Some animals are skilled flyers, climbers, or swimmers, while others are expert hiders (at least from us). Here are a few animals that humans have rarely laid their eyes upon.
Blue Whale
The blue whale, the world’s largest animal (weighing 200 tonnes and measuring 80-100 feet in length), is rarely photographed. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service confirmed that a blue whale has been seen three times off Sydney’s coast in the last 100 years.
Even the most ardent whale watchers and researchers are unable to spot blue whales. This is due to the fact that blue whales prefer to live far out at sea, their populations are dispersed, and we have very little information on their migration and critical habitat.
Coelacanth
Since we had only ever seen coelacanth fossils, the fish was long thought to have been extinct alongside its dinosaur roommates. So when a coelacanth was spotted off the coast of South Africa, it sent shock waves around the world.
It’s been dubbed “a living fossil” due to its century-long life span. Female coelacanths also carry their offspring for a five-year period. We thought 9 months was tough!
Giant Squid
A typical giant squid is 33 feet long and weighs 440 pounds (the largest one ever recorded was a whopping 59 feet long and weighed nearly a tonne). That’s approximately the length of a school bus. Despite being the world’s largest invertebrate, we haven’t had many encounters with them.
However, while giant squid carcasses have been discovered washed up on beaches around the world, it’s unclear how many are left in our oceans.