Confusables in the animal world- 2

Nature has created every critter different and unique. But, there are some who appear more alike enabling it hard to contrast  between them. So, its time to list many more alike looking critters of the animal kingdom. 

Two popular animals of the biological order Lagomorpha i.e. hare (1st image) and rabbit (2nd image) confuse us two.  But, differences exist regarding their appearances and behaviors. Hares are larger and more speedy than rabbits. Even, their birth appearances is one ideal way of distinguishing which reveal their contrasts. The former's off springs (hare) are hairy and visually active while latter (rabbit) is being born hairless and blind.

Shelled critters of the animal kingdom also called as chelonians (tortoises and turtles) have one major difference i.e. their shells. Tortoises boast dome shaped shells while the latter has streamlined shells.  Other differences are tortoises are mostly terrestrial while turtles are aquatic in nature. Diet wise, tortoises prefer veggies while turtles prefer omnivorous diet.

We would remain stunned upon a new revelation done by scientists that there aren't two but three species of camels. Along with Dromedary (one-humped) camel, two varieties of Bactrian camels exist i.e. domestic and wild. Thanks to their contrasts making it easier to contrast domestic individuals from wild. Domestic individuals boast dense and furry coats while the wild individuals boast scanty hairs and flatter skulls. So, now it makes sense that camels aren't just domestic but wild animals too.
















When we hear the word 'bison', we refer to the brown, shaggy cattle like animal of North America also called as 'American buffalo'. But, one mustn't forget that the American bison (1st image) also has its larger cousin inhabiting the forests of Russia and Eastern Europe i.e. the European bison (Wisent) (2nd image). 

Scientifically, both are bison. A bison is mostly referred to an American bison. But, even the European bison is also a bison. It boasts its own contrasts from its American cousin. The European bison (Wisent) boasts 14 ribs while the American bison boasts 15 ribs. Height is another feature with the European bison (Wisent) taller than its American cousin.  Due to this,  wisent (European bison) are designed for being a folivore (herbivore which predominantly feasts on leaves/ a browser) and its American cousin for being a graminivore (herbivore which predominantly feasts on grass/ a grazer).









So, both these posts would surely eliminate your confusion regarding these animals. 

Confusables in the animal world-1

In the animal world,  every animal is different by appearance. But, there are certain animals who are different species but look the same by certain angles.

This post which will be having two parts will help in clearing the confusion between those animals which deceive us with their strikingly similar looks.

The two spotted big cats which are the leopard and the jaguar deceive people by their appearances. But, their differences can be sorted out by jaguar being more bulkier than the leopard. Also, jaguars boast a central spot in their rosettes which are absent in leopards (in the images below). 

Interestingly, these big cats are also distinguished by their ecological roles. Jaguar's ecological role is akin to that of a tiger while a leopard's ecological role is akin to a cougar.

Eminent predatory reptiles i.e. crocodilians too deceive people by their appearances.  The most notable example is in case of a crocodile and an alligator. People think they are the same. Their main contrast can be found in the shape of their jaws. Crocodile's jaws create a narrow V- shape whereas gator's (alligator's) jaws form a wide U-shape. 

Amazingly, crocodiles are more tolerant of salt water due to which they inhabit salt -water habitats along with fresh water ones. Thanks to their mechanism which is akin to crying which removes excessive salt. Due to this mechanism's absence, gators habitat is centered only around freshwater habitats (lakes and rivers).  

Pinnipeds namely seals and sea lions do throw people off (to confuse). Thanks to their strikingly similar appearances.  But, seals lack ear flaps while sea lions do not.  Bigger flippers are found in sea lions but absent in seals. [California sea lion (above) and Harbor seal (below)]

And, the most final difference is between the two apes with same genera i.e. the chimpanzee and the bonobo. One quick way of contrasting them is by their lip colors. Bonobos boast pink lips while chimps boast dark lips. 

The other notable difference is the opposite genders of their family leaders. Bonobo's family is matriarchal while chimp's family is exactly the opposite. Yet amazingly, bonobos are an endemic species i.e. found only in the rain forests of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Faecal facts

As everyone knows scats (stools) are one of the most disgusting things on the planet for us. But, not for certain animals. It is a thing of requirement for their lives.

