Here is part 1 of the two part series on weird animals found around the world.

01. Amazonian Royal Flycatcher

“Royal” refers to the exotic feather display on the crown of the bird’s head, which is a brilliant array of red, yellow, white, blue and/or black. The Royal Flycatchers use this brilliant, colorful plumage as a show of display during courtship rituals, after mating, while preening, in competition with other males over breeding or territory, or while being handled. Otherwise the plumed crest is lying flat. Royal Flycatchers build very large nests (sometimes up to 6 feet long) on branches near water. The nest hangs over the water which makes it hard for predators to reach. The Amazonian Royal Flycatcher is found in the wilds of Central and South America and as far as Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.

02. Binturong

Looking like something Dr. Seuss might have dreamed up, a binturong has a face like a cat’s and a body like a bear’s, long, shaggy black hair, stiff white whiskers, and a prehensile tail that’s as long as its body. Binturongs are also called bearcats, but that name is rather misleading since these animals are not related to bears OR cats. Instead, they are related to civets and fossas but look more like gigantic dust mops and smell like a freshly made batch of popcorn.

03. Blacknose Sheep

The Valais Blacknose, is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the Valais region of Switzerland. It is a dual-purpose breed, raised both for meat and for wool. Both rams and ewes are horned. They are known as the ‘’world’s cutest sheep.’ They are well-known for their shaggy coats and spiral horns, but it is their distinctive, incredibly dark ‘black hole’ faces – which look as if they have been Photoshopped to have all features removed – that draw much of the attention. The sheep are so valuable that last year a Scottish farmer spent £5,000 on CCTV to protect his flock.

04. Borneo Ninja Slug

What makes this slug so ninja-like? Because these slimy fellers shoot chalky “love darts” at potential mates which pierce and inject the proper hormones to make them hot and horny. The “ninja” slug is a newly (in 2010) discovered, long tailed slug found in the mountains in Malaysia. The skeet-like mechanism these slugs use isn’t 100% effective but just “increases the chances of reproduction”. They wrap their tail (which is 3 times the length of its head) around its body when it’s inactive.

05. Chromodoris Willani Sea Slug

The chromodoris willani is a sea slug that looks like a creature from the world of Pokemon.  This sea slug lives in the Western Pacific Ocean, in the areas from Indonesia to the Philippines and ranges in color.  The chromodoris willani shown in this picture is in the middle of the color spectrum: the creatures can range from a dark blue color to a near transparent white.  While this is true, they all have discontinuous stripes covering their body as well as those odd feeler-lik outcroppings that appear to sparkle in the water.

06. Cinereous Mourner

Cinereous Mourner is one of many birds found in the subtropical lowland forests of South America, the species lives in an area where birds tend to suffer very high losses to nest predators. The cinereous mourner however has a handy trick up its wing. It does a rollicking (rolling, actually) sendup of a toxic, spiny caterpillar (Megalopyge) that also calls the area home. The cinereous mourner assumes a particularly clever form of the art known as Batesian mimicry. In this form of biological trickery, the docile organism takes on the characteristics of a threatening or dangerous organism, thereby making itself highly unattractive to prospective predators.

07. False Zokor

The false zokor (Myospalax aspalax) is a species of rodents that is found in China and Russia. The False Zokor leads a very secretive life, spending all of its time underground where it zipps through its intricate maze-like burrows. For this reason, very little is known about its behavior. It’s about 19-26 cm in length with a gray/dirty cream velvety coat. Its not blind but relies more on its well-developed senses of smell and hearing to navigate its dark habitat. The zokor is built to dig with large claws (up to 3 cm in length) that it uses much like shovels to clear a path in the dirt.

08. Lagidium / Viscacha

Lagidium peruanum, one of several recognized species of “Mountain Viscachas,” lives in the Andes Mountains of Peru at elevations ranging from approximately 3,000-5,000 meters. This corresponds to the area contained between the timber and snow lines. They live in large colonies of up to 80 individuals. These colonies are segregated into small family units of 2 to 5 individuals which occupy a single burrow. These animals are poor diggers, so their burrows consist of crevices among cliffs and rocks.When the breeding season begins males are driven out of their family burrow by the female, at which point they disperse throughout the colony and exhibit some degree of promiscuity.

09. Lake Titicaca Water Frog

The Titicaca water frog is the largest truly aquatic frog in the world. It has a broad, flattened head with a round snout and large eyes. The most distinctive feature of the Titicaca water frog is the extremely loose skin which hangs from its neck, legs and stomach, giving it a rather ugly appearance.

10. Lowland Streaked Tenrec

With their spiky bristles between their fur and distinct black and yellowish stripes, the lowland streaked tenrec mostly resembles a cross between a hedgehog and an oversized bee! Its appearance is even more unusual because of the spiky yellow bristles around their head, but gives them great camouflage while foraging on the forest floor.When a predator is foolish enough to go for the tenrec, it will be sure it gets a mouthful of spiky spines that detach from the tenracs body. Interestingly, these little mammals have such a low body temperature that they do not require a scrotum to cool their sperm, as is very common in mammals.