10 Strangely Colored Animals

Sylvia Mythen, a 70-year-old grandmother from Venice, Fl, has discovered what appears to be the world's first orange alligator.  She was returning from work when she drove by the gator and promptly had to back up for a double-take. After sending the picture to her local news station she also contacted a biologist who believes the gator is really just half-albino. He says he has never seen or heard of one. But Gary Morse from Florida Fish and Wildlife feels the orange color might be from some environmental element. Regardless, the University of Florida Gators might have a new mascot.

Look at this strange animal! Yes, that is a purple polar bear believe it or not! This usually white polar bear created quite the buzz about the Mendoza City Zoo in Argentina when it unexpectedly turned purple. It seems that the polar bear named Pelusa had a skin condition that the zoo officials were trying to treat, and as a result of the special treatment of this condition the polar bear turned purple. The purple color only lasted for a little while, but it was quite the talk of the town and spread across the world news and internet like wildfire.

The lizard in the photo is not being manipulated (not a photo manipulation). It is now the latest exotic pet craze. Mwanza flat-headed agama's vivid blue-and-red colouring, is a lizard that has a body skin colour similar to Spiderman. Agamas, which are native to Kenya can be good pets, as they become tame and docile if handled regularly.

It can grow up to a foot long, and a balanced diet for them includes locusts, crickets, meal worms and wax worms. They are unable to throw webs, but can change colour – the brightly coloured males will change brown at night or if frightened. They can also run on their hind legs, and can scale vertical walls like spiders.

Take a look at these tattooed pigs. Wim Delvoye has been tattooing them since the 1990s. In the early 21st century a tattooed pigs project was set up in the Art Farm in China, where there are fewer strictures regarding animal welfare than in most parts of the Western world. In 2005, Delvoye's colleague, artist Danny Devos, spent several months at the farm, reorganizing, managing and rebuilding. The tattoos range from traditional flags and lions kind of stuff to Louis Vuitton logo patterns. The skins are not used as formal art objects until the pigs die, at which time, the skins are removed and displayed on walls in various art venues.

The flamingo tongue snail (cyphoma gibbosumn) is a small, colorful sea snail which lives on various species of soft corals in the Caribbean. This creature almost-literally wears its heart (soul and colors) on its sleeve. The pretty color you see in this image is not a snail's shell! Rather, it's in a layer of live mantle tissue, connected to its foot - the snail pushes it out to cover the shell. The mantle tissue also works like a fish's gill. When the snail is attacked, the mantle (and colors) is withdrawn. So you might say, this is the only marine animal that literally turns pale in fright.

Insects typically do not stand out. Something to do with being their one way ticket to certain extinction, generally. A fact that just adds to the mystique of the extremely rare pink katydid. What is perhaps strangest about this species is where they are turning up; the majority of pink katydid images are attributed to the most untropical places such as Osaka and the American Midwest. Speculation is that their unusual color is caused by the genetic condition erythrism, which denotes an unusual red pigmentation.

The Mandarin Duck, or just Mandarin, is a medium-sized perching duck, closely related to the North American Wood Duck. The adult male is a striking and unmistakable bird. It has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The breast is purple with two vertical white bars, and the flanks ruddy, with two orange "sails" at the back

The veiled chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus, a large and colorful species of chameleon, are found in Yemen and Saudi Arabia and also sometimes referred to as the Yemen Chameleon. This chameleon changes color depending on its mood. The prominence of these markings is dependent on several factors including health, mood, and temperature of the lizard.

The Atelopus frog is known by many names such as the clown frog or the Costa Rican Variable Harlequin Toad. Whatever you call the frog, it is a neo-tropical toad that was once quite wide spread living throughout Costa Rica and Panama. The species is listed as critically endangered and is thought to be living primarily in Panama today. Photo: Paul Ouboter / Conservation International.

The Panda Dog was invented by Kensuke Hirakawa after adopting an abandoned Maltese cross Poodle, called Colombo, who was apparently abandoned because of his ugly looks. The unfortunate dog had all its canine teeth removed, a stiff hind leg and tear stained eyes. Having been a beautician and a former pet store owner, Mr Hirakawa decided to beautify his newly found friend. He used puppy safe hair dye to make Colombo look like the cuddly endangered Panda Bear. The result was overwhelming, with a massive and diverse response from the community. Since Colombo was white, the owner simply hair dyed black circles around the eyes, the ears, hind and front legs and strips across the pooch's back. Many scorned the idea as cruel for using chemicals on the animal and for altering its appearance. Others dismissed those perceptions as being over-dramatic. The owner did use a dog-safe non-toxic hair dye. The Panda Dog look turned famous overnight.