Image courtesy of [nopparats01] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We will be amazed to find that even non- human animals also developed networking styles. While we use Facebook, Linked in, What's app as our social networks, rhinos like White rhinoceroses use their poop as their social network. Their dung loads give chemicals which convey one individual about other individual's gender, reproductive status, territory etc. To gain access, these bulky pachyderms do not have to type in password or search for a person as we do. Instead, they just have to sniff the dungs in a midden (their local toilet) to obtain the information.

A person would be considered 
very much abnormal if he/she eats dung. But, it is perfectly fine if  these animals feast on dung. Not their own but also other's dung.  This habit called coprophagia is found in rabbits, dogs, some non-human primates and even young ones of koalas, elephants and hippos. Totally gross for us but not for them. This is really effective as these scats contain essential nutrients and even undigested materials. But for the young animals, feasting on poop produces a good bacteria in their guts crucial for normal digestion. Indeed, these crucial things would have been wasted had these animals not feasted on them.



It is not just mammals but birds do use these gross stuff. Vultures are one of such birds. These scavenging raptors apply poop on their feet to beat the heat. One species i.e. the Egyptian vulture feasts on ungulate's (hooved animals) dungs. Not for its health, but to improve its appearance. These feces boost the yellow and orange colors on its skin. This can come handy while wooing the females. Thus, the piles of dung act as cosmetics for these raptors (birds of prey).  



One of the popular animals in this category are insects like dung beetles. They feast on them as their name tells. They are also beneficial in agriculture as they bury and consume the dung which leads to improvement in nutrient recycling and soil structure. Amazingly, these insects also remove cattle dung by not providing habitat to flies. Indeed, these hard working critters could also be farmer's best friends.

Of course, poop is something which we don't but these animals will find them very useful for their survival.

Bizarre diets

Our blue planet boasts wild animals who are eminent for their unique talents. One of these is the ability to consume bizarre stuff which is shockingly their diet (or even its part). Sounds quite surprising. 

As it is known that cyanide is lethal to us. But, not for bamboo lemurs. Their diet is a variety of  Madagascan bamboo which boasts the substance. But, it is a mystery to scientists as how they detoxify it. It seems they are very crafty to do it.

Coming to reptiles, crocodiles boast so many weird characteristics. One comes even in case of consuming. These scaly critters have the ability to consume stones. Yes, strangely it aids them in digestion and a great reason for plunging deep. Thus, when they do it they are doing it naturally and are not high.



Continuing with reptiles, sea turtles don't need to worry about one of their diets i.e. jellyfishes. These shelled creatures are immune to the stings of box jellyfish and yes even Portuguese man o' war (in pic) which is one of the longest jellyfishes. Truly shock proof animals.

Thus, this post indeed proves that some animals are capable of gobbling bizarre things which is crucial for their survival.

Bizarrely close connections

Certain animals have such features which tends to lead us into thinking that they are the relatives of this species. But, in reality they belong to other species in other way i.e. by order, sub-order etc. though not by their actual family. This post will reveal about such species.

One of the planet's weirdest animals, tapirs have such bizarre features that we get confused whether they are pigs (by their body) or elephants (by their elongated snout). But, in reality they are neither pigs nor elephants. Like rhinos, their closest relatives are horses by their biological order i.e. Perrisodactyla (Odd-toed ungulates) which contain horses, zebras, donkeys, rhinos and tapirs.  It would sound awkward as they do not resemble horses in any way.


As it is known that hyenas are the one of the eminent scavengers of the animal kingdom. We would tend to think they share a close relation to dogs. Surprisingly, their closest relatives are mongooses and civets by their sub-order Feliformia (cat-like carnivores).

Now, two more examples of bizarre connections. The first example is about big cat species which are tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, snow leopard and clouded leopard. Leave aside cat family. Lets go by sub-family now. Seven years back, a research has been conducted on them about their relations to each other. Researchers conducted the genetic analysis of these species. The results baffled them like anything. It had revealed that these species are related to each other in a totally different way. Their findings state that tigers are more closely related to snow leopards. Lions share a very close relation to leopards and jaguars. Its indeed a mind-blowing revelation done by these researchers.

