10. Albino Alligator - The common urban legend about these creatures living in the sewer system of Manhattan is just that, there are no facts to back it up. Albinism is a condition caused by a lack of pigmentation in the skin and hair, giving a person or animal a whitish appearance. Alligators rely on camouflage to survive and when born with Albinism it decreases their chance for survival. Do not fear! Most Albino Alligators are collected when found and put in zoos, aquariums or farms that have facilities to care for them!

9. Two-Faced Kittens - This deformity is actually more common than you would think. Cats born with two faces happens occasionally in this wacky world. This double-faced kitten was born in Ohio in August 2008 had two noses, two sets of eyes and two mouths, which mewed in unison. Yes, you read that right.

8. Conjoined Nile Tilapia Twins – The Nile tilapia is a freshwater fish native to Africa but sold for food in nearly all parts of the world. These lucky conjoined twins however, won’t be going to the market. They live in a Bangkok aquarium and have worked out a mutually beneficial arrangement. The larger fish acts as the muscle and protects the little one, while the little one scours the tank floor for food. What team work! If only the rest of us could learn from these two.

7. Unicorn? What? - This small roe deer found in Italy, has a single horn growing from its forehead. The nickname they gave it? Can’t you guess…. Unicorn. Scientists are still trying to figure out the how and why but some speculate that this creature truly is a “unicorn”. Animal planet thinks “Such anomalies may occur with some regularity in mammals, which might account for the persistence of the unicorn myth through the ages.” No fun!

6. Elbowed Squid – A Squid with elbows, now I’ve seen it all! What makes this so amazing is that the squid is squishy, no vertebrate! This makes it impossible for a bend like that to happen in its ‘arms’. A dive team working for an oil company in the Gulf of Mexico in 2007 was shocked when they caught a glimpse of this bent-limbed beast. There seems to be no explanation found and this one will continue to puzzle us.

5. The White Lion - White cats… yes. White Lion? Apparently they are beautiful creatures that have been revered in folklore for centuries. No, they’re not Albino. The coloring is a result of a genetic mutation that occurs. The result is normal pigment of the eyes, paws, but lack of pigment in the hair. This is called leucistic and the condition can vary greatly enough to give some a blondish look, rather than all white. Again, this is an animal that has less of a chance in the wild since the coloration gives them the underhand as a predator.

4. Two Headed Turtle - This adorable little anomaly is more common in reptiles. The term for being born with two heads is called Polycephaly. In some cases, turtles are found with two heads side-by-side. In others, turtles may have two heads protruding from opposite ends of the body, a difficult situation to be sure. These creatures are sought out as fantastic pets and usually cost a hefty penny. This is great for them since the survival rate of one in the wild, doesn’t have great odds.

3. Yoda, the Four-Eared Feline - My personal favorite. Not only is he named after one of my favorite Star Wars characters but this cat has a wonderful adoption story. Yoda had been living in a bar near Chicago when he was adopted by a couple who had stopped in for a drink. They took him home, made him part of the family and then posted his picture on the Internet. Since then, this four-eared feline has enjoyed international notoriety. This cat definitely used the force to bring a loving couple into his life!

2. Giant Bunny – I’ve actually posted this before, awhile back. Bred in captivity, rabbits can grow to be more than 3 feet long and weigh more than 30 pounds. Giant rabbits do not occur in the wild, but they have been known to escape captivity and breed with local wild rabbit populations. Many want one as a pet but local farmers despise them since just one of these rabbits could wipe out their crops in a blink of an eye!

1. Henry the Hexapus - This six armed octopus is aptly called for its lack of two arms! ”Henry the Hexapus,” as he is known to the staff of Blackpool Sea Life Center in England, was found in a lobster trap and taken to the center to be given a permanent home.

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/dogs-101/guess-the-breed/index.html

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When most people think of a Dodo, they remember the Dodo depicted in the children’s story “Alice in Wonderland”. Much of the fascination with Dodo’s comes from this tale. Unfortunately, the tale is what it is… a story. The facts of a Dodo are very few and scientists are still trying to figure out the birds existence and how it ticked.

