Some animals are rarely kept as pets, but there are adventurous individuals who embrace the challenge of raising them. These exotic pets may not fit the traditional idea of a cuddly companion, and some even have an unusual or intimidating appearance. However, dedicated pet owners find joy in caring for them, helping preserve species that are at risk of disappearing forever.
Many of these exotic pets are rarely seen in public and, in fact, some are on the brink of extinction. This article aims to raise awareness about endangered animals that can be nurtured and protected through responsible pet ownership.
Finding these unique creatures often requires venturing into remote jungles, as they are seldom found in urban environments. Additionally, keeping exotic pets usually involves obtaining special permits, as well as ensuring proper housing, diet, and care. Before bringing one of these rare animals into your home, it’s crucial to check local regulations and requirements. But once everything is in place, owning an exotic pet can be an incredibly rewarding experience!
01. The Leafy Sea Dragon
This is one of the strangest pets in the world today, although it is a beautiful deep sea animal. It belongs to the Syngnathidae family of animals and can also be classified as a seahorse. This animal appears strange because it resembles a mythical dragon, but you don’t have to be scared of it because it has no teeth, neither does the animal has any dangerous venom. It has a complete shape of a dragon just that it appears smaller. The Leafy Sea Dragon is more common among the Chinese.
02. The Komondor Dog
The Komondor dog is one of the rarest breeds of dogs you can find in the world today. This dog is majestic in nature and looks pretty huge because of its characteristic fur. The dog was originally bred as a livestock guardian. If you are looking for a dog to shock your neighbors or family and friends, then you should consider this dog. The dog has its origin from some Tibetan dogs that were relocated from Hungary between the 9th and the 14th century.
03. The Angora Rabbit
The Angora rabbit is a massive rabbit that looks more magnificent than any other rabbit you have ever seen. Some people often regard this rabbit as one that went through an experiment that got all wrong. The Angora rabbit used to be popular in some parts of Europe especially in the 17th and 18th century, and used to be the favorite of the elites, however the ban placed on the rabbit lead to its almost extinction, however it is still being raised as pet in some parts of the world today.
04. The Emperor Tamarin
The Emperor Tamarin does not particularly look scary, on a closer look, it appears as a normal monkey but with some unique features. This monkey was named after a German Emperor- Wilhelm II，who was known for his obnoxious mustache. At first, many will use the name as a joke but the constant mentioning of the name when they see or remember the emperor made the name stick with the monkey.
05. A Mole with a Star Nose
Most people will get irritated by the sight of a mole, however, for those who can handle the animal as a pet, the star-nose mole can make a pretty interesting animal to raise. This mole is most known for its star-shaped nose feature. The animal also has more than 20 appendages, that function just like fingers. This animal is capable of using its nose to navigate through underground terrains because the nose is filled with numerous receptors.
06. The Proboscis Monkey
The first impression you will have about this monkey is that it gives a stern gaze that may scare you. It comes with certain facial features that make it resemble some humans. To most people, this monkey has one of the most disgusting noses any animal can have, but to the monkeys, this is their main physical features that attract the females, as a matter of fact, the bigger the nose, the more attractive it becomes to the females.
07. The Axolotl
The Axolotl does not quite look scary as a matter of fact it is one of the most fragile animals you may considered for adoption as a pet. This animal appear to be an half lizard and half fish and it prefers to spend its entire life in water and in many cases, it develops lungs and thrive on land.
08. The Aye Aye
The Aye aye is regarded as a nocturnal primate with some pretty scary features such as long claws, bigger than average eyes, and long fingers- all these features are used by the animal to capture insects that it feeds on. Sadly, the Aye aye which is native to Madagascar is being killed by many local hunters because they believe it can cause numerous sicknesses and death.
09. The Alpacas
The Alpacas is one of the oldest sheep species in the world today. It is believed that the Incas domesticated this animal some 6,000 years ago. One of the things that makes this animal unique is that its fur is fire and water resistance, thus it has been used to make several fire and water resistance products such as shoes and bags in the past. This animal also has a fur that comes in rainbows of different hues.
10. The Tarsier
This is one of the scariest animals you can find in the world and as scary as it is, it is still being adopted as pets by many. The Tarsier lives in some parts of ancient Asian countries, They are primates and they are mostly known for their huge bulging eyes and such eyes are as big and weighty as their brains.
11. The Frill-necked Lizard
The Frill-necked lizard is one animal many people would love to avoid because of its unusual neck and mouth. This startling animal resembles a dragon however its 1.1 pound of weight and less than 3 feet length makes it small enough to be adopted as a pet.
12. The Blob Fish
You probably love the fascinating addition of the blog fish in your home, but the Blob fish may not be too fascinating enough for you to keep. The fish is regarded as one of the ugliest animals in the world, and worst still it has no bones nor teeth, thus it is completely harmless. Despite the fact that it has no teeth nor jaws, this creature still feeds on smaller animals, including crabs. Though it seems to appear weird, this fish can endure extreme weather conditions, including extremely high pressures and low temperatures. Its unique body helps the creature adjust to different water conditions, though it looks like a scientific experiment.
13. The Shoebill
The shoebill may not be the ugliest bird in the world, however it has some unique features that can scare some pet lovers. The shoebill is predominantly found in some parts of Africa especially between the desert regions of Sudan and the forest area of Zambia. The bird is quite strange in appearance because it has a unique feather that is blue in color, as well as an extra-ordinary head that can scare anyone. The big bird has one of the biggest heads you can ever find on a bird, and scientists have discovered that the head can measure up to 150 cm in diameter. Most of the Shoebill species do possess smaller heads that measure just 112 cm.
