkive.org/aye-aye/daubentonia-madagascariensis/video-08d.html

Peculiar Creature #2: The Blobfish

Let me express your reaction for you:  WHAT is that?  Of course you don't know, because the blobfish is one of the most rare animals inhabiting our globe, and the chances of you seeing one in person are about as likely as you catching a glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster.

The blobfish, looking quite blobular indeed and nonetheless sounding as if a two-year old named it, is currently in danger of extinction due to deep sea fishing off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania.  It inhabits waters where the pressure is so high that a normal "gas bladder" would imbalance its buoyancy.  The blobfish, whose skin consists of mainly gelatinous matter, doesn't have much muscle, but it doesn't need it either.  It just consumes whatever food floats by it near the ocean floor.  Talk about laziness.

Admittedly, I cannot convince you that the blobfish possesses some redeeming qualities that make it "cute" (Yes, I'm sure I convinced most of you that skunks are, in fact, cute).  When I first stumbled upon this animal, I was sure it was fake- a replica of some alien or even a made-up inspiration for Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars.

See the resemblance? For me, the blobfish's peculiar nature mostly stems from how little people know about it.  The lack of scientific information about the fish is probably due to its extremely rare sightings, but what other animal literally resembles a shapeless mass the color of a brain? Cool- life as a blob.  I'm captivated, as I'm sure most other lazy college students are.  Perhaps the blobfish lives a lackadaisical lifestyle that many of us would envy, or maybe the blobfish is just another funny looking animal that happens to remind us of Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars.  No matter which way you view the blobfish, this particularly peculiar animal deserves distinction for its somewhat appalling brain-like appearance, lazy living habits, and aura of mystery.

Peculiar Creature #1: The Skunk

That's right, the first peculiar creature I've chosen to discuss is the skunk, commonly known as a black animal with a notorious white stripe across the back that sprays foul odors at predators when disturbed. Wikipedia describes this odor as a combination of "rotten eggs, garlic, and burnt rubber." Ew. Most of us have been driving a car through winding forest roads or enjoying a peaceful walk through the wilderness when we stumble upon the unmistakable foul odor of the skunk.  We might also think of tomato juice, the home remedy often associated with getting the "stink" out of those sprayed.  To me, however, the skunk possesses a uniqueness that encompasses more than its white stripe and foul odor.  When I was four years old, I was a skunk for halloween.  My mom handcrafted the costume, and I loved it.  I proudly flaunted it door to door while trick or treating, only to be mistaken for a common black cat.  This devastating misconception helped me to fully appreciate the uniqueness of peculiar animals and recognize that they deserve distinction.  A skunk is nothing like a black cat.  Black cats are ordinary, commonplace, and often superstitiously associated with bad luck and, of course, halloween.  Skunks may have the notorious reputation of possessing foul odor, but they are creatures of poise and beauty as well- they are kind of cute, actually.  Plus, what better defense mechanism is there than having built-in sulfuric gas to deter enemies and predators?  Nature obviously favored the skunk during evolution- it has always been a special animal with extraordinary privileges. Even though humans may classify it as strangely smelly, we must recognize the uniqueness of the skunk as well as all peculiar animals that classifies them as inherently special rather than strangely abnormal.