One out of four humans will die due to a sexually transmitted disease. It’s something that we’ve all been taught to protect ourselves from, even if everyone isn’t as diligent as they should be.

However, while many sexually transmitted illnesses are commonly known to affect humans, we aren’t the only species on the planet that can contract them. From HIV to herpes to brucellosis, the animal kingdom has its own fair share of problems when it comes to sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

10 Papillomavirus

Some mammals of the sea are known for their vast intelligence and for saving humans from sharks. But they also have the ability to contract genital warts through papillomavirus. Most commonly found in Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, genital warts are caused for the same reason that STIs are seen in humans: unprotected sex.

Mammals are most likely to be hosts of STIs, and bottlenose dolphins are not an exception. Increased contaminants in the water have compromised dolphins’ immune systems, making them more likely to contract STIs. While this has become a problem for bottlenose dolphins, learning from them has helped humans because dolphins and humans have similar types of papillomaviruses.

This is beneficial because dolphins have contracted these infections—and the resulting genital warts. But they have not developed cancer, one of the main results for human women with HPV.

Though there isn’t an indication that genital warts have been spread from bottlenose dolphins to humans, different types have been shown to exist and are being monitored by scientists.^[1]

9 Syphilis

Cute, fluffy, and able to multiply prodigiously, bunnies are adorable creatures that can often be found as pets. They are also carriers of an STI which is shared with humans: syphilis.

With almost 12 million new cases appearing each year in humans, understanding how syphilis spreads and what vaccines can aid in preventing and treating this infection will be beneficial for humans and rabbits. Treponema paraluiscuniculi, the bacteria associated with syphilis in rabbits, is different from that found in humans and cannot be spread from rabbit to human.

Still, a large population of rabbits has already contracted syphilis. According to researchers, syphilis in rabbits cannot be contracted in vitro. However, it can be spread from mother to child during pregnancy or at birth. In New Zealand, syphilis is a growing problem for humans and white rabbits.

In the late 20th century, Africa saw a syphilis epidemic in their baboon species, both in the wild and in captivity. The strain was different than the one contracted by humans but spread rapidly before treatment could be given in some cases.

However, the reason for the outbreak was unknown and the levels seen during this period have dropped dramatically. Only a few cases of baboons have tested positive for the infection since then.

As with humans, antibiotics can help to treat syphilis in animals if it’s caught in time.^[2]

8 Herpes

Herpes is not just a disease transmitted by humans. Many cases of herpes have been found in the animal kingdom—from elephants to reptiles to fish and even oysters. Herpes has a long history of infecting primates . . . and rabbits.

Rabbits can host the herpes virus and infect humans the same way that other primate species do: through bites or scratches. It can also be done the other way around. One study found that an owner gave his rabbit a human strain of herpes virus through saliva contact.

The herpes simplex virus in baboons varies from the kind seen in humans and can also be transmitted to humans from other primate species through a bite or scratch. Due to the differences in strains, the results can be deadly if not treated properly.

The types of herpes virus seen in various primates differ. For example, the one in baboons is similar to the kind in monkeys rather than chimpanzees or gorillas. Each primate species has its own strain of the herpes virus. Some researchers speculate that the herpes virus seen in humans is so similar to the chimpanzee virus because there was a common ancestor millions of years ago.

Baboons in Africa are battling a herpes strain that has scientists baffled. They are unsure where it originated or how it manages to spread so quickly. A total of 200 baboons have been infected. Although there have been no cases of human infection with this strain, the possibility of transmission may exist.^[3]

7 HIV

HIV is found in humans and other primate species. In fact, a recent discovery has shown that chimpanzees and gorillas may have been the original hosts of HIV.

As HIV spreads one million times faster than DNA can adapt, knowing where to look is key. Gorillas and humans share 98 percent of their DNA as well as the origins of HIV. Around 20 million people are affected by a type of HIV found in gorillas from Cameroon. Although HIV is usually spread from primate to primate through sexual intercourse, it’s speculated that the type given to humans came from eating infected meat.

HIV can be given to humans from other primate species through blood-to-blood contact, such as bites or ingesting infected meats. A study found that a specific group of chimpanzees in West Africa tested 90 percent positive for having a virus similar to the HIV found in humans and that it was only spreading.^[4]

While chimpanzees are known to have HIV, none of them demonstrate an illness similar to AIDS, which is an oddity as humans and chimpanzees share similar genetic structures.

6 Brucellosis

One of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the animal kingdom is brucellosis (aka undulant fever), which can affect animals from livestock to those in the wild. Brucellosis is dangerous to animals due to its prevalence, but it also poses a threat to humans with possible long-term effects.

Brucellosis appears often in livestock and other domesticated animals as well as in deer. This disease is usually sexually transmitted among animals, but it can be shared between species by coming into contact with an infected animal or their infected meat.

Humans can contract brucellosis similarly—through ingestion of infected meat or cheese, contact with an infected animal, or drinking infected milk. While around 100–200 cases are seen yearly in humans, the results are rarely deadly. However, animals that aren’t treated quickly are not always as lucky. Symptoms range from the signature fever to vomiting, fatigue, diarrhea, and blurred vision.

Although few cases of brucellosis are spread from human to human through sexual contact, individuals who have had sexual intercourse before realizing they’ve contracted the illness are more likely to spread it to their partners. Studies have also found that when people are infected with brucellosis, medical follow-ups may be required to ensure that the virus hasn’t developed into a chronic condition.^[5]

5 Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

In 2017 alone, 940,000 humans died from AIDS-related illnesses. Although new treatments have become available, why AIDS affects humans and not other primate species is a question that is being asked. However, cats are not always so lucky.

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) targets only cats and can be transmitted through bites and scratches, birth, and even semen. This virus comes from the same strain as HIV. However, we don’t know why FIV is the only non-primate virus to produce AIDS-related illnesses. With both HIV and FIV, the resulting AIDs-related illnesses can end in death.^[6]

While FIV does have a vaccine, HIV does not. This is because HIV goes through multiple mutations while FIV has only five known strains that result in AIDs-related illnesses.

4 IIV-6

Although this STI renders the host infertile, it also increases the host’s desire to mate. The infection known as IIV-6 affects cold-blooded insects, mostly crickets.

This sexually transmitted disease has become a particularly bad problem for cricket colonies. As the infected male hosts experience an increased need to mate, they spread the infection from partner to partner. The disease renders the infected males and females infertile, making it impossible for the crickets to continue breeding. The longer the host is infected, the higher the likelihood that the cricket will eventually die from this infection.

As IIV-6 is a DNA-based infection, the mutation of the disease is a possibility that many scientists are trying to stop. While the disease has existed for around a decade, the infection has increased in different colonies of crickets, spreading in a way that may start to affect other invertebrates.^[7]

3 Chlamydia

Chlamydia is an infection often seen in humans, affecting both women and men equally via sexual intercourse. Although over one million people have been diagnosed with chlamydia, it is one of the most easily treatable STIs seen in humans. For the animal kingdom, however, the disease is not as curable.

Chlamydia affects a variety of animals, from birds to mammals to reptiles. However, its strain is different than the one seen in humans, making it harder to treat. This has become a major problem in koalas, whose numbers are already dwindling due to hunting and loss of habitat.

Up to 50 percent of koalas under care in Queensland and New South Wales have tested positive for chlamydia. The rapid spread of the disease in koalas has become a major point of concern. It can quickly affect the mammals, but they don’t show any outward symptoms.^[8]

Once the symptoms progress to coughs and respiratory complications, chlamydia can result in infertility in koalas and even in death. Although the infection isn’t usually fatal, it can have serious negative effects on the koala’s health.

While the strain of chlamydia in koalas is quite different from that in humans, the possibility of a vaccine for koalas can be helpful for the development of a model to vaccinate humans.

This is especially crucial because chlamydia can spread from birds to humans in addition to human-to-human transmission. When the infection is spread from bird to cat, it mutates and turns into a feline-specific version.

This also happens when humans come into contact with infected birds. The specific infection is called psittacosis. Rare occurrences of bird to cat to human transmission have also been found.

2 Venereal Tumors

Although humans don’t “catch” cancer from one another, the ability to sexually transmit cancer does occur in the animal kingdom. Mammals are the most vulnerable to venereal tumors. Currently, the number of Tasmanian devils is dwindling due to the rapid rise in venereal tumors that have spread during mating.

Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) has been affecting these creatures for 20 years. It happens when Tasmanian devils bite one another during mating, resulting in cancerous facial tumors which have killed off almost 95 percent of the population since 1996.

As scientists tried to develop a vaccine to combat this, a second strain appeared. These two strains are two of the four transmissible cancers, three of which are transmitted through sexual intercourse in the animal kingdom.

The third venereal tumor is found in dogs, affecting both males and females equally and occurring naturally. Although HPV can lead to cancer in human women if not treated, canine transmissible venereal tumor (aka CTVT or Sticker’s sarcoma) is a cancer that is passed between dogs only. It has not mutated to affect humans or other animals.^[9]

CTVT has developed a way to adapt dogs’ genes to survive in almost a parasitic form. Even though this disease has several mutations, each variation includes the same gene from the original dog that was first infected. CTVT can be treated with chemotherapy.

1 Gonorrhea

Many people have speculated as to how gonorrhea, one of the oldest and most rampant STIs, came to be shared by cows and humans. One of the most prominent and unsettling theories focuses on an interspecies relationship that might be plausible but is more unnerving than anything else.

Due to the nature of gonorrhea, it’s unlikely that humans would have contracted the illness by eating infected meat. Cows aren’t the only animals affected by gonorrhea, either. Sheep, dogs, and even chimpanzees are susceptible to contracting gonorrhea.^[10]

However, with millions of people worldwide diagnosed with gonorrhea each year, understanding the illness is important for developing vaccines. Due to its adaptability and means to cross species, gonorrhea has been a difficult disease to fight.

With more antibiotics fed to sheep, pigs, and cows, the various strains of the disease have also become resistant to vaccines that are being created. Gonorrhea can mutate and adapt, which makes it harder to treat in both humans and animals. In turn, this can create a larger outbreak.

Animals have always been a massive part of medical research. They are most commonly utilized in clinical trials, where we test the effectiveness and safety of new medications before moving on to human trials.^[1]

While animal testing is very crucial to the success of human medications, there are amazing lines of research involving animals in a less traditional sense. Some involve training animals to sniff out diseases, utilizing their body fluids for human treatment, or even using components of otherwise deadly venoms. Whether you are for or against animal testing, the things on this list will be sure to blow your mind!

10 Dogs Smell Cancer

There are many stories out there telling the tale of how a pet owner noticed their dog acting strange around them. Open further examination, they notice a lump or start feeling sick. After going to the doctors, they are diagnosed with cancer and have their dogs to thank for saving their life! But how does the science around this actually work?

