The animal kingdom certainly tops the list of strange and weird creatures that Mother Nature has to offer. All animal species are unique in their own way and have extraordinary abilities that are really rare and special or simply look weird and funny. Lots of bodily parts get attention, and looking at some animals’ noses will leave you wondering why they were made that way. Apart from breathing and smelling, some animals use their noses to fight for their territories, hunt for prey, eat, drink, and even attract the opposite sex. That being said, let’s take a look at some animals with weird-looking noses:
Star-Nosed Mole
The nose on the star-nosed mole is made up of 22 tentacles, forming a star shape. They have mighty sensitive sniffers, making them nature’s fastest foragers. This hamster-looking creature uses its nose to search for insects and worms, even in the dark. In addition, it has the most highly-developed touch body organs, right in its nose. As if that wasn’t enough, this animal can scent underwater by exhaling nostril bubbles onto something it wants to smell, then inhaling them.
Snub-Nosed Monkey
These monkeys have snubbed noses with nostrils facing forward. Apart from breathing, we’re not sure if the nose is of much use. It. however, causes problems for the animal in rainy seasons. The upturned nose gets filled with water during rainfall, causing a plethora of sneezes. The noisy sneezes, unfortunately, makes it easier for hunters to find them during wet days.
Proboscis Monkey
The proboscis monkey has the biggest nose in the monkey family, with a length of about 7 inches. Sometimes it hangs down over its mouth, requiring the animal to push it aside when eating. These animals use their noses to deliver warning signals, while males use them to attract females during mating.
Mandrill
These are the largest monkeys and probably the most colourful. They have a stop-sign red nose with blue or white-coloured stripes around it. These colours are duplicated on the back with bright red genitals as well as light blue butts. This makes it easy for them to follow one another in the jungle, not to mention it’s a mating must-have as female mandrills prefer a flashy-looking guy.
Aardvark
While it’s translated as the ‘earth pig’, Aardvark is related to the elephant and not the pig. This nocturnal animal has a long, pig-like snout, which it swings side to side to sniff out food. They feed almost exclusively on termites and ants.
Short-Nosed Unicornfish
This species of unicornfish has a pointed nose that looks like a horn protruding in front of its eyes, making them totally mesmerising. This hornlike nose, together with the two spines that protrude out of either side of their tails, can be used to deliver a nasty injury to a predator.
Elephant Shrew
This animal is neither a shrew nor an elephant, but it’s related to both. The elephant shrew has a very long, active, and squirmy nose, which it uses to hunt for food on the ground –mainly spiders and beetles.
