Two wolves once prowled the mountains and forests of Japan.
They were revered as deities, and respected as protectors of travelers and fields, until forces from outside the islands changed everything.
Now, one wolf is gone for good, while the other, even though it’s likely extinct, is still being hunted.
African Harrier Hawks can blush! No you aren't imagining that. Their featherless faces are normally pale, but in some circumstances they turn bright red.
This month's pin was designed by Erica Williams, aka @hookieduke
HookieDuke (Erica Williams) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work weaves together traditional mark-making, surreal and archetypal imagery, dream logic, and occult symbolism. Their practice explores phenomenology, myth, the divine, and the arcane, dwelling at a threshold between transformation, the natural world, and the unseen that act as vessels of meaning, lore, and spiritual inquiry. In addition to illustration and printmaking, they create fiber works and symbolic art objects.
Erica had this to say about her inspiration for this month’s pin “I have always felt spiritually connected to hawks and falcons as a Sagittarius, and they appear in my art regularly. They are highly adaptable, diverse, independent, and adventurous creatures in addition to their incredible beauty and hunting prowess.”
Our next bizarre beast is a flying fruit eater that can be found hanging upside down. But don’t let that fool you… it isn’t a bat, or a tropical bird friend. This hyper-carnivorous bird of prey is the biggest hawk species in all of Africa, in part because of its epic wing span, and in part because of its long legs.
Swipe to see if you guess it right!
Happy Birthday 🥳
@officialzsl
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is celebrating their official 200th birthday later this month! Check out @officialzsl to learn more about their 200th anniversary celebrations.
The ZSL has worked with us on some of your favorite Bizarre Beasts episodes including this month's episode on Okapi. Check out some of the photos they let us use.
The @okapiconservation project is doing very important work to address the declining okapi populations, and as a result, they're also protecting some other very important local species!
Check out their page for more details!
Kory Bing is an illustrator based in Oregon City, Oregon with a focus on strange creatures, extinct animals, and other oddities of our natural world. She grew up in the rural Ozark Mountains of Missouri and spent most of her childhood in the woods poking things with sticks and picking up snakes. Kory is the creator of the long-running urban fantasy webcomic Skin Deep () and illustrator for The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, When the Earth Was Green, and the upcoming Tyrant Lizard Queen by Riley Black. Evolution and the natural world have always been a huge artistic inspiration; it's fascinating to see how nature can shape an organism into something like a stripey horse-goat with a long black tongue and the ability to disappear into the forest.
If you guessed okapi, you're right!
European explorers frequented the rainforest in the 1800s to find all kinds of mystic creatures, and one was particularly compelling to them: The African Unicorn (aka the okapi).
Our next bizarre beast was specifically requested by YOU*. It was once believed to be a cryptid critter, roaming the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
*Folks in the comments, many of our real-life friends, and even the man who recently led the Complexly staff on their walking tour of New Orleans.