It can really be chalked up to one thing: dogs’ amazing sense of smell. In our noses, we have olfactory receptors, which allow us to distinguish odors. The average human has approximately six million of these in their nose, while dogs have a whopping 300 million. This makes their sense of smell a lot more than just superhuman; it allows them to detect the slightest differences in the scents around them. What scent does a pet dog pick up on most often? Their owner, of course. Knowing this, it makes sense to think that dogs can even smell biological changes within us.

How effective is this method in terms of catching cancer early? A study using urine from prostate cancer patients found that dogs had a 91-percent success rate in identifying the cancer.^[2] Maybe sometime in the near future, we’ll see dogs used as a cancer screening method.

9 Animals Improve Symptoms Of Mental Illnesses

You’ve probably heard that animals have positive impacts on depression, but this isn’t the only mental illnesses that animals can improve. To list a few, animals aid in autism, ADHD, and anxiety.^[3]

Animals accomplish this by presenting social opportunities that would not arise otherwise. A good example of this is a depressed pet owner walking their dog. Also, exercise of any kind has been proven time and time again to alleviate symptoms of depression, as does being outside in nature. Pets can help improve sensory perception in autistic individuals and allow people suffering from ADHD to learn what routine is like and handle the responsibility of taking care of a living creature.

What pet owner doesn’t feel better after petting and cuddling their cat, dog, horse, rabbit, or any other pet out there? Knowing that an animal loves you unconditionally is a pretty special feeling and can lessen the mental burden of illnesses like depression and anxiety.

8 Zebrafish And Metabolic Disorders

In the United States, the vast majority of adults are either obese or overweight. In fact, 160 million (including both adults and children) are estimated to be overweight or obese. In an obese person’s body, there is an underproduction of or lack of sensitivity to leptin (a hormone that inhibits hunger and regulates fat stores) and a decrease in the body’s sensitivity to insulin (which regulates fat, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism). This is why obesity is considered a metabolic disorder, as hormones that regulate our metabolic system are being compromised.

Proteins found in zebrafish have been used in clinical trials involving mice that are being fed high-fat diets. Using these proteins as drug injections protected mice from the causes of obesity, explained above as the lack of sensitivity to necessary metabolic hormones.^[4] If this is could be applied to humans, this means that a simple injection could mitigate most of the harm caused by our Westernized diets. The results are remarkable and have opened up a huge area of research for the treatment of metabolic diseases.

7 Brazilian Viper Venom And High Blood Pressure

The venom of Bothrops jararaca, a Brazilian pit viper, can cause you hemorrhage (due to your blood being unable to clot) if you are bitten by it.^[5] This sounds terrifying, and the snake looks pretty terrifying, too. It comes as a huge surprise, then, that the venom of this deadly snake led to the discovery of the method used to treat another of America’s biggest health problems: high blood pressure.

If injecting this venom into you is deadly, how could this possibly be of help to us? The entire process is actually pretty revolutionary. Back in the past, medical researchers looked everywhere for the key to decreasing blood pressure. The Brazilian viper’s venom gave us that key. ACE inhibitors, the current treatment for high blood pressure, were originally developed from a peptide in the venom. These inhibitors block receptors in our body that tell our blood vessels to constrict, causing high blood pressure.

6 Childhood Blindness And Mice

While childhood blindness isn’t as common compared to other illnesses on this list, it is still very unfortunate. Children are born without one of their five main senses, making their life difficult from a young age. Giving sight back to someone who was born blind seems like an impossible miracle, but a linked gene found in mice could make this possible.

A 2006 study dealt with childhood blindness caused by defective genes, meaning that the proper cells that allow us to see aren’t created. This model was recreated in mice by knocking out the same gene that is missing or damaged in blind humans. When using gene transfer to reintroduce a healthy version of that same gene, the mice were able to begin producing the necessary cells for sight.^[6]

5 Giant Pandas’ Antibacterial Blood

Giant pandas look cute and cuddly, and their benefits to humans are proving to be so much more than just their adorable exterior.

Pandas happen to ingest and encounter a lot of types of bacteria in their natural habitats. Due to their constant exposure, their bodies have evolved to produce multiple strains of natural antibiotics. We can derive specific compounds from the panda’s genomes and use them to produce a diverse range of antibiotics that can fight bacteria and fungi.

This is significant because the antibiotics pandas produce have been found to kill certain strains of bacteria six times faster than the antibiotics we currently use.^[7]

4 Cats’ Purring Heals

This one is pretty mind-blowing. There is legitimate medical research that backs up the healing properties of a cat’s purr. If there wasn’t enough reason to own a cat, this should push aspiring cat owners over the edge.

There are a couple frequencies that promote bone growth and healing; they are 25 and 50 hertz.^[8] These low frequencies also happen to be in the range of cat purring, anywhere between 25 to 150 hertz. Scientists hypothesize that the reason cats purr is to promote self-healing, using their own frequencies to help with any internal bone injuries. This would also explain why cats purr when they are under stress or in pain.

The pressing question is whether it really benefits human bones as well. There is no scientific research directly supporting this theory, but many studies have shown that pet owners live longer. If cat purring was a contributing factor to this, that would be pretty amazing.

3 Dolphins Could Make Us Super-Healers

Imagine getting a shark bite and not suffering that much for it. Shark bites may not be lethal the majority of the time, but we still have to go to great lengths to properly heal the wound. Stitches, antibiotics, and other measures need to be taken to ensure that the wound closes and doesn’t get infected.

Large injuries observed on dolphins (presumably caused by sharks) require no special attention at all to heal. Their injuries healed in only weeks, despite the wounds being significant. The dolphins showed no signs of intense pain or discomfort from their injuries, and no permanent damage was dealt to them.^[9]

This strength of healing is unheard-of in any human suffering from an injury of this magnitude. So how do dolphins do it, and how could this benefit us?

Scientists suspect dolphins don’t bleed or get infections due to their “diving reflex,” which diminishes blood flow. Natural antibiotics found in their blubber ensure that no life-threatening infections occur. Similar to the giant panda on this list, we can utilize these antibiotics as well as learn a lot from their amazing healing properties.

2 Hibernating Mammals And Synapse Repair

The human brain uses synapses to pass signals from neuron to neuron. This process is essential for everything we do, from exercising to sleeping. We struggle to repair damaged synapses, this is why neurodegenerative diseases are so dangerous. However, a recent breakthrough allowed us to observe synapses that undergo significant cooling but still function after the cooling is over. Hibernating mammals manage this, though the study in question used artificially cooled mice.

The study was able to link a specific RNA-binding protein (RBM3), which was responsible for restoring the synapses after the severe body cooling.^[10] If this protein is removed, there is a significant reduction in synapse repair. This data supports the necessary presence of RBM3 for synapse and neuron health as well as the possibility of using gene therapy to increase production of RBM3 in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

1 Scorpions And Brain Tumors

Scorpion venom is yet another type of venom that you wouldn’t expect to both help and harm humans. The scorpion in question is Leiurus quinquestriatus, more commonly known as the deathstalker. That name speaks to the nature of this scorpion—it’s pretty deadly. The mix of neurotoxins in its venom is extremely dangerous; get stung by it, and you’ll need to be rushed to the nearest hospital.

Unlike the snake venom mentioned before, the compound utilized comes straight from the scorpion venom, and its name is chlorotoxin. This chemical can target brain tumors originating in the top of the spine and brain.^[11] The discovery of chlorotoxin has justified research into other scorpion toxins, and more testing is needed to see just how effective other species’ venom is.

Operating on tumors within the brain and spine is very risky. One wrong move, and the surgeon can cause irreversible damage. This makes chlorotoxin even more valuable. If we can fight tumors without operating, many risks are alleviated.

The majority of scientists agree that living creatures evolved through natural selection. That is, we dump unfavorable body parts and develop favorable ones. While it is a slow process, it usually leads to the creation of entirely new—and often strange—animals over thousands or millions of years.

Many of these animals had strange features that would have scared the heck out of us and even other animals. Who wouldn’t be scared of a 9-meter-long (30 ft) crocodile? Or a four-legged snake? Thankfully, they have all gone extinct.

10 Thylacoleo carnifex
The Giant Tasmanian Devil

The marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex) is an extinct carnivore that resembles the Tasmanian devil. It just happened to be bigger, more ferocious, and more intimidating with powerful jaws, strong bones, and supersharp jaws and teeth. Researchers have likened it to a “Tasmanian devil on steroids.”

The 91-kilogram (200 lb) marsupial lion would kill today’s lion in a fight. This ancient animal was also a more efficient hunter that was capable of killing large prey within seconds. The lion takes around 15 minutes to kill large animals. However, the marsupial lion was so good at killing large prey that it found it difficult to kill smaller animals.

Although the marsupial lion sounds terrifying, it had one major flaw: Its backbone was not flexible enough to allow it to chase prey. Its forelimbs and collarbone were also excessively strong. The marsupial lion worked around this by pouncing on its prey from trees and other heights.^[1]

9 Tetrapodophis
The Four-Legged Snake

Researchers have discovered the 15-centimeter-long (6 in) fossil of a four-legged snake in Crato Formation in Brazil. They named the snake Tetrapodophis (“four-legged snake”). Researchers believe that Tetrapodophis is one of the missing links between snakes and lizards.

However, some experts don’t think that Tetrapodophis was even a snake. Michael Caldwell of the University of Alberta, Canada, says that Tetrapodophis’s spine and skull do not resemble those of a snake. It could have been a lizard or some other reptile that went extinct.

This could be true because not all legless reptiles that separated from lizards ended up becoming snakes. A good number of them became legless lizards. In fact, researchers believe that only one of the 26 legless reptiles that evolved from lizards became a snake. The rest are legless lizards or weird creatures like the Bipes lizard that has only two front legs and no hind legs.^[2]

8 Dormaalocyon latouri
The Common Ancestor Of Bears, Cats, Lions, Tigers, And Dogs

The small Dormaalocyon latouri was one of the most interesting animals that ever existed. It is the common ancestor of over 280 carnivores including tigers, lions, dogs, seals, bears, and even small cats. This is remarkable because the Dormaalocyon latouri lived in trees and weighed less than 1 kilogram (2 lb).^[3]

Researchers were able to get a closer look at the animal when they unearthed a 55-million-year-old fossil in Dormaal, Belgium. They discovered that Dormaalocyon latouri resembled something that was born when a small cougar mated with a squirrel. It lived in trees from where it pounced on smaller animals and even insects.

However, Dormaalocyon latouri is not the oldest ancestor of carnivorous mammals. We have seen other carnivores like Uintacyon that went extinct a million years before Dormaalocyon latouri. Unfortunately, we do not have much information on Uintacyon.

7 20-Clawed Bat That Hunted During The Day

Most bats use echolocation to hunt at night. Interestingly, this is a modern development. The first bats depended on their eyes to hunt. And they did that during the day.

Researchers made this discovery when they uncovered the 52.5-million-year-old fossil of a bat that was unable to use echolocation. Instead, it hunted during the day and depended on its eyes and other senses to catch its prey. However, scientists could not confirm if the daytime bat had good eyesight to hunt at night because a part of the skull that housed the eye socket of the fossil had been destroyed.

