We as human beings have some how evolved as the smartest breed in the animal race and have found a way to make our own habitat. As a result we tend to not see many of our relatives from the animal kingdom too often. At xinjo we decided to bless all you readers with the opportunity to see them right here on this post and ponder as to how did we turn out to be this good looking, smart and efficient. So here we go,

1) Sun Bear

The first look at this pretty face and you will feel he is your next desk neighbor at office. The same stressed out expression and the tired looking tongue hanging out, but hey, this one is not him, its the Sun Bear. The Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus) is a bear found primarily in the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia. Unlike other bears, the Sun Bear’s fur is short and sleek. This adaptation is probably due to the lowland climates it inhabits. Dark black or brown-black fur covers its body, except on the chest where there is a pale orange-yellow marking in the shape of a horseshoe. Similar colored fur can be found around the muzzle and the eyes. This distinct marking gives the sun bear its name. Pretty cute looking bear if you ask me.

2) Alpaca

Ain’t this bugger cute? I mean cuter than the average Sun Bear. Now for some knowledgeable part, The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid developed from the wild alpacas. It resembles a sheep in appearance, but is larger and has a long erect neck as well as coming in many colors, whereas sheep are generally bred to be white and black.
Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador, southern Peru , northern Bolivia , and northern Chile at an altitude of 3500 to 5000 meters above sea-level, throughout the year. They are used for the fiber that they produce which is thinner than wool, but much softer and is used in making many knitted and woven items. Well the next time you see one of these, you know you are at a very high altitude.

3) Angora Rabbit

From one cute thing to the other, this one is a breed of rabbit. Yes a rabbit its not a fleece ball. The Angora rabbit is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft hair. The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara, Turkey, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 1700s, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States in the early 1900s. They are bred largely for their long wool, which may be removed by shearing or plucking (gently pulling loose wool). Yes we had to mention how it is actually done, didn’t want any animal right activist bringing this post down.

4) Tapir

Nope, this one is not a bonsai Zebra, its called the Tapir. Tapirs are large browsing mammals, roughly pig-like in shape, with short, prehensile snouts. They inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia . All four species of tapir are classified as endangered or vulnerable. Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates, horses and rhinoceroses. With their classification as endangered species, really do not know when will we get to see one??

5) Sloth

Sometimes we do end up calling our friends a sloth, without really knowing what the thing is or what it looks like. Well look no further, here is a look at the SLOTH. Sloths are omnivores. They may eat insects, small lizards and carrion, but their diet consists mostly of buds, tender shoots, and leaves (things that either move very slowly or do not move at all). Even so, leaves provide little energy, and sloths deal with this by a range of economy measures: they have very low metabolic rates (less than half of that expected for a creature of their size), and maintain low body temperatures when active (30 to 34 degrees Celsius or 86 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit), and still lower temperatures when resting. All in all the bottom line is, its one of the slowest creatures on the planet, spends more than 70% of its life just lazying around, rather ‘conserving energy’. And hence most of the times the lazy ones are called as ‘Sloths’ in the human race.

6) Star Nosed Mole

Now enough of cute looking and slow moving creatures, lets get down to the real ugly ones. The Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) is a small North American mole found in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States . It is the only member of the tribe Condylurini and the genus Condylura. It lives in wet lowland areas and eats small invertebrates, aquatic insects, worms and molluscs. It is a good swimmer and can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds. Like other moles, this animal digs shallow surface tunnels for foraging; often, these tunnels exit underwater. The Star-nosed Mole is covered in thick blackish brown water-repellent fur and has large scaled feet and a long thick tail, which appears to function as a fat storage reserve for the spring breeding season. Adults are 15 to 20 cm in length, weigh about 55 g, and have 44 teeth. The mole’s most distinctive feature is a circle of 22 mobile, pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of the snout. These are used to identify food by touch, such as worms, insects and crustaceans. All in all, ugly!

7) Frill Necked Lizard

This one looks right out of the Jurassic Park, but do not worry, its the size of a human palm. The Frill-necked Lizard, or Frilled Lizard also known as the Frilled Dragon, (Chlamydosaurus kingii) is so called because of the large ruff of skin which usually lies folded back against its head and neck. The neck frill is supported by long spines of cartilage, and when the lizard is frightened, it gapes its mouth showing a bright pink or yellow lining, and the frill flares out, displaying bright orange and red scales. The frill may also aid in thermoregulation. Mostly it is used to scare away potential threat and it sure does work swell.

Aye- Aye

This one looks like it has come right out of the LOTR series and always sports this surprised look. The Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a strepsirrhine native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth with a long, thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker. It is the world’s largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unique method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the grubs out. Try to find this in Madagascar.

9) Axolotl

DO not ask me how is it pronounced. The Axolotl (or ajolote) (Ambystoma mexicanum) is the best-known of the Mexican neotenic mole salamanders belonging to the Tiger Salamander complex. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis, so the adults remain aquatic and gilled. The species originates from the lake underlying Mexico City . Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate most body parts, ease of breeding, and large embryos. They are commonly kept as pets in the United States , Great Britain , Australia , Japan (where they are sold under the name Wooper Rooper, and other countries. One thing is for sure, this one is one weird looking Smiley.

10) Blobfish

Yuckk. The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is a fish that inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania . Due to the inaccessibility of its habitat, it is rarely seen by humans. Blobfish are found at depths where the pressure is several dozens of times higher than at sea level, which would likely make gas bladders inefficient. To remain buoyant, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. The relative lack of muscle is not a disadvantage as it primarily swallows edible matter that floats by in front it. Disgusting!

11) Dumbo Octopus

Now this is the last one of this series and it looks like its come right out of the pokemon cartoon series. The octopuses of the genus Grimpoteuthis are sometimes nicknamed “Dumbo octopuses” from the ear-like fins protruding from the top of their “heads” (actually bodies), resembling the ears of Walt Disney’s flying elephant. They are benthic creatures, living at extreme depths, and are some of the rarest of the Octopoda species. Dumb, maybe. Cute, maybe. Rare, surely.

This was one of the attempts from our end, to put across a thought that does cross our minds very often but is put aside even more often. We are living our lives and our progressing at a great pace as a race from this animal kingdom, but at the same time are we really looking after our neighbors and those who share this eco system with us? The answer more often than not is no. How can you really make a difference? Try finding the answer to those question on google. Here we make sure your every visit is worth the time. This is as far as we go. Thanx and keep up the comments to encourage us for some more posts.