14. The Pink-colored fairy Armadillo
The Pink-colored fairly Armadillo is regarded as the smallest species of Armadillos in the world. On photos, the animal may look big but in actual sense it is quite small in body size. The animal has an armor-like shield, located on the posterior part of its body, alongside some claws regarded as too large for an animal of its size. The claws in its hand make it more dangerous and scary, and many people wouldn’t dare play with it because of the sharpness of the claws. A typical fairy Armadillo measures up to 120 g in weight.
The Pink-colored armadillo is endemic to some southern America countries like Argentina. The animal was discovered in 1825, and it is mostly found inhabiting dunes sand planes and some scrubby grasslands. The silky yellowish or grey fur covering the body of the animal makes it survive extreme weather conditions. The ink-colored fairy Armadillo is gradually going through some stages of extinction due to farming activities around their natural habitats. The animal also feeds predominantly on ants, insects as well as the larvae of these animals, it also eats worms and snails. The fine hair of the bird helps in thermo-regulation.
15. The Sucker-footed bat
90% of the people in the world hate bats, the reason being that they have the capabilities of attacking very fast and can spread certain deadly infections. The sucker-footed bat, just like any other bat is more active during the night than the day. It is found predominantly in Madagascar especially at elevations higher than 500 meters above the sea levels. This bat is quite smaller than many regular bats you have seen, it can grow to reach few inches in length, and weighs less than 0.5 ounces. Scientists have discovered that there are more than 100,000 sucker-footed bats currently in Madagascar- though these numbers have been steadily reducing over the last few years due to the natural hatred they suffer from humans and other natural predators. What makes this animal unique are the human-like feet structure that makes its movement much faster and better. It is definitely one animal no one will ever dare to keep at home.
16. The Yeti Crab
If you love sea animals, the Yeti Crab may be one of such animals you may want to consider as a per (if you can dare it). There are few information on the Yeti Crab and the reason being that it is one of the newest species of crabs to be discovered in the world. The crab is characterized by some hairy Pincers that the animal used in filtering out certain bacteria found in some poisonous minerals in the ocean. The Yeti crab is known to stay in the floor of the ocean especially close to the hypothermal vents. They spend their entire lives on the ocean floor and are also known to grow their own foods there.
The Yeti Crab has some mythical links, especially among the individuals living in the South Pacific ocean region. The crab can measure up to 5.9 inches in length, The Crab can live in the grounds of large seas for up to 7,200 feet. The animal has eyes that that lack pigments, thus it is thought that the animal is blind. This animal is known to be a carnivore but it also feeds on certain bacteria in the water.
17. The Naked Mole rat
The usual mole rat is not particularly dangerous especially within its habitat. It does everything possible to avoid any interaction with humans. What makes the naked mole rat unique is that its entire body is not covered with furs like the ordinary mole rats. The rat lives in huge underground colonies that reminds you of some insect colonies. These rats do not have any need for furs or eyesight thus they are completely blind and naked. This animal has been a source of interests to scientists lately because of its resistance to several forms of cancers and it also has the ability to live for more than 30 years.
The naked mole rat is predominantly found in some parts of Somalia, Northern and Eastern art of Kenya and some parts of Ethiopia. This is a ground burrowing rodent that has some hairs in its feet. The rat often comes in Pink and yellow colors, and can grow up to 3.5 inches in length.
18. The Dugong
The Dugong is a scary marine animal that can mostly be found in waters around Indonesia and Australia. Though they appear to be scary in nature, but they are herbivorous, thus they rarely feed on other animals. Sometimes, the Dugong is referred to as the “Cow of the sea”, and a typical male of this animal can grow big enough to weigh 400 kg or more and 11 to 3 meters in length. The large size marine mammal was hunted mostly in the 18th century until it nearly went into extinction, and it can be found in more than 40 countries especially in the Indo-western areas of the pacific.
The Dugong is strictly herbivorous, and consumes mostly sea grasses. It has forelimbs that are paddle-like in shape, and the main reason it is being hunted is for its meat and oil. The Dugong is known to possess a lifespan of about 70 years , making it one of the longest-living sea animals in the world.
19. The Lamprey
The Lamprey is the scariest type of Eel you probably don’t know about. This animal is so scary that many movie directors have decide to shoot horror movies using its shape and features. The animal is characterized by a long snake-like body, with each end of the long tentacles having its own large and round mouth, with some teeth. The Lamprey can use different mouths to bite larger marine animals and in so doing, create multiple wounds that will make the animal succumb to its grip. Worst still, the Lamprey sucks the blood of other animals. The Lamprey also produces offspring in a unique manner by squeezing the female until it releases its eggs and then it ejaculates on the eggs.
The Lamprey is often referred to as a jawless fish. Currently, there are only 38 remaining species of this animal, thus it remains one of the most extinction-bound animals in the sea. They can burrow through the flesh of other animals, most especially fish, and more than 15 species of them are known to be parasitic to other sea animals. The Lamprey is an ancient lineage of some vertebrates; they are also known to be closely related to the Hag fishes.
20. The Cantor’s giant Soft-shell turtle
The Cantor’s giant soft-shell turtle is one of the scariest animals in the world. It is a fresh-water turtle that is predominantly found in the fresh water regions of Asia. It is mostly known for its unusual broad head alongside some small eyes and some soft shells. This Cantor’s giant soft-shell turtle remains the largest water turtles in the world today.
The smaller Cantor’s soft shell turtle are characterized with dark Carapaces with some yellow colors around such, while the adult ones can grow more than 2 meters in length. The largest turtle of these species ever found was discovered to weigh around 550 lbs. This turtle only comes to the surface of the land twice a day to catch some breathe and the female can lay between 20 and 28 eggs at once. This animal is Carnivorous in nature and it feeds predominantly on fish and crustaceans.