Top 5 Animal Oddities - Week of October 28th

There’s a lot going on in the world of animal oddities this week.  

#5. Lost World Discovered
The idea of undiscovered lands teeming with unknown or long-forgotten wildlife is the theme of many science fiction books and movies.  Has just such as “Lost World” been discovered in Australia?

Read about this newly described area and the strange animals that inhabit it here. 

#4. The Ticklish Platypus
Platypuses are odd no matter which way you look at it.  They are mammals that lay eggs. They have furry bodies and live the water like beavers or otters, but they have bills just like a duck. They even have venomous barbs on their legs.

It’s hard to imagine them getting any stranger–but the video below of a captive platypus getting “tickled” is just that.  Read more about this cute little guy at here.

#3.  Skunk Ape Caught on Camera
A Mississippi man gets footage of a strange, ape-like creature in the woods.  Is it the mysterious Skunk Ape, the version of Bigfoot that lives in the swamps and forests of the deep south?  Watch the video below and read the full story to judge for yourself.

#2. OMG Baby Olinguito!
A few months ago I posted about newly discovered mammal species called the olinguito.  See that post for more info on this cool little critter, which had been known to science but had been mistaken for a completely different species.

This week, photos of an adorable baby olinguito have hit the web, much to everyone who has a heart’s delight.

Photo by Juan Rendon via savingspecies.org. 

#1. Mouse Converts Scorpion Venom into Painkiller
Grasshopper mice might just be the coolest predator out there.

A new report looking at the effect of scorpion venom on this predatory rodent species was released this week, and it revealed something surprising.  Check out this video of a grasshopper mouse in action.

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