Unless your job is directly related to discovering, studying, or tending to exotic wildlife, it is safe to say that most of the time, you only see unique animals on TV. The thing is, there is way, way more to discover, and that’s the good news! With hundreds of thousands of species inhabiting our planet, there will always be a new friend to meet and learn about.
What is a Unique Species?
Strictly speaking, every species is unique. It is one of its kind, isn’t it? But of course, if we talk about the size of their population, animals that are very specific to one medium-sized area, or even strange animals that don’t look like anything else you have seen before, it is safe to say there are some truly unique animals in the world we live in.
What is the Most Unique Animal?
So, if we had to make a list, which species would top the charts of unique animals? Well, the answer to that question depends on the criteria you apply to your query. If we are talking about numbers, the rarest animal known to humankind today is a vaquita. However, if you are looking for weird animals that look like no other species in the world, the answer will be completely different.
However, one thing that can be said for certain is that unique animals have some of the cutest babies one could imagine. And if there is one scientific fact we could all agree upon, it is that cute baby animals make your day infinitely better just by looking at them. So, to give you your daily dose of cuteness, we prepared a whole collection of unique animals and their babies.
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Baby Tree Kangaroo
Baby Fennec Fox
Baby Dumbo Octopus
Baby Axolotl
Baby Pangolin
Baby Quoll
Another of Tasmania's cutest species! They're still cute as adults - I checked!
Southern Pudu Fawn
Ladies and gentleman, we introduce the smallest and most adorable deer in the world!
Baby Tapir
Baby Elephant Shrew
Fluffy Honduran White Bat Baby
Want to Know Some Cool Facts About Unique Animals?
The smallest, the strongest, the rarest — do you know all of them? But besides these characteristics, there are a lot of interesting things you can learn about the unique animals of our planet.
- The largest animal on Earth is the blue whale. This 190,000 kg, 30 m (98 ft) giant’s heart weighs as much as a small car. Moreover, its arteries are big enough for an average-sized person to swim through!
- Axolotls are widely believed to be the most unusual animal known to mankind. For starters, they are supposed to be salamanders, but unlike other species of this group, they remain aquatic even as adults. They play a huge cultural role in Mexico, where they originally come from. These funny alien-looking creatures were called after Xolotl, the Aztec deity of fire and lightning.
- Scientists estimate that currently, there are only ten or even fewer vaquitas left in the world, which makes them the rarest species in the world. With their name translated from Spanish as “little cow,” vaquitas belong to the aquatic mammals. Interestingly, they were fully described as late as 1985.
Orphaned Baby Eastern Quoll Being Cared For At Bruny Island
Oh those spots! Not very camouflage proof though? I've yet to see polka-dotted trees! :P
Adorable Baby Sugarglider
African Bat-Eared Foxes
Baby Dik-Dik
Baby Gundi
Baby Tarsier
Echidna Puggle
Baby Okapi
Patagonian Mara Babies
Baby Armadillo
Baby White-Nosed Coati
Chacoan Peccary Baby
They might look like pigs(family Suidae), but they are from another closely related family-Tayassuidae.
Baby Sunda Colugo
Also known as flying lemur. The family contains only two vulnerable and unique species.
Baby Aardvark
African Wild Dog Puppy
Baby Bongo
Baby Aye-Aye
Gerenuk Calf
Baby Mouse Deer
The smallest among all deer-like mammals. The adult`s hind legs are only as thin as a pencil each!
Sumatran Rhino Baby
Baby Takin
Baby Bactrian Camel
Greater Bilby Baby
Baby Civet
Baby Lowland Streaked Tenrec
The tenrecs from Madagascar look like shrew, hedgehog or something else, depending on their habitat.
Baby Sifaka
Baby African Bat
Babirusa Babies
Saiga Baby
How Cute is That?
No doubt, looking at photos of cute animals, especially their babies, is one of the most therapeutic experiences. It might be your first time meeting this lot today, but they will surely put a smile on your face every time you see them. As always, nature leaves us in awe of its creations.
Baby Proboscis Monkey
Aww his nose doesn't even look like it belongs on his face! So funny!
FAQ About Unique Animals
No matter how much you learn about all the different life forms around you, there is always more to learn. Some facts help you to understand the wildlife better and actively help preserve it; others are just fun to know. Below are three interesting things people always seem to wonder about.
Do Rare Animals Only Have One Baby?
Well, not necessarily. Most of the time, the number of babies depends on the size of the animal (larger mammals are more likely to have one baby per birth), but it also often happens that rare animals do not actively reproduce, which leads to a decline in population. This is what happened to pandas, who were too lazy to mate, and scientists had to interfere to save them from extinction.
Why Do We Love Cute Animals?
There is actually science behind that fuzzy feeling you get when you see those furry little creatures. First of all, we are designed by nature to like our babies so that we can take care of them. And baby animals have a lot of features in common with human babies; that’s why we find them equally adorable. What makes us like all things cute are chemicals that flood our brain during the experience.
Is It Okay To Own Rare Animals As Pets?
While there might be some extraordinary cases, the short and sweet answer is no. Rare animals are seldom domesticated, which means that at some point, they could attack other beings living in the household, even if just out of self-protection instinct. Also, their care will be significantly different from your pet’s care. Sometimes, you can find rare animals in shelters where wildlife specialists take care of them, but this is meant as a measure of protection and maybe attempts to save them from extinction, not just to have them as household pets.