We would believe that there are no closest living relatives of elephants. But, unbelievably there are. Yes, tapirs don't belong ti this clan. Two of them are smaller than us. And, the other is a large aquatic creature. Hyraxes (small herbivores resembling rodents) share a very close connection to elephants by their clad. Similarly, another animal called elephant shrew (in pic) aren't shrews but are elephant's closest relatives. Thanks to their movable tiny trunk on their face which gives a part of their name.

Sirenians which consist of slow- moving aquatic mammals  like manatees, dugongs  too have a close connection to elephants than to pinnipeds (seals, sea lions and walruses). It is too weird to hear about elephant's closest relatives.

At the end of this post, we now know who are the closest living relatives of the above animals.

Small wonders

It is indeed true that young animals are cute, adorable etc. But even during their babyhood, they possess jaw- dropping characteristics or talents which would stump us.

One needs to think before concluding that there are no remarkable methods animals boast to give birth. Giraffe calves fall down during birth from a height of around 6 ft. Shockingly, they don't get wounded. It might sound gross but there is a frog species whose tadpoles pop out through its back.


It would be incorrect to think that all young animals weigh less. A typical weight of a blue whale calf is around the same weight as an adult hippo.


When we were young, some of us have engaged in nail biting for fun. Similar is the case with elephant calves who do suck their own trunks for the same reason.


In case of us and other animals, babies and adults have the same color. But fascinatingly, babies of lot many animal species boast different colors which slowly change as they approach adulthood.

In case of herbivores, tapir calves boast white stripes upon brown skin which fades as they near adulthood. Similarly, the orange colors of calves of bison (shown in pic) and wildebeest start fading upon nearing adulthood.

Now in carnivores, the spots on the skins of lion and puma cubs keep fading when turning into adults. Spotted hyenas are pale black as cubs which gradually turn into yellowish orange when reaching towards adulthood.

Many birds do boast this uniqueness. The most ideal example is that of a flamingo. Flamingo chicks are born white which beautifully turn into pink as adults if they get more and more shrimps to feed on. Even adult flamingos do remain white as snow if there is shrimp scarcity. 









Thus, we are now aware that baby animals do have remarkable lives.

Lets get high

As it is known, that humans get drunk or intoxicated by drinking alcohol or consuming drugs or narcotics. Due to this, they feel unusual like feeling elevated etc. Reasons would be for fun, under frustration,addiction etc.

But, there are a share of  other animals too who are no exception in getting high like humans.

Tasmanian territory of Australia boasts poppy fields where opium poppy occurs. Alarmed farmers were shocked to discover crop circles in the fields. They suspect aliens behind the damage. But, the weird truth is right here. Wallabies or mini kangaroos consume opium flowers and get so much drugged that crop circle formation begins as their mob (group) begins to hop round and round in the fields. Thanks to the intoxicating effect in them.

As dolphins are known as the intelligent marine creatures, they do get nicely stoned. Puffer fish is the source of their drug to produce venom. But, here is the catch. The fish's venom would kill any organism if taken in large bouts. This means that these street smart mammals might use their brains to make the fish release minor amounts of venom. One member of the pod gets intoxicated due to its ingestion. Passing of this venomous fish to the entire pod is the end result. Quite akin to a group of humans having alcohol at a gathering.

Animals prefer another plant known as catnip. Going by its name, cats prefer it. Its chemical named Nepetalactone doesn't harm but causes temporary effects like drooling, hyperactivity, restlessness, which vanish after 15 minutes. Not all, but around 74% with a particular gene do react. Yes, Nepetalactone doesn't fail to produce reactions even in wild kitties ( lions, tigers, pumas etc.) too. Akin to catnip, yage plant of South American rainforests evoke these reactions in jaguars.

It is not just these mammals but there are others like reindeer getting intoxicated due to Amanita muscaria mushroom, dogs getting high on pot brownies etc. Even, there are insects like bees becoming intoxicated on fermented liquid who become more aggressive,less social, less busy and more idle. 

So, from these facts it is crystal clear that humans aren't the only species to get high or stoned.