Written by Slone Fox and Johnny Papan
Photo by Bailey Morgan Photography
FROM BLOBFISH TO SPIDER-CRABS, HERE ARE STRANGE BREED'S TOP 10 STRANGEST CREATURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
There are lots of strange things on this earth, like Mothman, or deja vu, or why people just straight up refuse to wear a mask in the grocery store. When it comes to strange, though, there's no better kind to be than Strange Breed, the hard-hitting, all-girl queer rock band from Vancouver, Canada. The band has been making use of their time by not only writing, recording and releasing new music but also having fun shooting quirky commercials and growing their following on TikTok.
Strange Breed just released their newest single "Reputation", a hard rock revenge-anthem against sexual offenders and men who abuse their power. Though nothing is as disgusting, ugly and slimy as a dude with predatory intentions, Strange Breed guitarist Terra Chaplin and bassist Jess Dubois travel the internet to find the next closest things. From creepy to gross to outright bizarre, here are some of the strangest breeds the world has to offer (aside from sleazy assholes).
1. BLOBFISH
JESS: "Can we just take a minute to ask ourselves, 'What the fuck?'
This thing is hideously strange. It has no muscle or bones, so it’s basically floating flesh-jelly. Mother Nature was definitely having a good laugh when this creature graced the waters. I honestly have no idea what the function of the sea Jell-O is, sorry to disappoint anyone. If you want to witness one with your own eyes, wait until the pandemic is over and go diving in Australia or New Zealand, then poke one and let me know if it feels as weird as it looks."
2. THE AYE-AYE
TERRA: "Starting off, we have the Aye-Aye. The name literally means "I don't know" and it is a part of the Lemur family. The Aye-Aye is found in Madagascar, has a wet nose like a dog, large ears, creepy fingers (long enough to pick its nose and scratch its brain at the same time) and is ugly as fuck. It's nocturnal despite having good eyesight, but it depends significantly more on sound and scent.
When the Aye Aye is looking for a snack, it taps its strange fingers against branches trying to find hollow areas where grubs might be living, then they take a little bite out of the branch, stick one of their little treat fingers in there and pinch a bug and pull it out. Also, other parts of their diet are fruits and fungi seeds. They have babies every two to three years, and females are actually the dominant sex. That's probably why they chose to have a baby only every two to three years. There's local folklore that causes people to believe that Aye Ayes are actually bad omens. There's a mythology that you could die from just looking at one, or get bad luck, or have bad crops."
3. OCEAN SUNFISH
JESS: "The world’s most useless, largest bony fish weighing up to 5,000 pounds. They’re massive and they don’t have a swim bladder, so they literally get stuck floating sideways on the surface of the water. They aren’t predators, they’re just floating around (maybe?) enjoying life.
There’s a hilarious article you can find online that somebody wrote about how much they hate this fish, just look up “stupidest fish in the world,” and it’s the first result that comes up. It’s a long read, but it’s quite entertaining and I’d highly recommend reading it. My favourite quote from it is, 'The most dangerous thing about them is, as you may have guessed, their stupidity.'"
4. THE JAPANESE SPIDER-CRAB
TERRA: "What the hell is that large nasty sea spider! The Japanese spider crab can have a span of three meters and it can weigh up to 20 kilograms. It can camouflage itself to appear like the ocean floor. They're also known as 'decorator crabs' because of this.
The mythology surrounding Japanese spider crabs causes people to think that they're immortal because they can lose up to three limbs and survive. They can also regenerate those limbs and live up to the age of one hundred years old. They're seen as vultures. They scavenge for food, eat dead plants and deceased animals. Another myth that surrounds the Japanese spider crab is the legend of these crabs dragging sailors overboard and eating them alive, which is completely untrue considering they are gentle giants."
5. GERENUK
JESS: "Is it a gazelle? Is it a giraffe? Is it an antelope? Nope. It’s a gerenuk. This animal is majestic as fuck. It’s poised, it’s confident, with horns so sharp they could cut a bitch. I think their purpose is to be on the animal version of Vogue. I mean, look at those long legs.
Gerenuks don’t fight often or travel much. They prefer to spend their time foraging for food. They eat a steady diet of foliage and flowers and surprisingly don’t consume very much water. They must spend a lot of time at the gym to keep such slim figures."
6. ZEBROIDS
TERRA: "This isn't one specific breed, but it is a generalized group of animals that get bred together with a zebra such as horse, pony, or donkey. Zebroids have been bred since the 19th century and the original purpose was to breed out sleeping sickness that zebras are resistant to, but ponies, horses, and donkeys aren't. Sleeping sickness infects the blood of the host, causing fever, weakness, and lethargy, which leads to weight loss and anemia. If left untreated the disease can be fatal. Unfortunately, the breeding is unsuccessful due to the development of dwarfism and also reproductive problems, usually infertility."
7. LAMPREY
JESS: "The less creepy version of the worms in the movie Dreamcatcher...or are they? Lampreys only attack humans when they’re starving. Not to worry though, we eat them back. Ancient Romans highly appreciated them and they were eaten often by the upper class in the Middle Ages. They look pretty harmless until they open their mouths to reveal a tube of teeth, which they make holes in the sides of their prey to feed on blood and bodily fluids. Yum."
8. ANGORA RABBIT
TERRA: "The Angora rabbit has silky soft wool instead of hair. Other species that can be considered Angora are goats and cats. All Angora species originate from Turkey. They are bred for their wool. Their fur grows so fast that it has to be sheared every three to four months. There are four types of Angora rabbits: English, French, giant and silk. They can live 7 to 12 years."
9. LOWLAND STREAKED TENREC
JESS: "Say that ten times fast.
I know what you’re thinking, what the hell were that hedgehog and bee up to? I’m not sure, but something weird happened in Madagascar, where this creature lives. These tiny little guys have long little hands with long fingers. if that’s what you want to call them, and they use them to stomp around on the ground to bring earthworms to the surface for easier snacking.
Fun fact, the streaked tenrec is the only mammal known to use stridulation to generate sound, which is more commonly associated with insects and snakes. "
10. GLACUS ATLANTICUS
TERRA: "Glaucus Atlanticus is also known as the blue sea slug. This cool little guy is only one and a half inches long and very pretty. The blue sea slug is found in temperate and tropical waters of South Africa, Europe, the East Coast of Australia and Mozambique. The blue sea slug lives up to a year. The blue sea slug preys on the Portuguese man-of-war, then stores the venom for its own use. They also lay their offspring on the carcasses of their prey. DISGUSTING!"