Apart from the obvious lack of parts that would have aided echolocation, the bat was unusual because it had a claw on all five digits of each limb. This earned it the nickname “20-clawed bat.” Nevertheless, the bat was just 10 centimeters (4 in) long, making it the same size as many small bats that use echolocation today.

Researchers have always wondered why bats prefer to hunt at night. So far, the answers are inconclusive. They have suspected that bats became night hunters because birds competed with them for insects or even preyed on them for food. Alternatively, it could be an attempt to escape the heat from the sun because bats overheat when exposed to the sun.

Nevertheless, the discovery of the fossil of the daytime bat proves that bats used to be daytime hunters that depended on their eyesight for hunting. They later turned into night hunters and developed echolocation in place of stronger eyesight.^[4]

6 Xenothrix mcgregori
The Jamaican Sloth Monkey

The Jamaican sloth monkeys (Xenothrix mcgregori) were regular South American monkeys until they migrated to Jamaica 10 million years ago. Historians are unsure as to how the animals got to Jamaica but suspect that they hitched rides on rafts formed by fallen trees.

Nevertheless, the monkeys colonized their new home where they slowly turned into sloth-like animals. They became slower than other monkeys and spent most of their time hanging from trees like sloths.

Researchers attribute this to two reasons. First, the Jamaican plains were filled with so much food that the monkeys spent most of their time eating and just hanging around. There was also a shortage of predators, which meant that the monkeys did not do much running around, either.

As a result, they became lazier and less active, which turned them into sloth-like animals. The molars they used for chewing also got bigger. Interestingly, they went extinct 900 years ago. Their closest living relatives are the titi monkeys that live in South America.^[5]

5 Aethiocarenus burmanicus
The Unicorn Fly

Aethiocarenus burmanicus was the unicorn of the fly world. Just like a unicorn, it had a single horn protruding from its head. Unlike the unicorn and every other horned animal that ever existed, it had three eyes on top of its horn. Researchers say that the insect grew the third eye to see incoming predators.

Researchers got a closer look at the fly when they discovered a fossil that was 97–110 million years old and trapped in amber in Myanmar. They discovered that it fed on pollen and nectar. Besides the weird horn, it also had a weird antenna, longer legs than it needed, and unusually small mandibles that could not allow it to chew bigger meals.

The features that made Aethiocarenus burmanicus unique were the same ones that caused its extinction. The horn and eyes quickly became a burden when the smaller flowers on which it fed became bigger. The eyes could not allow it to feed properly, causing its extinction.^[6]

4 Linguamyrmex vladi
The Ant With A Metal Horn

Linguamyrmex vladi (aka “hell ant”) refers to an ancient devil of the insect world. It had a metal horn in place of a mouth. The hell ant used the horn to impale its victim before possibly proceeding to suck its blood. This is why it is also called the “vampire ant” and the “unicorn ant.”^[7]

Researchers are unsure as to how the horn worked. They suspect that it operated like the mouth of trap-jaw ants that will shut the moment the hairs in the mouth are disturbed. They also theorize that the ant sucked the hemolymph (the equivalent of blood in insects) with the horn. Thankfully for other insects, the ant went extinct a long time ago.

3 Mammuthus creticus
The Tiny Mammoth

Mammuthus creticus was a tiny mammoth native to Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. the creature was barely 1 meter (3.3 ft) tall, making it the same size as a baby elephant. In fact, the tiny mammoth’s first fossil was erroneously classified as a baby elephant but was reclassified as a mammoth after the analysis of another fossil.

That other fossil belonged to a mammoth that was a mere 1.13 meters (3.71 ft) tall and weighed about 310 kilograms (683 lb). Researchers initially thought that it also belonged to a baby elephant until they realized that the tusk was curvier and the body was too big for a baby elephant.

Mammuthus creticus was a victim of island dwarfism, which occurs when animals stuck on islands evolve to become smaller. This could be nature’s way of adjusting to the limited resources on the island or to the lack of a predator. It has been observed in several animals including elephants, deer, hippopotamuses, and even an extinct species of humans called Homo floresiensis.^[8]

2 Atopodentatus unicus
The Hammerhead Reptile

Atopodentatus unicus was described after its fossil was discovered in southern China in 2014. It was named after its bizarre snout, which means “unique strangely toothed” in Latin.

This creature was the size of a crocodile. Instead of the crocodile’s signature V-snout, however, Atopodentatus unicus had a hammerhead snout—just like the hammerhead shark. However, Atopodentatus unicus did not use its snout to tear flesh apart like the hammerhead shark. Instead, this reptile used its snout to uproot plants from the seafloor.

Scientists discovered that Atopodentatus unicus had two sets of teeth.^[9] It had peg-like teeth at the edge of its mouth and needlelike ones deep inside its mouth. The peg-like teeth were used to uproot plants from the seafloor. Meanwhile, the needlelike chompers were used as a sieve that trapped plants while allowing the water to flow back into the sea.

1 The Strange Ancient Crocodiles Of The Sahara

One hundred million years ago, the Sahara was a dense jungle filled with some strange creatures including several species of extinct crocodiles. Researchers have uncovered some of them, and they are downright weird.

One is the 6-meter-long (20 ft) Kaprosuchus saharicus (aka “BoarCroc”) which has its legs under its body and not on its side like modern crocodiles. BoarCroc also had an armored mouth filled with daggerlike teeth. It was nicknamed the “BoarCroc” because its snout resembled that of a boar.

Other extinct species of crocodiles included Araripesuchus rattoides (aka “RatCroc”), Araripesuchus wegeneri (aka “DogCroc”), and Anatosuchus minor (aka “DuckCroc”). RatCroc and DogCroc fed on plants.

DogCroc also had a doglike snout, while DuckCroc had one-half of its snout longer than the other half. RatCroc had two buckteeth that it used for digging.

The weirdest species was the 6-meter-long (20 ft) Laganosuchus thaumastos that was called “PancakeCroc” because of its unusually flat, 1-meter-long (3 ft), pancake-like head. Researchers believe that the crocodile just rested with its mouth open while patiently awaiting unsuspecting prey.^[10]

We have attempted to domesticate certain animals and failed. This happens for several reasons. Most of the time, it is because some animals are so wary of humans that the creatures will flee at first sight. Others are just too aggressive to be domesticated, which may lead to attacks on and even the death of the breeder.

Another distinct category of animals is classified as tamed but not domesticated. In these cases, the animal has been bred to tolerate and maybe obey humans, but it is not safe enough to be classified as a domestic animal. Tamed animals still have their wild instincts and can quickly turn rogue.

10 Zebras

Colonists encountered transportation problems as they moved deeper into Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. Their horses were susceptible to different diseases, and bringing new horses from Europe was not always that easy.

To solve this problem, they turned to the zebra, a close relative of horses and donkeys that is plentiful in the African plains. Zebras are also immune to several diseases that affected horses. However, all attempts to domesticate the zebra failed.

The zebra is a very alert and aggressive animal. It is naturally suspicious of other animals, including humans, and will flee at the slightest hint of danger. It is a fast runner, making it extremely difficult to capture. If caught, it will deliver heavy kicks and bites in an attempt to escape.^[1]

Although the colonists managed to get some zebras, they quickly realized that these animals are smaller than horses and uncomfortable to ride. Besides, zebras do not like to be ridden and will become aggressive after a while—even after they have been tamed.

The aggressive nature of the zebra has been traced to its evolution. It shares its habitat with predators like lions, crocodiles, hyenas, leopards, and man. This was a major issue with the colonists, who feared that these predators would be attracted to their domesticated zebras.

9 Great White Sharks

A series of attempts to tame or domesticate the great white shark have failed because captured great whites will usually die within days. The first great white held in captivity died within hours. The longest this animal has been held in captivity is 16 days.

Captured great white sharks are also fond of hitting their heads on the aquarium’s glass walls. One shark held at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan continued bashing its head on the glass wall until it died. Another one held at California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium hit her head on the wall continuously and attacked two other sharks until she was freed.

Great white sharks don’t fare well in captivity for several reasons. First, they are great travelers, capable of moving through an entire ocean. They also need lots of water to breathe. So, even large aquariums are too small for them.

Captured sharks are also unbelievably aggressive and will usually refuse to eat. When they do, they require live prey, which is difficult for the aquariums to provide.^[2]

8 Dingoes

Dingoes are doglike animals that live in Australia. Despite their similarities to dogs, they are not considered dogs and are not domesticated. Australian farmers even consider them as pests. Interestingly, it seems like we partly domesticated the dingo thousands of years ago before allowing them to return to the wild.

There is a little difference in the way we domesticated dogs and dingoes. Although dogs are considered companions, early native Australians—who probably domesticated the dingoes—considered them a source of food. Besides, native Australians did not selectively breed the animals for their favorable characteristics.^[3]

7 Moose

A few centuries ago when horse cavalries were still a thing, King Karl XI of Sweden decided that he wanted a more ferocious animal to replace his horses. An animal that would send the horses of the enemies fleeing the battlefield at first sight. He settled on the moose.

Unfortunately for the king, the plan never worked out. As he later found out, the moose was too dangerous to approach. This worsened during mating season when it got uncontrollably aggressive. Besides, the moose is susceptible to disease and has a varied diet that is difficult to provide.

Moose are also smart creatures and will usually avoid the war front. When they did go near the battlefield, they fled the moment another moose was killed. Other attempts to use them as meat were unsuccessful. They would refuse to go to the slaughterhouse when they realized that the moose taken there earlier did not return.

Despite these challenges, there is an ongoing moose domestication project at Kostroma elk farm in Kostroma, Russia. The project started in the 1930s when Joseph Stalin decided to set up a moose cavalry. Like King Karl XI’s plan, Stalin’s project failed. But Nikita Khrushchev revived it when he attempted to domesticate moose for meat. This also failed, and several moose farms shut down.^[4]

However, the Kostroma elk farm remained functional and is still trying to domesticate the moose. Primarily, the facility is used for the production of moose’s milk now.

6 Raccoons

Raccoons are a good candidate for domestication. They are skilled climbers and can enter tight spaces, making them an excellent working animal. If domesticated, they would be useful for senior citizens and the physically challenged. However, they cannot be used as working animals because they have not been domesticated.

Despite their cute looks, raccoons are aggressive and destructive. They are naturally curious, like moving around, and quickly become destructive when confined to an area. They usually need to be constantly monitored and bite when hungry or angry. Bites can turn fatal because they can infect humans with rabies.

As raccoons can use their hands like humans, they will usually attempt to open anything they lay their hands on. They are also experts at escaping. In fact, this is a major reason why domestication attempts have failed. Besides, they like being alone, are not social animals, and are not loyal to humans.^[5]

5 Foxes

We once fully domesticated foxes. However, they died off and modern attempts to domesticate them again have been partly successful.

In a bit of irony, the extinct fox we domesticated was called the Fuegian or Yaghan dog. It was domesticated from wild populations of the culpeo (aka the Andean fox). Curiously, the Fuegian dog was not really popular during its time. This was probably because it was not as useful as a regular dog.

