Hey there! Welcome to an exciting journey through the world of unusual animals. I’m Emily from the Brain Scoop, and I work at the Chicago Field Museum. Today, we’re diving into some fascinating creatures and their unique traits. Let’s get started!
Meet the cloud rat, a giant, fluffy rodent from the highlands of the Philippines. It’s super rare and has only one set of mammary glands, meaning it gives birth to one or two babies at a time. Sadly, it’s also rare because people find it tasty. Imagine a rabbit, but even cuter!
Viscachas are the largest members of the chinchilla family and can live in groups of up to 50. Picture a herd of these adorable creatures running around! Pikas, on the other hand, look like rodents but are more closely related to rabbits. They act like birds by building nests, which is pretty cool!
Despite its name, the high-risk isn’t a shrew or a mouse. It’s related to dugongs, manatees, and elephants. Speaking of dugongs, they’re known as “sirens of the sea” because an ancestor of elephants returned to the water long ago.
This is Thor’s hero shrew, one of only two ever found. Its spine is super strong, helping it squeeze between tree bark to find food. There’s only one in a museum, and I got to hold it!
Ever wonder where the idea for Star Wars’ tauntaun came from? Check out the Saiga antelope with its big, funny nose that warms the air in cold winters. Sadly, they’re critically endangered, with their numbers dropping from 1 million to just 30,000 in a decade.
Gerenuks are antelopes with long necks, perfect for reaching high branches. They can even stand on their hind legs! Baba rousses are pigs with tusks that grow out of their faces. If they don’t wear them down, the tusks can become dangerous.
Binturongs look like a mix between a raccoon and a Dr. Seuss character. They smell like popcorn! Aardwolves, despite their name, are neither aardvarks nor wolves. They eat termites, gobbling up to 300,000 a day!
The aye-aye has creepy hands and uses its long middle finger to fish out grubs from trees. Unfortunately, local beliefs have made them endangered. The spotted cuscus is a marsupial from New Guinea and Australia. Its babies grow in a pouch after a short pregnancy.
Planthoppers, also known as peanut heads, have heads that look like peanuts. There’s a funny myth about them, but they don’t even have teeth! Leaf insects look just like leaves, complete with natural bite marks. They sway like leaves in the wind.
Whip spiders might look scary, but they’re caring moms, carrying up to 60 eggs until they hatch. Mermaid purses are actually skate egg cases, where baby sharks, called pups, develop until they’re ready to hatch.
Remoras have a special fin that acts like a suction cup, letting them hitch rides on bigger fish. Now, let’s talk birds! The kiwi lays the largest egg compared to its body size. Bowerbirds are amazing decorators, building fancy nests to attract mates.
Strikes are birds that use thorny trees to store their food. The oscillated turkey is more colorful than the North American turkey, with unique features and names.
My favorite bird is the African shoebill stork. They’re super territorial and will stare down anyone who gets too close!
Thanks for joining me on this adventure through the world of unusual animals. If you have any mind-blowing questions, feel free to ask. Remember, stay curious and keep exploring!
Imagine you are a scientist discovering a new unusual animal. Draw your creature and describe its unique features, habitat, and diet. Share your creation with the class and explain why it would be considered unusual.
We’ll play a matching game where you match unusual animals to their unique traits. For example, match the “cloud rat” with “giant, fluffy rodent from the Philippines.” This will help you remember the fascinating characteristics of each animal.
Choose one unusual animal from the article and research more about it. Prepare a short presentation for the class, including interesting facts, its conservation status, and why it’s important to protect it.
In groups, choose an unusual animal and act out a day in its life. Consider its adaptations and how it uses them to survive. This will help you understand the importance of each adaptation in the animal’s environment.
Design a poster to raise awareness about the conservation of one of the unusual animals discussed. Include information on its habitat, threats it faces, and how people can help protect it. Display your posters around the school.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi everyone and welcome to Mental Floss! I’m Emily from the Brain Scoop, and I’m here at my job at the Chicago Field Museum. Over the last few weeks, I’ve found a lot of really interesting and unusual things, like this beef byproducts case commissioned by the beef industry in the 1930s. That’s just the first of many unusual animals, their behaviors, and byproducts that we’ll be talking about today.
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First, let me introduce you to the cloud rat, which is a giant, rare, fluffy rodent found in the highlands of the Philippines. It has one set of mammary glands, which means it has two nipples and gives birth to one or two young at a time. It’s also incredibly rare due to its delicious taste. They look like rabbits and are arguably cuter than bunnies, but viscachas are actually the largest members of the chinchilla family. They can live in herds of up to 50 individuals. The next time you need a pick-me-up, just imagine being stampeded by a herd of viscachas!
Pikas look like rodents but are more closely related to rabbits and hares. They seem to have an identity crisis because they act more like birds by making nests. The high-risk is an interesting mammal; despite its name meaning “shrew mouse” in Greek, it is neither a shrew nor a mouse. Its closest living relatives include dugongs, manatees, and elephants. Speaking of dugongs, at some point, an ancestor of elephants returned to an aquatic environment, earning them the nickname “sirens of the sea.”
