22 FOR '22 WEIRD & WONDERFUL WILDLIFE TO SEE THIS YEAR
Wanderlust Travel Magazine|February/March 2022 Issue 219
Discover the world's strangest creatures - and where you can find them
Graeme Green
22 FOR '22 WEIRD & WONDERFUL WILDLIFE TO SEE THIS YEAR

Louis Armstrong was right when he thought to himself "what a wonderful world" we live in. It's also a weird world. As with humans, it would be a dull planet if every animal looked and behaved exactly the same. A bit of 'strange' or 'different' is a good thing.

Take giraffes, for example. They're such a common sight on many safaris that we take for granted just what a bizarre animal they are, wi a towering neck and a tongue that can strip leaves from thorny branches. These animals grow to such a great height that they need to splay their legs to bend low enough to drink water, a system of valves kicking in to stop too much blood rushing to their head.

But giraffes are just one example of the wonderful species that travellers can discover on their journeys. From Australia to Scotland to Venezuela, it's possible to find frogs, fish, birds, primates and other creatures large and small that stand out for their incredible colourings, patterns and physical characteristics, and remarkable behaviours and abilities. Here, we celebrate some of the most striking and unusual animals that live on Earth, and share advice on where and how to find them.

1 Manatee

Too much time at sea (or on the rum) must do something to the mind, as sailors across history apparently mistook manatees - large, slow-moving, aquatic mammals - for 'women of the sea' or mermaids. Also known as sea cows, these herbivorous hulking creatures feed mainly on sea grass, scoffing more than a tenth of their bodyweight each day. They have a flat, paddle-shaped tail and come up for air every few minutes.

This story is from the February/March 2022 Issue 219 edition of Wanderlust Travel Magazine.

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This story is from the February/March 2022 Issue 219 edition of Wanderlust Travel Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

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