Freaks of nature

Pictured here in the Sanbona Game Reserve is one of four white lions recently released into the Sanbona Game Reserve in South Africa. The white lions were taken into captivity decades ago to protect them from poachers. Under a multimillion dollar conservation project, the lions are now being reintroduced to the wild. (Courtesy The Mantis Collection)

A calf named "Jennifer," with two heads, is fed by a farmer at a stable in Rivera, Colombia, Thursday, July 30, 2009. The calf was born July 24, to a cow on a ranch in the Colombian department of Huila named "Princesa." (Diario del Huila/AP Photo)


A six-legged fawn is recovering at West Rome Animal Clinic in Rome, Ga. after sustaining minor injuries this weekend from two dogs in Everett Springs, Ga. Due to the injuries, one of its two tails had to be amputated. The fawn has two distinct pelvises and uses one leg from each pelvis to walk seen Monday, July 21, 2008. (Brittany Hannah/The Rome News-Tribune/AP Photo)


This pitcher-shaped plant is called Nepenthes attenboroughii. Believed to be the largest rat-eating shrub, it eats rats and insects that fall in and become trapped. The plant then dissolves their remains in enzymes. The plant, found in the remote central Philippines, was documented by the natural history explorer Stewart McPherson. (Stewart McPherson)


The carcass of an odd-looking creature, referred to as the "Montauk Monster," has reportedly washed up a Long Island, N.Y., shore. Again. The "Montauk Monster" first made headlines last summer, when the dead body of an unidentified "beast" was seen on the beach in Ditch Plains, Long Island. Internet theories ranged from a genetic experiment gone wrong to the Long Island version of the Lochness Monster. Others thought it was more likely the work of a special effects or Photoshop master. (montauk-monster.com)


The jerboas are a family of small mammals that are adapted to burrowing and jumping in sandy areas, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Their hind legs can be as much as five times the length of their forelegs and they have long flexible tails. The tiny creatures are capable of jumping up to about 9.8 feet. Several species are endemic to the deserts of Central Asia. (youtube)


When a Charlotte, N.C., woman heard about Lily, a five-legged Chihuahua-terrier mix destined to join the ranks of a freak-animal sideshow, she stepped in and saved the puppy from an ignominious future. According to UPI, Allyson Siegel, 46, bought Lily for $4,000 from the owner of a Coney Island, N.Y., sideshow. Siegel's act of kindness has won her the praise of admirers and has secured Lily a return to a normal life. A New York City veterinarian will remove Lily's extra leg at no cost. (The Charlotte Observer/via AP)


Elizabeth, is a Mangalitza pig, who was auctioned at a market in Lancashire, United Kingdom, April 25. Mangalitza pigs are an ancient breed that was nearly wiped out in the 1990s. They are now bred at farms all over Europe, prized for producing high-quality meat. The pigs are being raised now in the United States. Elizabeth set off a bidding war at auction. She was sold, for $364, to Tim Fitton, a farmer who wanted the pig not for slaughter but for his 11-year-old daughter. "My daughter Alice really took a shine to it," Fitton, 51, told the U.K.'s Telegraph. "We have got to promote these new breeds and it will be interesting to see what happens when we take her home and our own pigs see her. I hope we can breed from her." (© JEFF MORRIS)


Kara Kuh of Willamette Humane Society in Salem, Ore. shows off a cat recently brought in as a stray. WHS staff say they have never seen anything like the approximately 1-inch wide by 3- inch long fatty tissue pouch that grows out of the cat's head, droops down and completely covers his face. Possibly an old abscess. Staff have dubbed the cat "the Donald", since the growth resembles the hairstyle worn by billionaire Donald Trump. (Kobbi R. Blair/Statesman Journal/AP Photo)


While checking on his cattle, a Midwest farmer found that one of his cows had given birth to a calf with two heads. The farmer said he spotted the calf on the ground and took it to the veteranarian. The vet said that because the calf couldn't nurse from its mother or receive nourishment from any other source it would have to be put down. (ABC)


Gum tree? Try, "bum tree." This 60-foot tall Aussie tree has become a tourist attraction in Lismore, New South Wales, because of its huge growth that looks like a shapely bottom on one side. (SplashNewsOnline.com)


Source: ABC News

Categories: Photo