This is Thor’s hero shrew, one of only two known hero shrews ever found. It has a unique vertebral column that resembles a Triscuit, which helps it get between the bark and trunk of trees to find grubs. There’s only one in the world in a museum, and I am holding it right here in my hand.
If you’ve ever wondered where George Lucas got his inspiration for designing the tauntaun, look no further than the Saiga antelope. They have a giant, inflated nose that helps warm and moisten air during cold winters. Unfortunately, the Saiga is now critically endangered, with its population declining from 1 million to 30,000 individuals in just 10 years.
Now, let’s talk about the gerenuk, an antelope that wanted to be a giraffe. Their long necks help them reach the tastiest parts of trees, and they can even stand on their hind legs for additional height. Gerenuks often freeze in place when threatened, which can be a bit awkward.
Baba rousses are members of the pig family with tusks that grow directly out of their faces. If males don’t wear down these tusks, they will continue to grow throughout their lives, potentially causing serious harm.
Binturongs are the largest members of the viverrid family, resembling a cross between a raccoon and a Dr. Seuss character. Interestingly, their scent glands smell like popcorn. The aardwolf has a unique name, being a mix of an aardvark and a wolf, and it feeds exclusively on termites, consuming up to 300,000 a day.
You’ve probably heard of the aye-aye, known for its creepy little hands. They chew holes in tree trunks and use their elongated middle finger to fish out grubs. Unfortunately, their bold behavior has led them to be endangered, as they are often killed on sight due to local beliefs.
To wrap up our discussion on mammals, we have the spotted cuscus, a marsupial found in New Guinea and parts of northern Australia. The female gives birth after a short gestation period and the young develop in her pouch for several months.
Now, let’s move on to invertebrates. The planthopper, also known as a peanut head, has a head that resembles a peanut. There’s a myth that if bitten by a planthopper, one must have sex within 24 hours or face dire consequences, which is amusing since they don’t have teeth.
The leaf insect mimics leaves so closely that it sometimes has natural bite marks along its edges. When they walk, they sway back and forth like a leaf in the wind.
Whip spiders, despite their appearance, are nurturing mothers, carrying up to 60 eggs on their abdomen until they hatch.
Mermaid purses, which are actually skate egg cases, are laid by various species of sharks and rays. The young develop inside until they hatch, and baby sharks are called pups.
There’s a unique family of fish called remoras that have a modified dorsal fin resembling a sucker-like organ, allowing them to attach to larger fish and hitch a ride while feeding on their host’s waste.
Now, let’s talk about some unusual birds. The kiwi has the largest egg relative to its body size of any bird, weighing up to 20% of the animal’s mass.
The bowerbird, while not particularly striking, is an excellent interior decorator, creating elaborate nests to attract mates using various materials.
Strikes are carnivorous birds that nest around thorny trees and bushes, using them to impale insects and small vertebrates.
The oscillated turkey is more beautiful than the North American turkey, and its unique features have interesting names.
Finally, my favorite bird is the African shoebill stork. They are territorial and will stand their ground and stare down intruders.
Thanks for watching Mental Floss on YouTube, made with the help of many wonderful people. A special thanks to Bill Stanley, Jim Boone, Allen Reset, our call mayor, and the Harris Learning Collection, along with everyone else at the Chicago Field Museum.
Every week, we answer one of your mind-blowing questions. This week’s question comes from a viewer who asks why water has an expiration date in grocery stores. This is due to a 1987 New Jersey law requiring food products to have an expiration date of two years or less from their manufacture date.
If you have a mind-blowing question you’d like answered, leave it in the comments below. Thanks for watching! I’m Emily Graslie of the Brain Scoop, and don’t forget to be awesome!
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Animals – Living organisms that can move and consume organic material for energy. – In the forest, many animals like deer and foxes can be found living among the trees.
Mammals – A group of warm-blooded animals that have hair or fur and produce milk for their young. – Whales are mammals that live in the ocean and nurse their calves with milk.
Endangered – A term used to describe species that are at risk of extinction. – The giant panda is an endangered species due to habitat loss and low birth rates.
Species – A group of similar organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. – Scientists discovered a new species of frog in the Amazon rainforest.
Habitat – The natural environment where an organism lives and grows. – The coral reef provides a habitat for a diverse range of marine life.
Biodiversity – The variety of different types of life found on Earth or within a specific ecosystem. – The rainforest is known for its high biodiversity, hosting thousands of plant and animal species.
Rodents – A group of mammals characterized by continuously growing incisors, such as mice and squirrels. – Rodents like beavers play a crucial role in shaping their ecosystems by building dams.
Traits – Characteristics or features of an organism that are inherited from its parents. – The bright colors of a peacock’s feathers are traits that help attract mates.
Ecosystems – Communities of living organisms interacting with their physical environment. – Wetlands are vital ecosystems that support a wide range of wildlife and help filter water.
Conservation – The protection and preservation of natural resources and environments. – Conservation efforts are essential to protect endangered species and their habitats.