There is also evidence that we tried to domesticate foxes long before the Fuegian dog, but we dumped them for cats. Cats were selected over foxes because we could not determine what to use the foxes for.

Foxes are difficult to domesticate because of their unbelievable stubbornness. Russian geneticist Dmitry K. Belyaev sought to change this in the 1950s when he started a project to domesticate the silver-black foxes. Silver-black foxes are actually red foxes affected with melanism, which is the opposite of albinism and makes affected animals appear black.^[6]

Four generations later, the foxes were displaying doglike behaviors. They developed a fondness for people, wagged their tails, and licked their breeders. Fifty generations later, they are barking, respond to humans, and understand gestures. They also make noises that are distinct from wild foxes.

The project is ongoing and is considered successful. However, the foxes are tamed but not domesticated.

4 Elephants

Asian elephants are not considered domestic animals even though they have been captured and trained for over 3,000 years. Rather, they are classified as tamed or wild animals. Captured and trained Asian elephants are not considered domestic animals because they are not selectively bred.

“Selective breeding” means that humans will select the offspring to breed based on certain favorable traits. To be domesticated, they would need to be selectively bred for up to 12 generations. By the 12th generation, they should be genetically distinct from their wild ancestors and would be considered domestic.

In general, captured Asian elephants are not selectively bred. (Only a few were selectively bred past the second generation.) This makes them wild animals. They only allow humans to ride them because they have been trained. Nevertheless, they are just like any wild animal, which makes them unpredictable.^[7]

3 Bonobos

Bonobos are unique on this list because they are not wild animals. They are domestic animals even though they were not domesticated by humans. Bonobos domesticated themselves.

Scientists are not sure how this happened. But they think it began to occur about two million years ago when the Congo River formed in Africa. This event separated the ancestors of the bonobos and the chimpanzees that lived there. The primates to the north of the river evolved to become bigger and more aggressive because they competed with the bigger gorillas for food.

On the other side of the river were the primates that would become the bonobos. They had more than enough food to eat, and there were no gorillas, either. Their females became picky and decided which males they wanted to mate with. Aggressive males died out because the females preferred gentler males.^[8]

2 Hippopotamuses

Humans have wisely stayed away from the hippopotamus, one of the world’s deadliest animals. More people are killed by hippos every year than lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo, and rhinoceroses combined.

Obviously, any meeting between a human and a hippo will most likely end up badly for the human. Hippopotamuses have large teeth and are unbelievably fast. Hippos can run up to 48 kilometers per hour (30 mph) despite their massive weight. Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, barely reaches 45 kilometers per hour (28 mph).

Nevertheless, there have been independent attempts to domesticate the hippo. As expected, those efforts ended badly. In 2011, Marius Els, a South African farmer and army officer, was killed by a 1.2-ton, five-year-old hippo he was trying to domesticate.^[9]

Els called the hippo Humphrey and considered it a pet. He often took Humphrey swimming and once rode on it, saying that the animal was “like a son” to him. Humphrey did not consider Els as a father because it killed him in the same river in which they used to swim.

Before killing Els, Humphrey was already a known local terror in the area in which they lived. The hippo once chased a man and his grandson up a tree after they canoed on the river that ran through Els’s farm. Humphrey was also infamous for killing calves and chasing golfers at a nearby golf course.

1 Coyotes

All attempts to domesticate the coyote have failed because they naturally avoid humans. Human breeders are also wary of these animals because they can be infected with dangerous diseases like rabies and tularemia.

However, some breeders have braved these risks and tried to domesticate the coyote. One common method is to crossbreed a male coyote with a female dog. While the resultant hybrid is less aggressive toward humans, it is not a true coyote.

Another method is to take young wild coyotes from their mothers and train them into adulthood. Wild coyotes become less wary of humans after about three generations, but they are not domestic animals. In fact, several attempts to domesticate a coyote have ended with the coyote attacking the breeder.^[10]

This happens because a coyote close to humans could begin to consider a human as prey and will look for the best time to attack. Interestingly, coyotes are slowly becoming domesticated. This is happening naturally, the same way it probably did with bonobos.

In the past, bizarre and quirky animal sideshows were part of everyday life. You could expect to witness dead whales showcased in car parks, have your mind read by learned pigs (supposedly!), and participate in octopus wrestling. Today, we have fun attractions like the Moscow Cat Theater or bee bearding. But can anything today top the weird and fascinating attractions of bygone days?

10 Lion Drome

In the 1930s, motordromes turned into extremely interesting (and often dangerous) places. Some motorbike stunt riders trained their pet lions to sit in specially built sidecars and then raced madly with the animals by their side. This racing was done at 130 kilometers per hour (80 mph) around the almost perpendicular wall of the motordrome track known as the “Wall of Death!”

Believe it or not, sometimes this mad activity was not exciting enough for the participants and spectators. In those cases, an additional element of thrill, known as the “Race For Life,” was introduced. Trained lions were deliberately released and would charge after the zooming motorcycles trying to swat them with their huge paws.

The last lion drome closed in 1964 when a drunken carnival worker placed his hand inside a lion cage and had it bitten off by a male lion named King.

9 Learned Pigs

In the 18th and 19th centuries, “learned pigs” were a popular type of entertainment and attracted huge numbers of curious spectators in both England and the US.

The owners taught their “learned pigs” a number of impressive tricks, such as spelling and counting with cards, telling the time of day, distinguishing the sexes, and supposedly even reading the thoughts of members of the audience. Through fees and wagers, the owners made quite an income. But it was well deserved since training a pig could take up to two years.

Many published works concerning the training of pigs have exposed the tricks used by the pig trainers. For example, the pig was encouraged to move in a specific direction by stick-prodding and was taught to retrieve cards that were scented with food.

8 Flea Circus

The “flea circus,” otherwise known as the “smallest circus in the world,” was a popular Victorian sideshow attraction. The fleas were dressed in miniature costumes and could be seen performing various circus stunts such as tightrope walking, racing, juggling, and pulling miniature carts.

Flea circuses took place in a ring that was the size of a dinner plate. It was surrounded by small boxes that served as the houses of the performers and the stables for their carriages. The audience consisted of one person with a magnifying glass and the proprietor who stood nearby, armed with a pair of pincers in case any of his fleas misbehaved.

It was thought that circus fleas were of remarkable intelligence, but training them was no easy feat. However, recent reports suggest that these fleas were most likely “mole fleas,” a less energetic variety of the insect. Mole fleas were harnessed with a thin piece of gold wire and stimulated into movement with a heat lamp.

7 Geek Show

In the early 20th century, “geeks” were circus “freaks” whose specialty was biting off the heads of animals (usually those of chickens or snakes) and drinking their blood. Geek shows often inspired the fear that normal people in the audience could also become freaks because geeks were ordinary people otherwise. Geeks were mostly men, although the few women geeks were especially prized because it was uncommon for women to be part of such a violent act.

Geeks frequently suffered from broken teeth and jaws, and the constant interaction with animals in close proximity meant that geeks often suffered from animal-related sicknesses. Geeks were also paid the lowest wages because they could be replaced easily.

6 Bear Wrestling

In the early 1900s, bear wrestling was a popular sport that attracted large crowds of people, particularly throughout the southern United States. Often, the bear wrestled with a specific wrestler, usually his owner and trainer. Together, they perfected a choreographed match that they took on the road for everyone to see.

Other times, the bear was trained to wrestle with a different person who would play the coward and lose the match to the bear. Still other times, audience members were invited to wrestle the magnificent beast. If the audience member succeeded, he received a cash prize. Of course, most wrestling bears were declawed and detoothed.

5 Diving Horse

A “diving horse,” a popular attraction in the mid-1880s, consisted of a horse diving into a pool of water, sometimes from as high as 20 meters (60 ft). William “Doc” Carver came up with this idea when he crossed a bridge which partially collapsed and his horse fell into the water below.

Following World War II, the popularity of the diving horse act declined due to criticism from animal welfare activists. Sometimes, the horses were forced to dive four times a day, seven times a week. The owners of the shows were also accused of using electrical jolts and trapdoors to force the unwilling horses to dive.

4 Octopus Wrestling

Octopus wrestling was a curious sport that was popular in the Puget Sound in Washington in the 1950s and 1960s. The World Octopus Wrestling Championship took place there in 1963 with 111 divers taking part in the match.

The sport involved divers wrangling octopuses to the surface of the water and receiving points on the final weight of the octopuses wrestled and the amount of equipment used (snorkels versus breathing tanks). Octopus wrestling was not really “wrestling,” however. Divers simply stuck their hands into the ocean caverns and groped for the heads of the octopuses.

Then the diver would pull on the octopus until the suction created by its tentacles was released, allowing the diver to bring the octopus to the surface. Giant Pacific octopuses are timid creatures, so most cases of provocation ended with the octopus giving in or fleeing.

3 Ferret-Legging

“Ferret-legging” was a game that consisted of participants shoving live ferrets down their pants. The pants had to be tied at the ankle so that the ferret could not escape. They also had to be spacious enough to allow the ferret to move about freely, and no underwear was allowed. The ferret had to have all of its teeth and claws intact, and neither the ferret nor the participant could be drugged. The winner of the game was the person who could stand the pain from the ferret’s teeth and claws the longest.

In the past, hunters sent muzzled ferrets into the burrows of rabbits and moles to scare them out. However, ferreting became illegal during the Middle Ages, and hunters began hiding ferrets in their pants to get past game wardens. Eventually, ferret-legging became a sport practiced widely in the United Kingdom, especially among Yorkshire miners in the 1970s.

2 Dead Whales

Throughout the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, tours showcasing dead whales were a popular attraction that lured thousands of people in the United Kingdom and the United States. The three main preserved whales in the UK were named Goliath, Jonah, and Hercules and were displayed in car parks and large grassy areas such as racecourses.

For an entrance fee, the curious spectators could view the whale and various instruments of death such as the harpoon and other whaling tools. The whales were originally caught off the coast of Norway and driven around Europe to promote the whaling industry after World War II. They were eventually sold to showmen who realized their financial potential. The whales were then preserved and scooped out, and their insides were decorated with lanterns.

1 Goat Throwing

On the fourth Sunday in January, goat throwing used to take place in the Spanish village of Manganeses de la Polvorosa in honor of Saint Vincent, the town’s patron saint. The tradition was to carry a live goat to the top of a 15-meter (50 ft) church tower and throw it to the crowd below, who would then catch the goat with a canvas sheet.

According to local legend, a priest once had a special goat that could feed all the poor in the village with its milk. One day, the goat accidentally climbed atop the church tower and was so frightened by the church bells ringing for Sunday mass that it fell onto the street below.

Amazingly, the goat was caught in a blanket and survived. Thus, the tradition of goat throwing was meant to represent the miraculous survival. Nowadays, the tradition is no longer practiced due to complaints from animal rights activists. As one can imagine, the villagers complained extensively. Supposedly, the mayor of the town also said that having a fiesta without goat throwing is like having Christmas without a Christmas tree.

