The animal world of our planet never ceases to amaze us with the presence of amazing creatures of the most unusual shapes and colors. Some of them are so whimsical that it seems that nature created them in a playful mood.

We present to your attention another selection of the most amazing, unusual, little-known or rare representatives of the fauna from different parts of the globe.

In the article we will post a photo and brief information about these unusual creatures. And in order to take a closer look at them and learn more interesting facts, we will post several short videos at the end of the article.

 

Chain-tailed porcupine

Chain-tailed porcupine, or Brazilian porcupine (Brazilian porcupine)

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Chain-tailed porcupine, or Brazilian porcupine (Brazilian porcupine)

flickr.com

Chain-tailed porcupine, or Brazilian porcupine (Brazilian porcupine)

flickr.com

Chain-tailed porcupine, or Brazilian porcupine (Brazilian porcupine)

flickr.com

Chain-tailed porcupine, or Brazilian porcupine (Brazilian porcupine)

wikimedia.org

The chain-tailed porcupine, or Brazilian porcupine, is a porcupine that has a prehensile tail to help it climb trees and a rather puffy nose to help it find food in its native South American habitat.

Brazilian porcupines are common in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, Peru, Paraguay, Suriname, Bolivia and Trinidad. They inhabit tropical forests.

The body length of the chain-tailed porcupine is from 30 to 65 cm, weight – from 1 to 5 kg. The needles are short, thick, tricolor: pale yellow above and below, black in the center. The tail is tenacious, usually devoid of needles, 33–48 cm long.

The chain-tailed porcupine leads an arboreal lifestyle, rarely descends to the ground, mainly to drink. Walks on the ground easily, but slowly. Active at night. During the day it sleeps at a height of 6-10 meters. The prehensile tail is used to wrap around branches when climbing.

Chain-tailed porcupines live in small groups. Their easily falling needles serve as an effective means of defense against predators. The captured animal rolls up into a ball.

Feeds on leaves, buds, fruits. Sometimes it destroys plantations of guava, corn and bananas. Life expectancy in captivity is up to 9 years.

 

Painted Spinisthorge

Painted triggerfish, or lagoon triggerfish

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Painted triggerfish, or lagoon triggerfish

flickr.com

Painted triggerfish, or lagoon triggerfish

wikimedia.org

Painted triggerfish, or lagoon triggerfish

flickr.com

Painted triggerfish, or lagoon triggerfish

flickr.com

Painted triggerfish, or lagoon triggerfish, is a species of colorful marine ray-finned fish. Because of its colorful appearance, this species has been given the name Picasso Triggerfish. Although they look funny, these fish are very ferocious when guarding their eggs.

These fish live in the Indo-Pacific region. They prefer shallow lagoons with coral vegetation, sandy and pebbly bottoms and coral reefs. Fish live at a depth of up to 5 meters singly or in pairs.

Interesting fact

Painted triggerfish defend their eggs extremely aggressively, even attacking divers and swimmers. In case of danger, they can make buzzing noises.

They eat almost everything they can get their hands on. These are mainly invertebrates (such as worms, molluscs, sea urchins, crayfish) and reef algae. They are always restless swimmers and vigorously guard their territory from intruders.

Due to its aggressiveness, the lagoon triggerfish is hardly suitable for keeping in an aquarium.

 

Water deer

Water deer

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Water deer

shutterstock.com

Water deer

shutterstock.com

Water deer

wikimedia.org

Water deer

wikipedia.org

Water deer (water deer) – a type of deer that does not grow antlers. But these deer grow tusks, which is why they began to be called "deer-vampires."

Instead of horns in males, powerful upper saber-shaped canines protrude from under the upper lip by 5–6 cm.

These animals come from China and Korea, so there are 2 subspecies of them: the Chinese water deer and the Korean water deer.

While the population of the Chinese subspecies is endangered in China, the Korean subspecies is known to number 700,000 throughout South Korea.

Water deer inhabit the lands along the rivers, where they are protected from prying eyes by high reeds and reeds. They can also be seen in mountains, swamps, grasslands, and even open cultivated fields. Water deer are good swimmers and can swim several miles to reach remote river islands.

The way of life of the water deer is little studied. They live alone or in pairs. Animals are mainly diurnal and very cautious.

The Chinese water deer population has been established in France and Great Britain. Water deer are bred in many zoos around the world.

 

Serval

Serval (serval), or bush cat

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Serval (serval), or bush cat

wikipedia.org

Serval (serval), or bush cat

wikimedia.org

Serval (serval), or bush cat

wikimedia.org

Serval (serval), or bush cat

wikimedia.org

The serval, or bush cat, is a slender, medium-sized cat. The serval has the longest legs and the largest ears of any cat compared to its body size. Because of the rather elongated neck, he received the nickname "giraffe cat".

Servals are distributed almost throughout Africa, excluding the Sahara, the forests of the equatorial zone and the extreme south of the mainland. There are about 14 subspecies of the serval.

Servals inhabit open spaces with shrubs and grassy thickets, settling, as a rule, near water. They avoid deserts, dry plains, and tropical rainforests, sticking to grassy plains.

Their main prey are rodents, hares, hyraxes and small antelopes, as well as flamingos, guinea fowls and other birds. Large ears and well-developed hearing help them track rodents and lizards, while long limbs make it easier to move through the tall grass of the savannas and help them look over it. Despite long strong legs, the serval cannot pursue its prey for a long time.

The serval is an object of fishing, as its skin is used for fur products; it is also prized in parts of Africa for its meat. It is also exterminated due to attacks on poultry. As a result, in densely populated areas of Africa, the number of servals has dropped markedly. The northern subspecies of the serval is listed in the IUCN Red List with the status of "threatened species." Servals are fairly easy to tame and can be kept in captivity.

 

Antelope hare

Antelope hare (antelope jackrabbit)

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Antelope hare (antelope jackrabbit)

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Antelope hare (antelope jackrabbit)

wikimedia.org

Antelope hare (antelope jackrabbit)

flickr.com

Antelope hare (antelope jackrabbit)

wikimedia.org

The antelope jackrabbit is known for its exceptionally long ears, which can reach up to 20 cm in length. It is a species of North American hare found in southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico.

The antelope hare inhabits a variety of habitats. It can be found in herbaceous biotopes in both hilly and plain areas.

These hares use their huge ear shells not only for hearing, but also for lowering and regulating body temperature in the high temperatures of the environment in which they exist.

Antelope hares are more active in the evening, when the hot surface of the earth begins to cool. The antelope hare feeds on cacti, grasses, and other leafy vegetation. This species has been observed digging and eating the soil in an attempt to absorb minerals and other nutrients.

 

Brazilian porcupine

In the video player, you can turn on subtitles and select their translation into any language in the settings

 

Water deer

In the video player, you can turn on subtitles and select their translation into any language in the settings

 

Serval

 

Antelope hare