Five of Africa’s strangest creatures

Pangolin
With its covering of spiky scales, this nocturnal animal looks like an oversized pine cone, especially when it curls into its defensive ball position. If the armour-plating isn’t enough to deter predators, such as leopards and hyenas, it also secretes a foul-smelling odour. The pangolin is toothless, grinding its food, which includes ants and termites, in its stomach with the help of small stones.

Aardvark
This well-known but rarely spotted mammal is an odd-looking creature, with a long snout, oversized ears and arched back. The aardvark’s unusual foraging behaviour adds to its comical character. It swings its nose around over the ground in search of the scent of food, and when it finds a concentration of ants or termites, it springs suddenly into frantic action, digging into the ground at a furious rate in a bid to eat the insects before they disperse.

The familiar yet bizarre aardvark

Bush baby
Also known as the lesser gelago, this tiny primate has big, bright round eyes and big ears, giving it a unique and peculiar look. Its loud, shrill cry resembles that of a human child and accounts for its name. To complete its odd reputation, the bush baby is able to leap great distances between trees, making it appear to fly overhead.

Shoebill
Not the prettiest of Africa’s birds, this stork-like wader has a surreally large, show-shaped beak. The shoebill is a hefty creature, its wingspan stretching over two metres across. Living in swamps in East Africa, the bird’s diet includes fish, frogs and even baby crocodiles.


The shoebill, with its oversized beak and beady eyes

Golden-rumped elephant shrew
Bizarrely, this little woodland creature’s connection to the elephant extends beyond just its trunk-like snout – it’s actually more closely related to the elephant than the shrew. This animal’s strange appearance is heightened by a golden-coloured bottom. When the elephant shrew is under threat, it scurries away at an impressive speed, but if predators are too close, it puts on a brave show of defiance, facing its attacker and kicking up leaf litter aggressively.