Laura is a student from Ireland in love with books, writing, coffee, and cats.

As Mufasa from The Lion King so rightfully stated, we are all a part of the circle of life. The planet, the ecosystems, and all the plants and animals on Earth are connected on a deep level. In many ways, the survival and existence of one species often depends on the survival of many others.

But we’re not just talking about the animal kingdom here. Human beings are no exception. With the severe impacts of climate change and man-made catastrophes such as deforestation and pollution, humans have become increasingly disconnected from nature. So it’s time to take a step back and look at 10 animals on which we rely for our survival.

10 Bees

Those little creatures that are best-known for so craftily making delicious honey actually play a more vital role in the Earth’s functions than you may think. Across the globe, these hardworking little insects transport pollen from flower to flower on their daily routes.^[1]

Pollination is vital as it’s basically what makes most of the plant life on the planet grow. A life without plants, flowers, trees, and fruits would occur without bees doing their handiwork. Unfortunately, the population of bees has fallen by up to 80 percent in certain parts of the world due to human interaction, climate change, disease, and pesticide usage.

9 Plankton

Yes, those microscopic algae, bacteria, and living creatures that are too small to swim against the current play a vital role in our existence. Despite their minuscule size, plankton sustain billions of marine animals by providing food to creatures even as big as the blue whale.

With over 50,000 different plankton species in the light zone of the ocean, they are even visible from space. These little creatures not only feed fish, whales, dolphins, and seabirds, they also provide us with arguably the most pivotal role of all: They’re the reason we can all breathe.

Phytoplankton absorb energy from the Sun and nutrients from the water, the two ingredients needed for photosynthesis. Plankton photosynthesis is responsible for half the world’s oxygen, with the other half coming from photosynthesis on land by trees and other plants.^[2]

8 Ants

So far, humans have discovered over 12,000 species of ants across the world and chances are that you can find them in abundance in almost every ecosystem. These nifty little creatures help to create and maintain healthy soil conditions for plants (aka our food) to grow.^[3]

This crucial activity happens when ants dig into the dirt, building tunnels and aerating the soil as they go. In turn, this aids in decomposition by recycling the nutrients present in the soil.

7 Bats

Yes, these creatures can be somewhat scary. But contrary to popular belief, these vampire-like animals do more good than harm. With over 1,200 species of bats, they are the second-largest order of mammals on the planet. In fact, one in five mammals is a bat.

They’re also the only ones that can fly. As such, they do a great job of performing insect control all around the globe. Bats consume millions of pest insects, meaning that we don’t even have the discomfort of dealing with them.

In numerous countries, mosquitoes carry dangerous and sometimes deadly diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Bats can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes an hour. In many countries, however, bats are currently facing the loss of habitat through deforestation and other human actions.^[4]

6 Frogs

If only there were some kind of creature that could reliably and effectively indicate the health of various ecosystems and serve as a warning sign for humans to take action. Oh yeah, frogs can do that.

They serve as bio-indicators because their skin absorbs substances in their surrounding habitat.^[5] Consequently, any changes to their skin will indicate contamination or other issues present in the area. Frogs can exist in water as well as on land, meaning that these miraculous animals will be the first to react to any hazards.

5 Fungi

We know you’re all thinking about the mold growing around the house or those not-so-nice foot fungal infections. With over 144,000 known species of organisms in the kingdom Fungi, it was fungi that allowed plants to obtain the nutrients and water from the soil around them.^[6]

Despite popular beliefs, plants do not directly absorb these essential components of life into their roots. Instead, they have the wondrous fungi gather and deliver them from the surrounding soil.

As their second vital function, fungi are also the main nutrient recyclers in nature. They do this with the remnants of dead plants and animals by decomposing them and returning the nutrients to nature to be used again.

4 Fish

Recent research has given light to something you probably did not know. According to researchers at the University of Exeter, fish can help to reduce the impacts of climate change with their excrement.

Yep, fish excrement can significantly reduce the acidity of oceans. In maintaining an ocean’s delicate pH balance, fish excrement floats to the surface of the water and then ultimately dissolves. When this process happens, it forms carbon dioxide which then helps to create acidity in the ocean.

There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about the pressing issue of overfishing. According to National Geographic, 31 percent of the world’s fish populations are overfished and another 58 percent are fished at the maximum sustainable level.^[7] With seven billion people demanding more fish on their plates, these sea creatures soon won’t be able to reproduce as fast as they are in demand.

3 Worms

How many of you had worm farms growing up? Well, if you did, you may have been onto something. Those wriggly, slimy, little underground creatures can actually help dramatically reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. Rather than putting waste straight into the garbage disposal, people have started to return to worm composting systems.

This practice of decomposition by worms can aid in cutting down green matter and the sheer amount of waste generated in everyday households. In addition, using a worm composting system can create a wonderful fertilizer for your garden and other plants.^[8]

2 Primates Other Than Humans

These cute creatures aren’t just a wonderful economic earner from tourism ventures or our closest biological link. With over 300 different species in the world, primates provide an important role in maintaining tropical and subtropical forests.

Primates’ dung droppings plant the seeds for the trees of tomorrow and keep these forests growing and healthy. Without such ecosystems, we would be without a permanent source of carbon. Tropical rain forests also influence global rainfall patterns. If there are fewer trees in these rain forests, less moisture goes into the atmosphere, rainfall is reduced, and water supplies decline.^[9]

1 Birds

Although all the previously mentioned animals are masters of their own trades, birds seem to dabble a little bit in everything, making them quite important to our world. Included in their broad variety of ecological roles, birds perform insect control, forest decomposition, nutrient recycling, pollination and seed sowing, and soil aeration.^[10]

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Just like human babies, animals are keen to taste everything. After all, how can you know that a car tire is not your favorite snack unless you give it a shot? And with the constant growth of the human population, most animals are bound to encounter people or their belongings at some point.

Despite being unable to digest their snacks, some animals really develop a taste for inedible objects. In fact, certain animals consume so many inedible objects during their lifetime that they are believed to seek the items on purpose.

It should be no surprise that one of the most common duties for veterinarians is helping animals that have consumed something they cannot digest. Just about everything easy to reach and small enough for an animal to swallow has been found within the stomachs of various creatures. These are some of the most interesting examples.

10 Goose

In Illinois in 2017, a woman brought her six-month-old pilgrim goose to a local veterinarian. The woman explained that she always wore a cross-shaped necklace around her neck. But the necklace had attracted some unexpected attention while she was cleaning the barn.

Turns out that the sparkly cross was too intriguing for the goose to ignore. As the owner bent over to pick up something, the goose quickly snapped at the necklace—breaking it and swallowing the cross in the process.

After an X-ray was taken, the emergency that was nicknamed “The Holy Goose” was resolved by using an endoscope to retrieve the cross.^[1]

9 Whale

Due to the enormous size of whales and their proportionally massive mouths, swallowing something unintentionally is quite common for them. In 2010, marine mammal researchers found an unusually large amount of man-made debris in the stomach of one gray whale.

The 11-meter-long (37 ft) whale washed ashore in West Seattle. Its stomach contained more than 20 plastic bags, surgical gloves, duct tape, a golf ball, small towels, sweatpants, and various pieces of plastic.

Despite the abundance of debris, it only made up 1–2 percent of the total stomach contents. The rest was mostly algae. The whale’s death was likely unrelated to the inedible objects, but they indicated that the whale tried to feed in urban waterways.

John Calambokidis from the Cascadia Research Collective noted: “It’s not a very good testament to our stewardship of the marine environment.” The whale also had cuts on its head, which could have been caused by a boat propeller.

According to Cascadia:

Gray whales are filter feeders that typically feed on the bottom and suck in sediment in shallow waters and filter the contents to strain out the small organisms that live there. While debris has been found in the stomachs of some previous gray whales found dead in Puget Sound, this appeared to be a larger quantity than had ever been found previously.^[2]

8 Elephant

Jumbo the elephant was born in the 1860s on the border of modern-day Ethiopia and Sudan. The name “Jumbo” comes from the Swahili jumbe (“chief”). Tribesmen captured and sold the young elephant to an Italian animal dealer after slaughtering his mother for tusks.

At the time, most of the elephants seen in Europe and the US came from India. As an African elephant, Jumbo was significantly larger in comparison. This became his main selling point. Millions gathered to see the gigantic elephant when he arrived at the London Zoo. Thousands of children took turns riding the elephant. Even the children of Queen Victoria and a young Winston Churchill became fans of Jumbo.

However, by age 21, the famous elephant started having dangerous temper tantrums. Nobody quite understood what caused the issue, and the zoo could not risk the elephant harming anyone. Recent research with the latest technology reveals that Jumbo may have suffered an intense toothache from a monotonous diet.

When the Barnum & Bailey circus in America offered £2,000 for Jumbo—a huge sum at the time—the London Zoo was eager to accept. The purchase price was quickly recouped when roughly 20 million visitors came to view Jumbo in the US in the subsequent years until his death in 1885. The elephant died at age 24, tragically young for a member of a breed that can reach age 70 in the wild.

Taxidermist Carl Akeley made an interesting discovery while working to preserve the elephant’s skeleton and skin. Jumbo’s stomach contained 300 coins, a police whistle, and a bunch of keys. The coins were likely ride payments which the elephant had scooped up and swallowed.

The elephant’s skeleton, which weighed more than six tons and stood 4 meters (13 ft) tall, is held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Jumbo inspired a Hollywood film, Walt Disney’s 1941 Dumbo, and has become a descriptive term for jumbo shrimp, jumbo eggs, and the jumbo popcorn bucket.^[3]

7 Shark

Sharks are willing to take a bite out of anything they come across. This is especially true for tiger sharks, frequently referred to as the “trash cans of the ocean.” License plates, bottles, money, musical instruments, and even car tires have been found within their stomachs.

However, one of the most interesting objects ever found in a shark’s stomach came from a great white shark. The object was apparently found by French physician Guillaume Rondelet, who described more than 440 species of aquatic animals.

In 1554, he described the great white shark along with a story of one specimen that was found to have an entire suit of steel armor in its belly. Scientists are unsure how the “sea dog” managed to swallow the full set of armor. But thanks to Rondelet’s reputation in the scientific community, the story is believed to be true.

Animal classification according to their evolutionary relationships is a fairly recent development. Previously, animals were given scientific names based on the whim of the classifier. Before Darwin, it was assumed that all animals were divinely created and naming sharks “sea dogs” was acceptable.

Rondelet is considered to be the father of modern ichthyology as he was the first to describe marine animals with clearly defined anatomical principles. As he lived before Linnaeus, Rondelet did not use the Linnaean classification system.

Instead, Rondelet decided to name the great white shark Canis carcharias even though Canis was not the genus of the shark and carcharias was not the species. As Rondelet was the first to describe the animal, his chosen scientific name stuck around for centuries.

