For centuries, all kinds of myths and legends about strange and mysterious animals have captured our imagination. That’s where all the cool fantasy movies and shows come from!
We’ve imagined all kinds of things: sea monsters, forest creatures, dragons. You name it! But did you know that these myths are almost always rooted in reality somehow? That’s right! Some of these legendary animals turn out to be real.
Reality can be magical! Come along for a walk through Wonderland, and find out which animals were summoned from our wildest fantasies!
1. Komodo Dragon
Ahoy, adventurers! Imagine sailing into unknown territory where adventurers whisper all kinds of stories! Guess what these stories include? Giant, fire-breathing lizards!
Sounds too fantastic to be true? Well, maybe it is a little exaggerated. But still – the story is not entirely made up. Meet the Komodo dragon! This real-life monster lizard will make you reconsider your disbelief.
Though they may not breathe actual fire, these gigantic lizards are more than capable of setting your heart ablaze with fear. Their saliva is toxic, and those teeth? Extra sharp!
2. Okapi
For centuries, this mysterious animal was thought to be a fanciful tale. It was basically the African equivalent of a unicorn. Pfft, what? An animal that is a blend of a zebra and a giraffe? Come on, no way!
But the jungle’s secrets were revealed in 1901 when Sir Harry Johnston became the first non-native to see one of them! I guess this is a great lesson to take native peoples’ stories seriously!
3. Platypus
Platypuses are hilarious. Why? Because they literally shattered every biological classification scientists used to know.
I mean, imagine you’re a respected British scientist from the 18th century. And then, they bring you a platypus! What do you even do? Call it a hoax, of course!
For way too long, scientists thought that it was a specimen stitched together by some prankster. No way that there was a mammal who lays eggs and looks kind of like a misshapen duck! Well, now we know better, I guess!
4. Narwhal
Probably one of my favorite animals ever, simply because people have trouble believing they’re real. I mean, who can blame them? The narwhal has a long history of fooling people.
Back in medieval times, Europeans were convinced narwhal tusks were unicorn horns. That’s simply amazing. Imagine: believing in unicorns used to be more realistic than believing in narwhals!
Even the Vikings played into it. They sold narwhal tusks as proof of unicorns. Honestly, legendary.
5. Giant Squid
We’re back to sailor stories! Now, quite a few tales of terrifying, tentacled sea monsters have haunted sailors for centuries. We’ve all heard of the Kraken, right? The thing is, these stories aren’t baseless! At all!
Giant squids do lurk in the dark depths of the ocean. They can be over 40 feet long! That means that giant squids are some of the largest invertebrates on Earth.
6. Coelacanth
Coelacanths are a little different from the other animals on this list. Why? Because we already assumed that they were real. It’s just that we had a false preconception about them – scientists believed that they went extinct!
Then, one day, boom – an explosive discovery! A fisherman pulled out a surprise that shocked scientists. The Coelacanth is a living fossil with quite a unique anatomy! After all, they’re the tie between tetrapods and fish!