Five weird animals you won’t believe exist!

They say "life is stranger than fiction" and these animals prove that! From the Arctic to the Amazon these curious creatures come in all shapes and sizes. Often rare and rarely seen there is no need to imagine what alien life might look like when animals like this exist on our own little blue marble.

You’re going to learn about some of the oddest animals around. Some you’d have to travel to the ends of the earth to find, but others, well, you’d only have to travel as far as Tropical World! Read on, be amazed and then come and see for yourself!​

1. The Mexican Walking Fish

A walking fish…WHAT?! This animal is actually an Axolotl, which is a member of the salamander family. So, it’s not actually a fish at all as its common name suggests. They are unusual among amphibians – like frogs, newts and toads – because rather than developing lungs and taking to land adults stay aquatic and gilled. Sadly, the species is near extinction due to urbanisation of Mexico City, its native habitat. Come and see ours at Tropical World.

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2. The Blue Dragon

Or Glaucus Atlanticus has to be the most incredible slug in the world. This impressive looking animal is a sea slug, but it looks like a dragon and has a fearsome reputation to boot. The Blue Dragon feeds on other jelly-fish including the Portuguese man o' war, which are renowned for having a brutal sting that can be potentially fatal to humans. The Blue Dragon amazingly stores venom it eats from other animals and uses it to defend itself.

3. The Narwhal

An incredible animal with a tusk that makes it the unicorn of the sea. It is found in Arctic waters around Greenland, Canada and Russia. It is a medium sized, toothed whale and its large tusk is actually an elongated canine tooth that grows in a spiral formation.

4. The Living Rock

You’ve heard the saying "like getting blood from a stone" – well this is as close as you’ll get. Pyura chilensis is a marine filter feeder related to sea squirts, with no brain or sensory organs. This creature looks like a rock and cannot move of its own accord, but in fact is a living creature that contains organs and bleeds. The living rock can be found on the rocky coastlines of Peru and Chile. It is a filter feeder that eats by sucking in seawater and filtering out micro-organisms.

5. The fish with human teeth

Pacu are a vegetarian cousin of piranha. Just like their relative Pacu are famous for having unusual teeth, which are uncannily similar to human teeth and used to grind up vegetation. Fully grown Pacu are much larger than piranha reaching sizes of 3 feet and 25kg. They are the largest fish we have at Tropical World. Next time you visit try and spot their teeth.