Have you ever heard of a Kodkod?

Rosie_Scope
Rosie_Scope Posts: 7,610 Scope Online Community Coordinator
in Coffee lounge

At the weekend while browsing the internet, I stumbled upon a post about Kodkods (also known as guigna or guiña). And oh my goodness. Look at them:

A cute and fluffy wild cat sitting in some rocks. It looks like a chunky brown tabby cat crossed with a baby cheetah, with a grumpy little expression and chubby cheeks.

They're a species of wildcat that live in Chile. And now I feel must move there. Look at that grumpy little fluffy face.

And then, having discovered a subreddit called 'Animals I didn't know existed' I discovered the pygmy tufted squirrel:

A tiny brown pygmy squirrel with a large head, black shiny eyes and a small body. The tail is bushy and it has tufts on top of its ears.

It's SO small.

I can't believe I'm the age I am and I'm still discovering new animals that I never knew existed. What a joy 😁

Did you know these two existed? Have you learned of a new animal recently? What are your favourite weird or wonderful creatures?

Comments

  • Rachel_Scope
    Rachel_Scope Posts: 2,828 Scope Online Community Coordinator
    edited January 19

    I'd never heard of either of these but I'm a bit obsessed with Kodkods now, they're stunning! I never knew that tenrecs existed until I went to an animal college open day. They look like hedgehogs and they're from Madagascar. After doing some more digging I've found out they're pretty diverse. Here's a link I found that will send me down a big rabbithole of animal facts! Natural History Museum - Tenrecs

    Screenshot 2026-01-19 165500.png

    This is the lowland streaked tenrec who looks incredibly cool with those spikes and stripes.

  • Rosie_Scope
    Rosie_Scope Posts: 7,610 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    Oh wow, that little black and yellow Tenrec look like it should be a Pokemon! How cute.

    I love these strange little guys too:

    A strange underwater creature. It has green petal-shaped protrusions on its body and sweet little black eyes. Its face is a little like a snail

    They're called Leaf Sheep or Leaf Slugs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costasiella_kuroshimae

    They look like they should be in a cartoon.

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