World's Tallest Dog Denise Doorlag stands with Zeus, her Great Dane, at her home in Otsego, Mich., in this Nov. 3, 2011 photo. Zeus is now officially the world's tallest canine according to the Guinness World Record 2013 book. The 3-year-old measures 44 inches from foot to shoulder. Standing on his hind legs, Zeus measures 7-foot-4. Kevin Scott Ramos/Guinness World Records 2013 Edition

Ugliest Bird in the World This photograph of a grizzly bear missing its right front paw was taken last summer near the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve. The bear reappeared in the same area a few weeks ago. Courtesy of National Park Service

Meet Nelson the Parrot Chick, Possibly the Ugliest Bird Ever This baby parrot is named Nelson, and he is arguably one of the ugliest birds in the world. His parents rejected him when he was born. But don't feel too badly -- he has around-the-clock care from staff at Bergzoo in Germany. And one day, he will grow into a Kea parrot, with beautiful green feathers and a flash of orange under his wings. Steffen Schellhorn/Imago Stock/Newscom

animal oddities Mr. Bumble, an overweight skunk from Somerset, England, used to live mainly on bacon sandwiches. But after he ballooned to nearly 15 pounds, he was given a new home and put on a tough diet, the BBC reported. His owners gave him to the U.K.'s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). Now, his new home is a the Tropiquaria animal park in the U.K. The animal park's owner said Mr. Bumble needed to lose 5-6 pounds. SWNS

Animal Oddities: Snake with a foot A Chinese woman was spooked after a one-footed snake, shown here, turned up in her home. Duan Qiongxiu, 66, of China's Sichuan province, woke early on Sept. 11, 2009, to find a 16-inch-long snake in her room, with a clawed foot growing out of its body. The snake is as thick as a small finger and appears to have a foot growing on its body, about 10 inches from its head. The foot is less than an inch long and has four claws. CEN

animal oddities The jerboas are a family of small mammals that are adapted to burrowing and jumping in sandy areas, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Their hind legs can be as much as five times the length of their forelegs and they have long flexible tails. The tiny creatures are capable of jumping up to about 9.8 feet. Several species are endemic to the deserts of Central Asia. youtube

Animal Oddities: Montauk Monster The carcass of an odd-looking creature, referred to as the "Montauk Monster," has reportedly washed up a Long Island, N.Y., shore. Again. The "Montauk Monster" first made headlines last summer, when the dead body of an unidentified "beast" was seen on the beach in Ditch Plains, Long Island. Internet theories ranged from a genetic experiment gone wrong to the Long Island version of the Lochness Monster. Others thought it was more likely the work of a special effects or Photoshop master. This photo, taken May 6 in Southold, N.Y., shows a similar "monster" spotted by an anonymous couple on a walk. Nicky Papers, a student and founder of the blog <a href="http://www.montauk-monster.com" target="external">Montauk-Monster.com</a>, took the photograph after the couple contacted him. montauk-monster.com

Animal Oddities Chanel, the world's oldest dog, celebrated her 21st birthday Wednesday, according to Reuters. The dachshund, from Port Jefferson, N.Y., received a certificate from Guinness World Records marking the occasion. "Chanel is the Guinness World record holder for the oldest living dog," said Jamie Panas, a spokeswoman for Guinness World. The record authority reviewed a veterinarian's certificate, photographs and statements from four witnesses to verify the dog's age. ABC

Animal Oddities Could this be the U.K.'s only vegetarian cat? Although cats are natural carnivores, Dante is a rescued tom who turns his whiskers up at anything -- except for organic fruit and vegetables. This fussy feline refuses to touch traditional cat food of any kind, favoring ''less fattening'' homegrown alternatives. South West News Service

Animal Oddities A rare albino elephant calf is captured on camera in the Okavango region of Botswana. Experts say albino elephants are usually not white but have more of a reddish-brown or pink hue, according to the BBC. Albinism is thought to be fairly common among Asian elephants but is not so common in larger African elephants. Mike Holding/AfriScreen Films

Animal Oddities Ugly Bat Boy came to live with a New Hampshire veterinarian after the vet told the cat's previous owner that he liked the animal's looks, according to the U.K. Telegraph. Ugly was born to a litter of four and is now 8 years old. Because of his appearance he's become a local celebrity. ABC

Animal Oddities Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) captured this image of a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) in the deep waters just offshore of Central California from a video taken by a remotely operated video at depths of 2,000 to 2,600 feet. Since it was discovered in 1939, the barreleye's vision has been a mystery, until scientists at MBARI solved it on Feb. 23, 2009. The barreleye has extremely light-sensitive, tubular eyes that can rotate inside of its transparent head. Capped by bright green lenses, the fish's eyes point upward when it looks for food overhead, and then they point forward when the fish is feeding to focus on its prey. Courtesy Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Animal Oddities Heteropoda maxima The Heteropoda maxima (shown here) is one of more than 1,000 new species discovered around the Mekong River in southeast Asia over the past 10 years, according to a <a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2008/WWFPresitem10990.html " target="external">new report</a> by conservation group World Wildlife Fund). With a legspan of up to 11.8 inches, the species is the largest huntsman spider in the world. Courtesy Petra and Wilfried Creative Commons/WWF

Animal Oddities Squid An underwater camera at a drilling site in the Gulf of Mexico filmed this rare Magnapinna squid in November 2007. The footage circulated among oil industry employees but became public after a recent report in National Geographic. The rare creatures have long tentacles that hang at right angles from "arms" that extend out from their bodies. Youtube

animal oddities pygmy tarsier For the first time since 1921, scientists observed a living pygmy tarsier -- one of the planet's smallest and rarest primates -- on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Some scientists believed the tarsiers had become extinct because they had not been seen for so long. The nocturnal animals are very small -- weighing 2 ounces -- and have large eyes and ears. Sharon Gursky-Doyen/Texas A&M University/Courtesy of National Geographic Society

animal oddities Pictured here in the Sanbona Game Reserve is one of four white lions recently released into the Sanbona Game Reserve in South Africa. The white lions were taken into captivity decades ago to protect them from poachers. Under a multimillion dollar conservation project, the lions are now being reintroduced to the wild. Courtesy The Mantis Collection

two-headed kitten A two-headed kitten born in Wood County, Ohio, died after only a few days. The kitten was born with four eyes, two noses and one mouth. ABC

animal oddities Hex, a six-legged kitten, was born six weeks ago in Florida. Vets say that the kitten needs to have the extra limbs removed to save its life. ABC

Animal Oddities Blinky the cow was born with two heads Tuesday. Although the calf is clearly special, unfortunately, the life span of two-headed cows is not very long, which does not bode well for Blinky, who can't stand or sit on her own. Greg Hamstra, owner of Hamstra's Dairy in Tulare, Calif., where the calf was born, said, "We call her Blinky because all four eyes blink at the same time." ABC News

Lucky cow Lucky the cow was born July 7, 2007, with a large, white No. 7-shaped patch of fur on his forehead. Lucky was also the seventh calf born on the farm. ABC