We all swoon over cute kittens and adorable puppies and spend hours on the internet scrolling down pages of images with ducklings, pandas, bunnies, squirrels, or baby elephants. It’s understandable. No one wants to look at bizarre animals that could give you nightmares. Yes, animals are cute, especially when they are tiny and fury, they never fail to make us “aww” in front of our screens and make us want to hit that share button. But the animal kingdom has another side you might not be familiar with. Sure, you’re not expected to know all the living creatures on Earth, but we’re pretty sure there aren’t many articles around on the following specimens. Brace yourself to start scrolling down some on the weirdest looking beings out there.

6. The Capybara

These gigantic rodents live in South America and they can reach staggering weight figures, going up to 230 pounds (or roughly 115kg). If that doesn’t intimidate you, then you should keep reading about their most special feature. Their teeth never stop growing, which means they’re constantly perfecting their grip. These semi-aquatic rodents live in groups that vary from 10-20 capybaras to 100 individuals. As the largest rodent on our planet, it’s weird that their diet only includes 5 types of grasses and some aquatic plants. In some parts of the world they are hunted by people for their meat, which can be eaten during lent.

5. The Jacob Sheep

This English type of sheep can have four to six impressive horns that definitely add to their evil, Mephistopheles looks. Nobody knows the exact story of their origins, but they’re believed to have their roots in Syria. They are leaner and much faster than normal sheep since they are an heirloom breed, which means people have not meddled with the breed and nothing has been altered.

4. The Wels Catfish

Ranking on number three as the world’s largest freshwater fish, the Wels Catfish are predominantly found in Europe and they can get as heavy as 270 pounds (that is around 135kg). You wouldn’t think they are agile or good hunters given their length and weight, but you’d be surprised to find out how inventive they can be. They use their mass to create whirlpools which disorient the pray. The small teeth that resemble velcro surely come in handy when they what to snatch their pray and immobilize it in the blink of an eye.

3. The Goliath Frog

This species of frogs resides in West Africa and can usually be found around rivers and waterfalls. An adult can reach the full size of  12.6 in (32 cm), weighing 7.17 lb (3.25kg), just about as much as a newborn. As tadpoles, they are quite picky with their food and only nibble on a single kind of aquatic plant, but the adults grow to feed on dragonflies, worms and locusts. The Goliath Frog can live to a ripe old age of 15 years. They are now considered an endangered species and despite bringing them into zoos, they never reproduce in captivity.

2. The Venomous Solenodon

If this gigantic venomous rodent is giving you the creeps, maybe it will soothe you to find out it can only be encountered in a few remote places near Cuba. Now that we’ve established how far away from us it is, let’s have a look at that make them special. This insectivorous mammal is one of a kind due to its venomous saliva which helps them kill lizards, frogs and even other rodents.

1. The Potoo

You won’t believe this bird exists until you yourself run a google image search. The potoo is a nocturnal insectivore notorious for laying only one egg at a time, directly on a tree stump, rather than in a nest. They spend their days camouflaged on tree stomps in Mexico and Argentina, with their eyes half closed. If they suspect they are in danger they “freeze” and perfectly blend in with the background, making it difficult for the possible predator to observe them.

Image sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6