Maybe you could dress up as one of these strange creatures for Halloween or your next costume party!
PINK FAIRY ARMADILLO
Is it a crab? An insect? Nope! Meet the pink fairy armadillo (above). This rare, dollar-bill-sized mammal lives in the South American deserts and grasslands of Argentina. And it lives mostly underground. If it senses danger during a brief trip above ground, it uses those special claws to quickly dig itself back under to safety.
INDRI
La-la-la! This animal looks as if it were trying out for a Broadway musical. It’s an indri, a type of lemur that lives in Madagascar, an island country off the coast of Africa. One of the ways an indri “talks” is by singing. It can even sing to a beat. Rock on, indri!
TENREC
This is a lowland streaked tenrec, found only in Madagascar. Its spikes are its superpower. They provide protection from predators. Also, a tenrec can rub them together to make sounds. The sounds are too high-pitched for humans to hear, but other tenrecs can hear them. Scientists think tenrecs may use them to communicate with each other!
MANED WOLF
It’s sometimes called a “fox on stilts,” but it isn’t a fox—and it’s not even quite a wolf. The maned wolf is related to those animals but has its own special place on the animal family tree. Unlike a wolf, it barks instead of howling. And it generally lives alone, rather than in a pack. Also, about half of its diet is plants—including fruit! What about those superlong legs? They help it see over the tall grasses in its South American home.
TUFTED DEER
This small deer is named for the tuft of hair sticking up from his forehead. But maybe he should have been called “vampire deer”? Don’t worry—he isn’t a bloodsucker. And only the male tufted deer has fangs. He uses them to fight with other males over mates.
COLUGO
That critter is not a bat OR a flying squirrel. The colugo (kuh-LOOgoh) lives in Southeast Asia and is most closely related to primates (which include monkeys, apes, and you). It uses those special skin flaps to glide from tree to tree. It could leap off a football field’s goal post and soar way past the 50-yard line.
RACCOON DOG
While this East Asian mammal might look like one of Ranger Rick’s cousins, it is not related to the raccoon. Its closest relative is the fox. That means it is a canid, or a member of the dog family. But it does things most canids don’t do, such as climb trees and hibernate in the winter!
PLATYPUS
The award for the most weird-and-wonderful mammal might go to the duck-billed platypus. Like a duck, this Australian animal has a bill and webbed feet. The male platypus has a sharp spur on each of its hind legs that can inject venom into attackers. And the female lays eggs! It’s one of only five mammal species that do that.
HAMMER-HEADED FRUIT BAT
The male of this African bat species has a snout that makes it look a bit like a moose! Its big nose helps it make loud honking noises to attract a mate. The nose provides enough space to amplify those honks (make them louder).
FOSSA
The largest predator in Madagascar may look cat-like. It even acts cat-like, the way it uses its claws to climb and to leap gracefully from tree to tree. But a fossa can do one thing most cats can’t: run headfirst down a tree!
