6 unique animals I bet you've never heard a huff about

I’m going to tell you all about these animals. Their names, habitats, lifestyles, diet and so much more. I bet you've never heard about the last one.

I think you might know what a cat is but are you aware of the rare rainforest cat called a fossa? I bet I got you on that one. Fossa’s are slim, mysterious, cat-like mammals with slender tails and body’s.These wild cats live in Madagascar.As a carnivore, the fossa is an excellent hunter. It preys on small- to medium-sized animals from fish to birds, mice, and wild pigs.It is estimated that there are less than 2,500 Fossas left in the wild of Madagascar.The fossa is one of the top predators on the island of Madagascar, so they do not have any natural enemies.They live up to about 20 years.These guys are usually friendly but males might try to bite or run off when they hear or are in contact with humans.Despite their cuteness they are hunted by humans for food and to eliminate predation on livestock (chickens, goats, pigs, ducks and more).If our species don’t stop hunting fossa’s then they might just die discreetly without anyone ever knowing they existed in our world. However they probably won't be as popular as the dinosaurs if they do go happen to go extinct.

This next little fellow below is called a Dumbo octopus. These cute animals are very unlikely to see because of the deep depths they live in. They live down to depths of at least 13,100 feet (4000 m).The Dumbo octopus’ name comes from Disney’s Dumbo the elephant character, from the movie Dumbo, that was famous for its big ears. These animals have 17 species left. Much of the food they consume is also found around ocean vent ecosystems or floating along in the current. This includes copepods, isopods, bristle worms, and amphipods. These octopus’ sway around without much to worry about because they are foraging predators meaning they search for their food at the bottom of the sea. They are rarely faced with large predators because of the depths they live in but when they are they can camouflage like normal octopus’. The Dumbo octopus is small, compared to other octopods, at only an average 20-30 cm - slightly larger than an adult guinea pig. They live from 3-5 years and humans are rarely in sight of one so the octopus’ aren't threatened by them .Some fun facts about these little guys is that their blood is blue, they don’t have ink sacs, they swallow their prey in one big gulp and the largest Dumbo octopus was found to be almost 2 meters long. They are not known to be dangerous to humans and when they are touched by a piece of seaweed, or even a human hand, the Dumbo Octopus does not mind, and doesn't even move.

This next animal you might have heard of before, but, if you haven't then you might learn something new today. This particular species is called an okapi. An okapi looks almost like a zebra because of its striped legs.

The okapi is amazing and unusual at the same time.This animal has legs like a zebra but happens to be related to giraffes.If you look closely at their heads they happen to have upright ears and dark,purple tinted tongues just like a giraffe does!They are the only living relative of the giraffe.Okapi are also very rare. Their numbers are estimated to be close to 35,000.This animal usually eats leaves,twigs and fruit.Okapis are very wary, and their highly developed hearing alerts them to run when they hear humans in the distance.The okapi is also threatened by poaching and the bushmeat trade (illegal hunting and sale of wildlife as meat).Wild okapi live exclusively in the Ituri Rainforest in northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa.There are 10,000-35,000 individuals remaining in the wild.Okapi’s live for about 15-20 years.Some interesting facts about this animal is that their tongue is long enough to clean their eyes and ears, they are endangered, humans are their biggest threat and they have 4 stomachs to help with the digestion of very tough plant matter.Humans are illegally hunting this species and their population is lowering quickly. If we don’t raise awareness of these animals, they could go extinct.

The rainforest of Mexico holds a tiny cat called a Margay that has big, cute and warm eyes.But don’t get too close. This cat isn’t always friendly to humans.

These cats live up to 20 years. Their size is much smaller than a leopard or cheetah being 48 to 79 cm and 33 to 51 cm in tail length. However they do look quite similar in pattern. The margay is a great climber because of their claws and flexible ankles. It makes nests in hidden hollows and is mostly nocturnal. They are carnivores so their diet mostly includes both terrestrial and arboreal mammals (land animals and animals who live in the trees, birds, their eggs, reptiles, amphibians and fruit.)

Margays are illegally hunted like the okapi. Margays are rare and their numbers are currently decreasing. The rainforest is their home, we need to help protect it rather than cutting down trees and destroying their habitat.

It's big, it’s blue, it's the blue whale. I assume you have heard of this animal before because it’s the largest animal known to mankind.

Blue Whale

The blue whale may weigh up to 200 tons (approximately 33 elephants) and is as long as 29.9 meters. Surprisingly they are also the loudest animals on the planet. Blue whale songs fall below the range of human hearing. This means we as humans cannot hear their sounds due to how deep their sounds are but other whales can. And their sounds can be heard by others up to 1,000 miles away. Their numbers have recovered after humans excessively hunted them for their blubber (Blubber is the thick layer of fat under the skin that can be used for Oil – Lamp oil, soap, perfume, candles, and cosmetics) but only recovered by a little . These animals live from 80-90 years. The killer whale is the blue whale's only predator. Blue whales migrate long distances, traveling alone or in small groups called pods. 10,000 to 25,000 blue whales are left in the world due to human activity. The blue whale eats fish and tiny crustaceans floating in the water. Despite their size, blue whales wont eat humans. The female whales have calves every two to three years and they will stay with the calf for about six to seven months. These whales travel in pods and the females keep their calves beside them while swimming to keep them safe. The males don’t provide care for their young but the pod will also help protect the young. Blue whales are found in the Atlantic, pacific and Indian ocean.

This animal above appears as a tiger. Well it is, in fact it’s a golden tiger! There are currently fewer than 30 of them so all of them are kept in captivity. They are not a separate species and are a cross between an Amur and a Bengal tiger. Golden tigers aren’t very friendly to humans. Tigers are carnivores, so is the golden. They eat medium-sized prey like foxes but occasionally, hog deer, wild boar, buffalo and rhinos. The golden tiger originates from India. This tiger is actually slightly bigger than others. The golden tiger is also called a strawberry tiger or a golden tabby tiger due to their light, almost pink color.

I talked to some of my classmates and 0 out of 6 have heard of all of these animals. However the students have heard of at least one of these animals. Maybe you learned something new today, maybe you didn't. Either way you got to learn about some animals. Did you know any of these animals? Maybe you could connect these facts and info with some of your experiences with animals. Thanks for your time.