Strange Creatures

In nature, the right stench can mean the difference between life or death. Meet nature's odor-equipped inhabitants, from vomiting grasshoppers to dung-flinging hippos, and even a flower that's adapted to smell like death.

One uses a mustache to attract mates and another has a bill so big, it needs special vertebrae to carry it. Learn how nature's flying iconoclasts have evolved their appearance in order to survive.

Gawk at some of the world’s ugliest animals who owe their survival to the adaptations that made them so strange. A pudgy wolf eel, naked mole rat, and hideous sea lamprey may be superficially grotesque, but they’re evolutionarily amazing.

Witness the tiny creatures that make us squirm while hiding admirable survival skills. From playing dead, removing a tail, or being able to lift objects 30 times their weight, these insects conquer the world with their amazing adaptations.

Are they guinea pigs, beavers, or something else? Capybaras embody the features of several different animals at once, as do warthogs, anteaters, and other fascinating genetic hybrids. Learn why these wannabes display such particular physical traits.

The animal kingdom is filled with mimicry, transformation, and trickery. Discover how stick bugs, lion fish, emperor scorpions, and chameleons use camouflage and confusion to deceive.