Linnaeus dropped the reference to dogs by naming the great white shark Squalus carcharias. Rondelet’s made-up name finally stopped being favored by the end of the 19th century. Today, the scientific name for the great white shark is Carcharodon carcharias.^[4]

6 Snake

Most people see snakes as nothing more than pests. Although the average individual might put himself in danger to rescue a cute and fluffy mammal, he would likely kill a snake or avoid it entirely.

One snake was lucky enough to receive help instead of a death sentence from a farmer. In 2014, a fully grown cat snake slithered into a hen coop in Uttara Kannada district in India.

The hungry reptile was looking for a hen or an egg to swallow and went for the first available target—a light bulb. After its long stay in the hen coop, the bulb smelled like birds and was probably mistaken for an egg. With the bulb wedged in its belly, the snake became immobile. It hid in a corner for the next two days.

The farmer realized that something weird was going on when chickens were hesitant to get back into the hen coop. He discovered the curled-up cat snake after a thorough inspection and immediately called local snake rescuers.

After realizing that the snake had swallowed a light bulb, rescuers spent four hours carefully pushing the bulb out. If the bulb had broken inside, the snake would have suffered internal injuries. Every time the snake became aggressive, the rescuers had to stop and let it calm down.^[5]

The snake was kept in captivity for the next two days to ensure its well-being. It was released back into the wild later.

5 Turtle

A green sea turtle in Thailand was affectionately called “Om Sin” (“Piggy Bank”) when vets removed 915 coins from her stomach and intestines. She had been eating coins that tourists threw into her pond for good luck.

It took four hours of surgery for the veterinarians to remove around 5 kilograms (11 lbs) of local and foreign currency. Vets from the Chulalongkorn University team could not imagine how the turtle even swallowed so many coins.

The vets had to anesthetize the 25-year-old turtle and cut her shell to operate on her stomach. “If we didn’t operate on her, then she wouldn’t have been able to eat or defecate and would have soon died,” said veterinarian Nantarika Chansue.

Although Om Sin was swimming and eating normally for a week, she died two weeks after the surgery. Vets stated that she was recovering well, and they planned to return her to the pond. Unfortunately, the turtle was found breathing too slowly and was taken into intensive care with a serious intestinal infection.^[6]

The turtle slipped into a coma and died the next day. Facebook updates of the situation received thousands of shares among the people of Thailand, who see turtles as symbols of longevity.

4 Ostrich

Ostriches mainly feed on grass, seeds, shrubs, insects, flowers, and fruits. And that is exactly what you would expect to find in the stomach of a dead ostrich. However, when one ostrich at London Zoo suddenly died around 1930, a postmortem examination revealed a surprising array of inedible objects.

The bizarre find compelled a photographer working at the London Zoo to take a picture and list the contents on the back of the photo. The ostrich had swallowed three handkerchiefs, a piece of a pencil, three cotton gloves, part of a bicycle valve, part of a metal comb, an alarm clock key, 1.8 meters (6 ft) of string, the wooden center of a spool, seven coins, several small pieces of metal, one piece of wood, and a 10-centimeter (4 in) nail.

Some argue that the great number of swallowed objects is a sad consequence of the bird’s urban existence, but there is another explanation. Ostriches have no teeth and ingest stones to help masticate their food in the gizzard. The bird likely swallowed the objects to help digest food. Sadly, swallowing the nail proved fatal, causing death by perforation.^[7]

3 Cod

Bjorn Frilund, a 64-year-old Norwegian man with a fishing hobby, found something highly unusual in one of the fish he caught. While gutting a large cod, he felt a big lump in its belly. At first, he found two semi-digested herrings. But the lump remained, and a further search revealed a hefty orange vibrator.

Although Frilund had a lot of fishing experience in the waters of his hometown of Eidsbygda, he had never heard of a fish swallowing a sex toy. The fisherman believes that the cod, weighing over 5 kilograms (11 lbs), mistook the vibrator for an octopus. Frilund said:

It was totally unexpected. I had never seen anything like this before. Fish eat all kinds of different things, and the dildo looks like what the fish eat. We have a kind of multicolored octopus in Norway. Maybe the cod thought this was one of these and ate it.^[8]

It is amazing that such an unlikely object was even there for the fish to swallow. Frilund speculated that it may have been thrown off a cruise ship and that his chances of winning the lottery are probably greater than the chances of catching a fish that has swallowed a sex toy.

2 Dog

Due to their close proximity to humans, dogs are primary candidates for inedible object consumption. They are by far the most likely animals to end up in a veterinarian’s office because of something they ate. Almost every common household object that can fit in a dog’s mouth has been found inside a dog.

In the year 2000, a six-month-old collie-Staffordshire Bull Terrier achieved something truly bewildering. The 45.7-centimeter-long (18 in) dog named Kyle swallowed a 38.1-centimeter-long (15 in) bread knife.

Kyle was taken to a vet in Leeds, UK, when he started vomiting. Amazingly, there was no sign of a foreign body according to the veterinary officer Dr. Ann Draper. It took an hour to remove the knife.

“It was only when it didn’t settle down that we decided to do an X-ray,” Draper explained. “The knife could have cut his internal organs to shreds at any time, and it’s a miracle he survived.”^[9]

This bizarre incident even resulted in a Guinness World Record for the longest solid object swallowed by a dog. After minor post-procedure swelling, the fortunate dog returned to living a normal life at home.

1 Squid

In 2013, a 0.9-meter-long (3 ft) squid was caught near Guangdong province and brought to the Jiaoling county fish market. A fishmonger was gutting the squid for a customer when his knife hit a 20-centimeter-long (8 in) live bomb.

The fishmonger, Mr. Huang, quickly notified the authorities about his surprising discovery. Police suggested that the aubergine-shaped bomb weighing around 1.4 kilograms (3 lbs) might have been dropped by a fighter jet.

Despite the explosive’s age and rusty exterior, it was still active and could have detonated. Police took the bomb to a safe location and performed a controlled explosion.

“This sort of squid lives close to the shore and normally makes a meal of small fish and prawns,” said Mr. Huang. “Perhaps he thought the bomb was his favorite food and gulped it down. He certainly had a big belly when he was caught.”^[10]

Under the headline, “Squid Eats Bomb,” Guangzhou Daily reminded its readers to be cautious and always call the police if they encounter explosives.

Mummies are often associated with ancient Egyptians even though they were not the only culture that mummified dead humans and animals. The Chinese did, too. The Egyptians were probably not the first, either. The Chinchorro people of Chile have been mummifying their dead since 5000 BC. The first Egyptian mummy was created 2,000 years later.

Mummies could also be created naturally. The Incas did this when they mummified their dead by exposing them to the cold temperatures and dry climate. However, the most fascinating natural mummies were created after a human or animal died in some random place.

A lucky combination of a perfect location, weather, and temperature as well as the absence of scavengers turned them into mummies. We have found some, and they are just amazing.

10 Stuckie The Dog

Stuckie is the mummified remains of a hunting dog that was trapped in a chestnut oak tree for almost 60 years. The dog was probably chasing a raccoon when it entered the tree through a hole around 1960.

Unfortunately, the dog was too big to pass through the hollowed-out tree and got stuck. Eventually, it died of starvation. However, its body mummified instead of decaying. It remained untouched for about 60 years until it was discovered after some loggers cut the tree.

Scientists later discovered that the moisture-absorbing tannin in the tree prevented Stuckie from decaying. The fact that the animal was stuck inside the tree also protected its body from scavengers. Stuckie is currently displayed at the Southern Forest World Museum in Waycross, Georgia. The dog’s remains are still inside the tree.^[1]

9 Two Extinct Cave Lions

In 2015, contractors searching for mammoth fossils around the Uyandina River in Siberia found the mummified remains of two cave lion cubs. These animals are the same size as the Siberian tiger—the world’s largest cat species. Cave lions roamed through Africa, Europe, and North America until they went extinct 12,000 years ago.

Over 12,000 years ago, these cave lion cubs were 2–3 weeks old when the soil around their den collapsed and buried them inside. Cave lions are born blind, and researchers believe that the mummified cubs had never opened their eyes at the time of death.

The ice of Siberia mummified their remains, leaving them well-preserved. Even their eyes were intact, making them the most complete cave lion fossils we have ever found. Before their discovery, fossil bones were all we had to prove that cave lions had ever existed. The fossils were named Uyan and Dina after the Uyandina River where they were found.^[2]

8 Lions From Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptians are famous for their pharaohs, pyramids, and mummies. We all know they mummified lots of humans and cats. However, a lot of people do not know that they also mummified several other animals, including baboons, crocodiles, dogs, birds, and lions.

Mummified lions are the most surprising. We already know that lions were revered in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptian god Nefertum is depicted as a lion. The goddess Sekhmet also has a lion head. Ancient Egyptian writings indicate that this civilization kept lions and could have mummified the animals after their deaths.

A group of archaeologists led by Alain Zivie revealed that tales of the mummified lions were true after the scientists found the first mummified remains of a lion among those of several cats at Saqqara cemetery in Egypt. Analysis revealed that the lion was a pet that had lived and died in captivity.^[3]

7 Fake And Partial Animal Mummies

A few years ago, researchers from the University of Manchester and Manchester Museum scanned 800 animal mummies from ancient Egypt. To their surprise, they discovered that a third of the mummies had no animal remains in them. Another third had partial animal remains, and the last third contained full animals.

This probably occurred because animals were often mummified to be offered as sacrifices to Egyptian deities. In comparison, human mummies were created to preserve the bodies for their spiritual journeys into the afterlife.

Researchers believe that ancient Egyptians specifically bred animals to turn into mummies. They were often unable to keep up during periods of high demand, causing them to sometimes cut corners. And how best to cut corners if not by excluding the animal from the mummy?

While some researchers believe that sellers passed the fake mummies off as the real thing, others believe that vendors replaced the animals with items used by the animals, which was supposedly ethical. Examples include putting a nest or eggshell in place of a bird. However, no one knows for sure.^[4]

6 An Ancient Baby Horse

Until a few years ago, Batagaika crater in eastern Siberia harbored the mummified remains of a young Lena horse (Equus caballus lenensis). The now-extinct Lena horse lived in eastern Siberia 30,000–40,000 years ago. This foal is believed to have lived around the same time.^[5]

Researchers believe that the foal died by drowning after a fall into a natural trap. The animal was just two months old at the time of death. Fortunately for us, its remains were perfectly mummified in the icy permafrost of Siberia. The foal was found with its skin, tail, hooves, and nose hairs intact.

5 Mummies Of Eagles, Doves, Swallows, Bats, And More

Lake Natron is one of the weirdest lakes you will ever read about. Located in Tanzania, the lake has a higher-than-normal alkaline level, making it highly caustic and deadly. Animals that fall into it die and become calcified. Only some flamingos, the Alcolapia latilabris (a species of small fish), and algae can survive the lake’s harsh properties.

Mummified remains of eagles, doves, swallows, songbirds, and even bats have been recovered from the lake. Flying animals are often victims because the lake reflects like a mirror when viewed from above. Many unfortunate birds and even a helicopter pilot unwittingly ended up in the lake after mistaking it for empty space.