The Dodo is bigger than a turkey, approximately weighing 23 kilograms. They would wade in ponds to catch fish for food. They inhabited the forests on the island where they would lay one large egg on a mass of grass. Scientists have deduced from studying the DNA that the Dodo is a descendant of the pigeon. The written reports and illustration of sailors and ship’s naturalists, as well as the information gathered by scientists are all that we have to see a glimpse into the Dodo’s life on Earth.

Unfortunately, there are no complete Dodo specimens. Many theories as to why this is have arisen. Some say the birds may have been eaten by Dutch sailors who discovered them. Others believe the primary cause of their demise was from the destruction of the forest, which cut off their food supply. The animals the sailors brought with them also destroyed the Dodo nests.

From the history and remains collected we can tell the bird was a flightless one. The Dodo’s wings are stubby and heavy, and it’s body ungainly. The small breastbone is too small to support the pectoral muscles a bird this size would need to fly. Scientists believe that the Dodo evolved from a bird capable of flight to a flightless one. Once the Dodo landed on Mauritius, it found a habitat with plenty of food and no predators giving the bird no need to fly. It was more efficient, energy wise, for the bird to remain on the ground. This is how the flightless Dodo evolved.

What remains of the Dodo? Only odd skeleton and other body parts, such as head and feet, scattered around the world in museums. Scientists have discovered the evolution of the Dodo by using fragments of DNA that have been extracted from the bones. The search for information still continues to this day but much of the Dodo’s existence is still a mystery.

Claim: Cats suck the breath from babies, sometimes killing them.

FALSE. There are many reasons why people might believe this. A cat is jealous of the newborn or the milk breath attracts the cat. Anyone knows that most household cats don’t actually like milk and would prefer water. As for the jealousy, any actual events on record show only accidental deaths. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) should also be taken into consideration, however very sad. It is a known fact that SIDS is extremely hard on the parents and makes it hard for them to accept the facts. Some turn to possible causes and thus the urban legend may be a way for them to cope with what has happened. Whatever the reason for people blaming the cat, we do know that cats would never intentionally harm us or babies for that matter. I am sure there have been accidental causes of cats sleeping across an infants face and suffocating them. This however, is not what the urban legend suggests. So, if you are worried about your cat having ill intentions toward your newborn infant, please know that this is not the case. What is important to know, for safety purposes, is to be careful not to let a cat crawl all over your infant or sleep in the same room.

Claim: Handling by a human will cause a baby bird to be rejected by its mother.

FALSE. The fact is that most birds have a limited sense of smell and cannot detect human scent. However, if you handle bird eggs while the mother is away from the nest, upon her return she may notice a disturbance in the nest and will take this as an indication that a dangerous presence is nearby. They may temporarily or even permanently abandon their nests as a result. Such behavior is relatively rare, however, and in these situations the mother birds are reacting to visual warnings, not olfactory ones. The best thing to do if you come upon a baby bird or egg is to first determine if the bird is a nestling or a fledgling. Nestlings are featherless or fuzzy and belong in the nest. Fledgelings have feathers and are old enough to leave the nest and be on the ground. Replace nestlings into the nest they have fallen from, but leave fledgelings where you find them. If the nest is damaged you can create a new one from a berry basket or margarine tub that has holes poked into the bottom for drainage. Line it with pine needles or paper towels and tack it up in a tree or shrub as close to the original nest as possible. The parents will return and take up feeding the babies as if they were still in the original nest.

Claim: Tourists who send their dog to a Chinese restaurant’s kitchen to be fed, end up being served their own pooch.

FALSE. This legend is mostly fueled by mistrust of foreigners and their foreign ways. Westerners see these critters as mainly companions. Asian society views these creatures as unproductive and thus as having little intrinsic value. This difference of viewpoints underpins stories playing on the theme of heathen foreigners regarding treasured Western pets as nothing more than foodstuffs. It’s this bit of xenophobia which fuels nasty rumors about Chinese restaurants’ rounding up local cats to turn into chop suey and Koreans being responsible for dog disappearances in any neighborhood they move to.

The creator of this video can be found at www.youtube.com/themeankitty