14 Weirdest Animals You Probably Didn’t Know About

Have you seen an uncommon animal and thought for yourself that it has to be one of the weirdest animals in the world? Perhaps you are tired of seeing the same old tigers, elephants and bears on your travels and want to see some of the weirdest animals that exist in the world? If you answer yes to the first question, you are about to say that again. If you answer yes to the second question, be careful what you wish for :) Now say ‘oh my’ to these adorable and oddball creatures around the world. These are the weirdest animals in the world.

Weirdest Animals In The World

Leafy Sea Dragon

Weirdness Factor:

Male leafy sea dragons carry and give birth to the offspring. Instead of swimming upright, the leafy sea dragon swims in a horizontal position. It uses its tube-shaped mouth as a straw to suck up food. Talk about being one of the weirdest animals.

See In:

The waters of the southeastern Indian Ocean and near southern and western Australia.

Pygmy Marmoset

Weirdness Factor:

Pygmy marmosets are the smallest monkeys in the world. They communicate though whistles and twitters but when hostile they sound a frightening cry. It is inaudible to humans.

See In:

Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

Tree Pangolin

Weirdness Factor:

This insect eater’s scales feel a little like human fingernails. But be aware, do not go touching it! Like the skunk, the pangolin has an unpleasant-smelling spray if you get too close. That is why it’s one of the weirdest animals in the world.

See In:

Central Africa’s rain forests

White Faced Saki Monkey

Weirdness Factor:

Often called flying monkeys, white-faced saki monkey’s rarely let their feet hit the ground. They prefer to stay on the trees of the rain forests where they can jump up to 30 feet and can run upright along narrow branches.

See In:

The rain forests of northeastern Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela

Victoria Crowned Pigeon

Weirdness Factor:

These blue, turkey size pigeons live mostly on the ground, mating for life and building sturdy nests for their young.

See In:

New Guinea

Echidna

Weirdness Factor:

The echidna has a pouch for its young like a kangaroo, spines like a porcupine, and a sticky tongue like an anteater. Oh, and it lays eggs like a chicken.

See In:

Tasmania, Australia, and New Guinea

Chinese Giant Salamander

Weirdness Factor:

The largest salamanders in the world, these unattractive creatures can grow to three feet long. Their meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of China.

See In:

The streams and lakes of Central China and Taiwan

Gelada Baboon

Weirdness Factor:

This primate’s fangy yawn is actually a display of aggression to show off its canine teeth. The red patch of skin on the female’s chest gets brighter as her hormone levels increase. As a natural design feature, it’s probably a little too much information.

See In:

Eritrea and Ethiopia

Matamata Turtle

Weirdness Factor:

The knobby matamata turtle uses its huge mouth to suck in food sources as they pass by. In Spanish, matamata means “it kills, it kills.”

See In:

The Amazon River in Brazil, and in parts of Trinidad and Guyana

Emperor Tamarin

Weirdness Factor:

Famous for tamarin’s wildly eccentric mustache (strikingly similar to Mr. Monopoly’s) is something of a mystery.

See In:

Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru

Philippine Tarsier

Weirdness Factor:

The tiny tarsier’s eyes are about twice the size of humans and have no peripheral vision.

See In:

The southern Philippine islands of Bohol, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao

Naked Mole Rat

Weirdness Factor:

Almost totally blind, the naked mole rat is one of only two species of mammals that live in colonies with a caste system, like termites or ants.

See In:

Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia

Proboscis Monkey

Weirdness Factor:

The male proboscis monkey has a big nose that is thought to amplify his calls to females. The most dominant male usually has the biggest nose and can collect at least five to eight females.

See In:

Borneo

Aye-aye

Weirdness Factor:

Where to start? The aye-aye is a kind of lemur with large round ears that rotate independently. How does it eat? Using its long middle finger to scoop out grubs in tree bark.

See In:

Madagascar

As you can see, these are not the regular animals you see at your local zoo. Most of us probably never knew such strange animals exist either. So if you ever have the chance to travel to these exotic place, skip the lions and tigers and go see these weirdest animals instead.