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Sunday 19 May 2013

Animals you probably never heard of

Cryptozoology is a term given by scientists to the pseudoscience that study unknown animals. It is classified by most as paranormal. It is in fact foolishness, species that haven't yet been recorded in Western scientific books can't be paranormal. There is nothing supernatural with a monkey that lives in Cameroon and isn't mentioned in our biology textbooks. Whether an animal is classified or not cannot make it paranormal. There is noting supernatural with Bigfoot(Sasquatch), Mokele Mbembe and Megalania.(it is less likely that large animals are not yet discovered as they should be easily noticed and as their range would be wider. Also most forest dwellers have short size so Mokele Mbembe claims are still questionable). Even the existence of the extinct Tasmanian Tiger is not something surprising(Loch Ness Monster and Champ do not exist because those lakes are very young and cannot contain an ecosystem older than 10,000 years and yet millions of years!). Whether Bigfoot exist or not won't bring a change to the world as western lowland gorillas are doing now. A species is a species. So someone who believes in Bigfoot isn't deluded. It is comparable as someone who saw a mountain gorilla in Kagera National Park in Rwanda. So discussing unclassified animals is not part of pseudoscience and should not be classified with other phenomena such as UFOs or ghosts. We are talking about species known to western science and not to villagers. Pygmies reported the existence of black mammals that dwell in Central Africa. Their claims were considered as myths until the discovery of real okapi a century ago. Komodo dragon was also a legend. Who could believe such a big reptile could still exist? But the sad news is that forests and other ecosystems are receding and so are native species.Most of the deforestation is cause by the expansion of farming land (The Amazonian forest in Brazil for example).   There will be extinction of creatures we had never discovered. The time of explorations and mysterious lands is almost done. Most of the species suffer of the destruction of their habitat which is due to an increase in urbanisation and agricultural lands. Recently some new species of felidaes and monkeys had been discovered but we won't go any further.

Here is an amazing collection of species that were not popularised in movies and cartoons. Unfortunately most of them are endangered and some will go extinct soon.
Babirusa(Sundaland Indonesia)

Mandrill

Drill(equatorial forest)

Pangolin (Africa and Asia)

Raggiana bird of paradise

Aardvak(Africa)

Okapi

armadillo

Thorny devil



                                           
Komodo dragon(Komodo Island Indonesia)

Ankole cow (East Africa)

Honey badger

tapir (South America)

Star nose mole(southern United States)

wild dogs

galago

civet cat

dik dik

clouded leopard

fossa madagascar

           
Whale shark
Anteater (Amazon)

Caracal

Bird's parade

Amur leopard Russia(Amur river) only 40 remaining 

echidna (Australasia)

Muntjac deer (India)

oryx (Africa, Arabia)

Cassowary (Oceania)

Capybara(Brazil) largest rodents

Fennec fox (Sahara desert)

river dolphin(Amazon river)

Frilled-necked lizard (Oceania)

Hawaian turkeyfish (Pacific)
Anteater

Golden monkeys (Asia)

Narwhal (Artic Ocean)

Giant bat (Phillipines)

Porcupines 


Red river hog (Central Africa)

sand cat

gaur (India)

Tree Kangaroo (New Guinea)

Snow leopard (Central Asia)

solenodon(endemic to Cuba) venomous

         
African Giant frog
                                           

                                         
                                                                  Giant African snails



gharial (India)

Termitary can sometimes reach 2 merer high

rhea (Southern America)

Sumatran rhino

Giant rat (Tanzania)
To see more amazing animals: Animals you probably never heard of 2

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