Ugliest Land Animals

Number 5 : Star nosed mole

The star nosed mole definitely does not have the most attractive nose but definitely the most effective one which helps it sniff out if something is edible and at a remarkable speed. As its name implies, it has a star nose and to be more specific, fleshy, star shape nose made up of 22 tentacles.

The Star nosed mole which is covered in blackish brown fur, is a small semi-aquatic mammal which inhabits in the wetlands and the eastern part of United States. Like any other moles, the star nosed mole makes underground network of tunnels and also digs shallow surface tunnels for the purpose of finding food such as small amphibians, insects and worms.

Being virtually blind due to poorly developed eyes, the creature relies on its nose to navigate its way through the complete darkness of the underground, basically using its nose to see! The fleshy area of the nose contains 25,000 sensory receptors (6 times more sensitive than the human hand) that constantly touches objects near itself to identify the surroundings and edible food nearby.

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic

The star shaped nose of the mole is in fact the most sensitive organ in the animal world making it able to identify and decide whether the food is edible within 25 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds.  

Number 4: Sloth

I believe everyone is familiar with the movie Ice Age and also the character Sid, the sloth (voiced by John Alberto Leguizamo).

Sloth, the slowest mammal in the world, is classified into two species, the two-toed and three-toed. Sloths have grayish-brown furs but at times grayish-green with the green coming from algae, allowing them to camouflage in the forest. The long arms and hooked claws allow them to hang upside-down from trees for hours. The claws also serve a self-defense weapon when facing an attacker.

Sloth’s main source of food are leaves, shoots and fruits. It sleeps on trees and can sleeps up to 20 hours long. Basically a sloth spends most of its life on trees, even during mating and giving birth.   

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic

On land, the species is very vulnerable as they are unable to move swiftly due to their weak back legs and long claws. They can only dig into the ground using their long claws and pull themselves along, making them difficult to evade predators. Despite being vulnerable on land and highly adapted to living on trees, sloths are pretty good swimmers.

Number 3: Mexican Burrowing Frog

As its name implies, the Mexican burrowing frog is a burrowing animal, spending most of its life underground, making it different from most of the amphibians. It only emerges out of the soil after a heavy rain to lay eggs in a water source. It can travel up to 1.6 kilometers to find a suitable water source for the eggs to be laid. 

Photo Courtesy of One More Generation

The species can grow up to 6 to 8 centimeters and has a large bloated body carrying a stripe on their back. They have short powerful legs and shovel-like feet which aid them in digging. They are found in the southern part of USA and Central America. They feed on insects mainly ants and termites.

Believe it or not, this specific animal dates back to the Jurassic Period!!!

Number 2: Naked Mole Rat

The naked mole rat is a burrowing rodent that spends most of their lives underground too. They come out from ground some times to search for seeds and plants. Possessing a strong and well adaptable characteristics enable these mole rats to survive under the harsh conditions underground.

Although they are rodents, they live in communities similar to that of many insects such as ants. This means that there is a dominating queen leading the colonies and the queen is the only female to breed and bear youngsters. Worker mole rats are responsible for digging the burrow where the colonies live in using their teeth and also to gather food for the colonies.

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic

The naked mole rat can be found in the eastern part of Africa and the tunnel systems built by them can stretch up to 3 – 5km in total length.

Number 1: Aye Aye

Aye ayes are the largest nocturnal creatures and can be only found on the island of Madagascar. They are actually relatives to the chimpanzees, apes and even to us human (in a certain way).

Aye ayes are omnivores feeding mainly on insect larvae, seeds, fruits etc. The food choices may vary depending on the habitats and the food available.

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic

The thin, elongated middle fingers found on each of their hands are probably the trait mark of the aye ayes. The main usage for this elongated finger is to dig for insect larvae found under the barks or to scoop the flesh out from fruits such as coconuts.

Though aye ayes are harmless, they are classified as an endangered species. Superstition is the main factor for these near extinct species as natives believe that they symbolize death or bad luck. For these reasons, they are being hunted and killed on sight. Hunting, together with habitat destruction has caused the aye ayes to be endangered. Fortunately, they are now currently protected under the law.