Lake Natron is named after natron, a chemical formed from a mixture of sodium carbonate and baking soda. This is the same reason that the water has a high alkaline content and turns birds into mummies. Natron itself has been used by humans for millennia. Ancient Egyptians used it as far back as the 4th millennium BC to make glass and preserve their mummies.^[6]

4 Yukagir Bison

In 2011, some tribesmen in Siberia found the mummified remains of a bison along a lake. Researchers determined that it belonged to the now-extinct steppe bison (Bison priscus), an ancestor of the modern American and European bison. However, researchers named the fossil after the Yukagir tribe that found it.

The Yukagir bison was found in almost perfect condition, which is really incredible considering that it died about 9,000 years ago. In fact, it is the most perfect steppe bison fossil ever found. It had its fur and most of its internal organs intact—including the heart, lungs, stomach, blood vessels, and brain—even though they had shrunk in size.

Researchers later removed several of these body parts for analysis. They determined that the bison was around four years old at the time of death. It probably died of starvation because there were no layers of fat in its abdomen.^[7]

3 Yuka The Mammoth

The fossil of Yuka the mammoth takes the top spot among the mammoth fossils we have discovered. This is because Yuka’s internal organs are well-preserved even though she has been dead for 39,000 years. Her brain, tissues, and muscles are all intact. In fact, scientists are trying to use her tissues and DNA to clone the woolly mammoth.

The intact brain is the most fascinating. Researchers have never found a mammoth brain even though they have discovered lots of mammoth fossils. Interestingly, researchers never expected to find a brain. They saw it by chance during a MRI scan to detect Yuka’s age.

Yuka was found in Russia’s Arctic Circle in 2010. She weighs over 100 kilograms (220 lb), causing researchers to speculate that she was 6–11 years old at the time of death. The analysis of injuries, including bite and scar marks, on her body reveal that she was attacked by a cave lion trying to feed on her.

Some humans watched the hunt. The cave lion scored the kill, and the humans probably attempted to steal it. However, it is obvious that none of the parties succeeded.^[8]

2 Ice Age Wolf Pup

In 2016, some Canadian miners found the 50,000-year-old mummified remains of the only ice age wolf we have ever found. The pup was discovered as the permafrost melted around the Klondike region of Yukon, Canada. Interestingly, the pup was perfectly preserved with its head, tail, skin, hair, and other body parts intact.

A nearby caribou calf was not perfectly preserved and was missing several vital body parts from the stomach down. Only the head, torso, and two front legs were intact. Scientists determined that the pup and caribou calf died around the same time. Scientists hope to extract the pup’s DNA to provide insight into the ice age wolf population.^[9]

1 A 12,400-Year-Old Puppy

In 2016, researchers recently got their hands on the 12,400-year-old mummified remains of a puppy from the Pleistocene epoch. The fossil was found frozen in the permafrost at the bank of the River Syalakh in Siberia. Researchers believe that the puppy died in a landslide after which its body mummified in the ice.

Curiously, the mummified fossil of the puppy was well-preserved. Its entire body, from its nose to its tail, was intact. Even its hair was unscathed. The brain had partly decomposed, though. However, 70–80 percent of it was intact, which is impressive considering how long the puppy has been dead.

To put that into perspective, the partly decomposed brain of the 12,400-year-old puppy is the only brain we have from an animal from the Pleistocene epoch even though the puppy is not the only animal or dog we have from that time period.

Earlier in 2011, researchers had found the fossil of another dog around the area. Unfortunately, that animal was too decomposed to be useful. Scientists believe that both dogs are related. Researchers also uncovered human tools around the site.^[10]

They believe that the tools belonged to the humans who owned the animals. This indicates that they were domestic animals. This is why scientists concluded that they were dogs and not wolves. Nevertheless, researchers believe that the valuable DNA and tissue extracted from the 12,400-year-old puppy could be used to bring it back to life.

Some animals are on the verge of extinction. The difference between a related group of animals continuing for another generation or becoming just another addition to the history books may be the survival of just a few species.

Some have even gone extinct in the wild and are only around because we had them in captivity. Nevertheless, every animal on this list will be extinct in a few years unless breeding programs become successful or some miracle happens.

10 Vaquita

The vaquita is one animal you have probably never heard of. It is a small porpoise that only lives in the Gulf of California. It presently holds the title of the “rarest marine mammal in the world.” Only 10 are left in the wild, and that number is going down.

The vaquitas are endangered because of the illegal poaching of the totoaba fish, which is also native to the vaquitas’ natural habitat. The totoaba fish is in high demand in China where traditional medicine men claim that it cures several illnesses.

Poachers often use gill nets to catch the totoaba fish. Unfortunately, the vaquitas often get entangled in the illegal nets. The vaquitas are useless to the poachers, who just dump their carcasses back into the water. For the poachers, it is all about the money. The stomach of the totoaba fish sells for $46,000 per kilogram ($20,865 per lb).

For the vaquitas, it could be the difference between survival and extinction. Lots of them get entangled in those nets. In fact, over 20 vaquitas could have become entangled in nets since 2017 when their population was put at 30.

The Mexican government has declared a part of the Gulf of California as a refuge area for vaquitas. However, it does not seem like it will save the animals. Poachers still hunt for totoaba fish within the refuge, and the government seems to be incapable of stopping them.^[1]

9 Northern White Rhino

Until March 2018, only three northern white rhinos were left in the world. Now there are only two. Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, was euthanized at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya in March 2018 after suffering a series of complications caused by old age. Sudan was 45 years old, which is equivalent to 90 in human years.

At their height, northern white rhinos roamed through Uganda, Central African Republic, Sudan, and Chad. However, their population was dramatically reduced by illegal poaching, which reached its height in the 1970s and 1980s. Their population has been in decline ever since. In 2008, the northern white rhino officially went extinct in the wild.

Sudan was survived by his daughter and granddaughter, which are the only two northern white rhinos left. Both females are past childbearing age and are possibly the last of their kind unless some northern white rhinos miraculously turn up somewhere.

Scientists are trying to stop the extinction of the critically endangered rhino by artificially inseminating female southern white rhinos with the sperm of the northern white rhino. This is the first stage of a grand plan to implant the embryo of the northern white rhino into a southern white rhino.

Javan and Sumatran rhinos are two other species of rhinos at the brink of extinction. The Javan rhino has a population of just 67, while the Sumatran rhino has just 100. The southern white rhino is much better off. There are between 19,000 and 21,000 left in the wild.^[2]

8 Fernandina Island Tortoise

The Fernandina Island tortoise (Chelonoidis phantasticus) is native to Fernandina Island, one of the several islands that form the Galapagos Islands. The tortoise was considered extinct until one showed up this year.

Before this discovery, the last time a Fernandina Island tortoise was spotted was in 1906. It disappeared thereafter. In fact, some began to doubt whether it really existed or was just another joke or misidentified species.

This year, a team from Galapagos National Park and the Galapagos Conservancy proved that the Fernandina Island tortoise really existed when they visited the island to find the tortoise. They discovered an adult female that is over 100 years old. Researchers also found tortoise footprints and droppings, indicating that more tortoises could be in the area.

Interestingly, unlike most other animals that are at the brink of extinction due to human action, the Fernandina Island tortoise is at risk because of its habitat. Fernandina Island contains active volcanoes. Lava sometimes flows down the sides of the mountains, killing the tortoises.^[3]

Humans played a part, too. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, Fernandina Island was a fertile hunting ground for passing ships, which often stopped by to hunt tortoises. Over 100,000 tortoises were hunted during that time. Today, feral non-native animals like pigs, dogs, cats, and cattle also prey on the tortoise eggs or compete with the tortoises for food.

The Fernandina Island tortoise is not the only tortoise at risk of extinction. The other nine species of tortoise on the Galapagos Islands are also endangered. A few centuries ago, there were 15 species of tortoise on the islands. Five are already extinct.

7 Amur Leopard

Several species of leopard across the world have been experiencing a declining population over the past decades. They are often killed by poachers and humans who consider them a threat. They have also lost large tracts of their natural habitats to deforestation.

The Amur leopards are the worst hit. Only 60 cats are estimated to be left in the wild, making this subspecies one of the most endangered cats in the world. The majority of the surviving leopards live in the Land of the Leopard National Park, an Amur leopard nature reserve in Russia. The reserve covers 60 percent of the cats’ natural habitat.

While considerably safe from humans, the leopards are at risk from other predators in the forest, including the Amur (Siberian) tiger. Determining the population of the Amur leopard has been difficult because it is one of the world’s most elusive cats. To help with the count, park officials installed motion-sensitive cameras at strategic locations.^[4]

6 Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) is native to the Red River of China and parts of Vietnam. This is why it is also called the Red River turtle. Unfortunately, this animal has lost a large part of its habitat to the massive infrastructure development in China. And it continues to lose more, especially as China builds more dams.

Only three Yangtze giant softshell turtles were left in the world as of 2017. A male and female pair are held at Suzhou Zoo, China, while the third lives in Dong Mo Lake in Vietnam. The sex of the third is unknown because the turtles are naturally elusive, making them difficult to spot and observe.

Besides the loss of habitat, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle also suffers a declining population that is caused by poachers killing them for their eggs, meat, and skin. Poaching has actually caused a decline in the population of every other turtle species across the world.^[5]

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle got a population boost in 2018 after a wild turtle was found in Xuan Khanh Lake in Vietnam. There may be even more as locals living around China’s Red River have reported spotting one or two turtles.

5 Hainan Gibbon

The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is the world’s rarest primate. Only 25 are left in the wild. They are cramped into a pitiable 2-square-kilometer (0.8 mi²) area of Bawangling National Nature Reserve on Hainan Island in the South China Sea.

The Hainan gibbon suffered a massive population decline after losing most of its habitat to deforestation. Poachers also took their toll on its population as the animals were widely hunted for food, for their supposed medicinal properties, or just to be sold as pets.

The massive population loss has led to inbreeding and a decline in general health. Almost every gibbon on the island is related. Curiously, the Hainan gibbon is not the only gibbon at risk of extinction. Eighteen of their 19 species are endangered.^[6]

4 Sehuencas Water Frog

The Sehuencas water frog is native to the cloud forests of Bolivia. In recent years, the frog has suffered a population decline after losing large areas of its habitat to pollution and climate change. The loss of population has been worsened by the deadly Chytrid fungus and an invasive trout fish that eats the frog’s eggs.

There are only six Sehuencas water frogs left in the world. Interestingly, five of them were found recently. There was only one Sehuencas water frog left as of February 14, 2018. He was named Romeo and was called “the world’s loneliest frog.”

Romeo was alone until Match.com, the Global Wildlife Conservation, and the Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny decided to raise funds for an expedition to find a partner for the frog. It started with Match.com creating a profile for Romeo. This raised awareness and the needed funds for the expedition.

The expedition team found five more frogs. Two were male, and three were female. Each female was paired with a male, including the third which was paired with Romeo. She was called Juliet.^[7]

3 Marsican Brown Bear

The Marsican brown bear (Ursus arctos Marsicanus) is a subspecies of the brown bear. It lives in the Apennine Mountains of Italy, which is why it is also called the Apennine brown bear. Hundreds of bears lived in the mountains a few centuries ago. But they soon got into conflict with shepherds and farmers, who considered them pests. Only 50 are left today.

Italy is making conservation efforts and trying to tag the bears to monitor their movements. Unfortunately, in 2018, a tagging operation ended badly after a bear died during a botched capture attempt. The bear suddenly suffered breathing difficulties and died after it was sedated to be tagged with a radio collar.^[8]

2 South China Tiger

The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is a subspecies of the tiger. It is believed to be the major tiger from which other subspecies descended. However, that would not matter anymore if it goes extinct—which could be soon. Only 24 are estimated to remain in the world.

The South China tiger became endangered in the 20th century when deforestation put it in close proximity to humans. It was massively killed at the time because it often fed on livestock. The tiger’s population never recovered. In the 1970s, there were 4,000 left in the wild. Today, there are none. All 24 survivors are in captivity.

However, there are claims that 20 South China tigers are in the wild. Some even argue that the wild population is far more than 20. However, nobody has reported a verifiable sighting of the tiger in 20 years. The captive population is not faring any better. The current population is way below the 50 tigers that were in captivity in the mid-1990s.^[9]

1 Asiatic Cheetah

The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) freely roamed through several Asian nations a few centuries ago. India had lots of these cheetahs, but they were hunted to extinction as sport. The Asiatic cheetah started to suffer habitat loss in other parts of Asia during the 19th and 20th centuries when huge parts of its natural range were turned into farmland.

The Asiatic cheetah soon went extinct everywhere except Iran. Today, it is considered native to Iran. With only 50 left in the country, it’s only a matter of time before the animal becomes native to nowhere.

In Iran, the Asiatic cheetah will occasionally kill sheep and goats, drawing the ire of herders who hunt and kill it in return. Its range also crosses the highway, where it often ends up as roadkill. Mines are also springing up within its range, further reducing its territory.

Conservation efforts have been frustrated by the economic sanctions imposed on Iran. It worsened in 2017 when the UN stopped funding the conservation and suggested that the Iranian government take over. However, that could be difficult because Iran has reduced the budget of the Department of Environment that is responsible for overseeing the cheetah’s habitat.^[10]

At times, evolution takes a wrong turn. When it does, all we can do is stare in fascination at what it produces for us. Sometimes, it gives us something wonderful like the octopus. Other times, we get something terrible like the bobbit worm.

But every now and then, we get an animal that’s just so poorly thought out that it makes us wonder if evolution itself might have been drunk during the design phase. These animals have no right to exist in the state they do. Yet they continue on, not knowing that their bodies, brains, or both are ridiculous.

10 Horse

When we think about horse attributes, one of the first things that comes to mind is speed. Horses are built for it, bred for it, and even used as a measurement of how fast and powerful a car is. We as a species chose, bonded with, and selectively bred these animals to be fast and strong. So you would think that they would be physically well suited to running, jumping, and pulling.

Unfortunately for the horse, they got the short straw when it comes to their physicality. Horses can reach speeds of up to 80–89 kilometers per hour (50–55 mph), roughly twice the top speed of a human being. But it comes at a cost: A horse that runs at that speed for more than a few minutes experiences bleeding in its lungs and throat.^[1]

Their bodies are built for speed and power, and yet they are incredibly fragile. When horses exercise too hard or for too long, they develop an “exercise intolerance” that causes their very breath to hurt them. The pressure on their lungs from gasping for air while running breaks blood vessels and causes them to cough up blood.

Once it starts, the only fix for this problem is to stop them from running.

9 Koala

Herbivores are a special class of animal. To eat nothing but vegetation that wears down the teeth, they have to have special adaptations. Some—like rats, hamsters, and other such rodents—have teeth that just grow forever. Others, like the horse, have incredibly tall teeth that take years to wear down.

On the other hand, koalas . . . have nothing. In addition to having small, smooth brains (which rob them of the ability to accomplish complex tasks) and being incredibly picky eaters who only consume poison (the toxic and extremely low-nutrient leaves of the eucalyptus plant), koalas have a single, rooted set of small, jagged teeth.

Over time, the tough, fibrous leaves of the eucalyptus plants wear down those teeth—all the way to the gumline. Unable to eat the leaves and unwilling to consume anything else, the koala starves to death.^[2]

8 Sunfish

The ocean sunfish (aka mola) is one of those rare animals that serves no purpose on this Earth. They are strange-looking with their large eyes and lips and their inability to close their mouths due to their strange teeth.

In addition, they are exceptionally vulnerable to parasites and predators. Not that they have many, of course. The 4.3-meter (14 ft), 2,300-kilogram (5,000 lb) fish exists on a diet of algae, plankton, and jellyfish. All these foods are low in nutrition, which makes them the fish equivalent of lettuce.

This unfortunate creature also lacks a swim bladder, an important organ that nearly all fish possess to help them float. The sunfish has to compensate for this missing organ with every inch of its body, specifically with a layer of jelly under its skin that makes it neutrally buoyant.

In fact, the only reason the sunfish continues to exist is because it lays up to 300 million eggs at a time. This would be impressive except that their strategy is to dump all 300 million into the water near a male and hope that the eggs are fertilized and survive to hatch.^[3]

7 Cheetah

The cheetah is one of our favorite predators. We imagine them snarling and pouncing on prey as they roam the African plains. We see them as powerful, speedy hunters that are always ready to take on a challenge.

Even though we love them, we are a little afraid of cheetahs because we equate them to lions. With the cheetahs’ sharp claws, sharp teeth, and incredible speed, you’d assume that they are fearless hunters that could stare death in the eye and chirp before swallowing a village whole.

Fortunately for us, we don’t have to worry too much about them because cheetahs are known for another trait as well: severe anxiety. Especially in captivity, cheetahs are so horribly stressed out just by existing that they have trouble socializing and breeding. It’s gotten to the point that zoos around the world have started giving cheetahs their own support dogs to help them stay calm enough to breed and socialize.^[4]

Luckily for the cheetahs, the dogs are happy to be their support buddies and neither seems to be a threat to the other.

6 Sea Snakes

Water all around and not a drop to drink!

Sea snakes are exactly what their name suggests: snakes that live in the sea. These odd little creatures swim on top of the waves. They slither across the ocean as if it were sand, eat fish, and have babies. Given that they live in salt water, you’d think they could drink it.

Nope. In fact, sea snakes are almost always in a state of moderate dehydration. They can’t drink salt water at all and have to wait for it to rain. When it rains on the ocean, the less dense fresh water sits on top, floating over the more dense salt water of the sea.^[5]

When this happens, the snakes are free to drink as much as they can. However, as rains happen infrequently out there on the waves, the poor snakes spend much of their time thirsty to the point of dehydration.

They also can’t go on land and either can’t or won’t swim into freshwater streams and rivers.

5 Giant Squid

The giant squid is one of the only true sea monsters in the ocean. With eyes the size of basketballs and top speeds of up to 32 kilometers per hour (20 mph), the giant squid is massive, fast, and terrifying to encounter. It eats up to 227 kilograms (500 lb) of food a day in the form of fish, sharks, and even smaller squid.

Don’t think for a second that it’s all good for this huge cephalopod. This creature also has a fatal design flaw: Its throat runs directly through its own brain. Should this massive tentacled beast eat something too big, swallowing the prey will give the giant squid brain damage as the bulge passes through the brain and presses hard against the tissues. The big gulp will bruise and possibly mash the ring of brain pressed against the esophagus.^[6]

For this animal, biting off more than you can handle can be a death sentence.

4 Kakapo Bird

Imagine for a minute that you could only hook up with someone based on how many berries were ripe on the bushes around your house. Not only that, but there was a very low chance of anything actually coming of it even if the berries were plentiful. That’s life as a kakapo parrot, the world’s only flightless parrot and resident idiot bird of New Zealand.

Considered a sacred bird by local Maori populations, the kakapo is an absolute mystery of evolution. Flightless, nocturnal, and with massive thighs for climbing trees, these birds have no defense against predators such as weasels, cats, and feral dogs. But the real kicker is their mating habits.

Once every two or three years (and sometimes as long as five years), a certain berry (the rimu fruit) comes into bloom on the islands where these birds live. Only during a good blooming season for these fruits will the kakapo mate.

The males build large, acoustic bowls and make loud, booming “BOW” noises to attract a female. But if he isn’t loud enough or if insufficient rimu fruit is in bloom, the females will ignore him. Their infertility rates are so high that this only hurts them. As of now, there are just over 150 wild kakapo.^[7]

3 Great White Sharks

Nothing captures the imagination of ocean lovers quite like the great white shark. With its huge jaws, rows upon rows of teeth, and powerful musculature, the shark has been a staple of many horror and action films and stories through the decades. It is also a well-known fact that sharks have to keep moving to breathe.

What you may not have known, however, is that this applies even when the great white is sleeping. Thanks to being obligate ram ventilators, great white sharks have to keep water moving through and over their gills at all times.

To make up for this, they have a unique way of sleeping. They lie in a current with their mouths open, sleeping while the current pushes through their gills and breathes for them.^[8] That’s like if you had to go on a ventilator every time you needed a nap.

2 Whales

In general, it’s an accepted fact that life started in the sea. Creatures were born, evolved, crawled up on land, and became mammals. Although these critters may have liked being mammals, some of them missed the ocean. Enter: the whale.

The oldest-known ancestor of the whale is the Indohyus, a creature that looked a bit like a spotted anteater. Along the way, this animal returned to the water, evolving new and interesting aquatic traits.^[9]

However, it did not shed its mammalian characteristics. The new fishlike creature, which would eventually become the whale and the dolphin, still needed to breathe air and have lungs instead of gills, both terrible traits to have when you live like a fish.

1 Humans

Ah, humanity. We’re pretty proud of ourselves as a species. Speaking intellectually, we’re fairly solid. Our brains aren’t perfect, but we’re intelligent. After all, we’ve managed to build computers and spacefaring vessels. Our physical form, however, is not good.

For one thing, our feet are made of 26 separate bones—a leftover from our primate days. This makes our feet incredibly fragile and unnervingly easy to damage as they were originally meant for gripping and had the help of our hands in supporting our weight.

Our ankles are also fragile and turn outward at the slightest provocation—to the point that even stepping wrong can sprain or break them. Likewise, our spines are not built for the burden they carry. A myriad of curves and strange proportions lead to back problems as early as our twenties and almost inevitably by our forties or fifties.

We also have the misfortune of giving birth to live young whose heads and torsos are larger than our birth canals are normally equipped to handle and twice as big by proportion as most other animal young. Nearly a full third of human births are now performed via C-sections.^[10]

Deana lives with her girlfriend and a roommate in Small Town, USA. She one day hopes to own a big enough tank for 20 goldfish. Her favorite soup is cream of mushroom.