From glossy black bears and quill-covered porcupines to elegant red-tailed hawks and stripy chipmunks, Oregon is home to some dazzling wildlife. But the north-western US state has its fair share of peculiar creatures, too.
Head to the Pacific coast and you may encounter a gumboot chiton – a blob-like marine mollusc known affectionately as the 'wandering meatloaf'. Giant salamanders dwell in the state's mountain streams, multi-coloured sea stars dot the rocky shores, and bats with huge ears flit through the evening sky. Oh, and then there's the snake with 'two heads'.
Weirdest animals in Oregon
Rubber boa
The rubber boa is a relatively small species of snake that rarely exceeds 80 cm in length. It gets its name from the brown rubber-like appearance of its scales. This slow-moving reptile eats small mammals, such as shrews and mice. What makes it strange? Well, it has a tail that looks like a head, which it uses as a decoy to protect its actual head from predators – hence its nickname, the 'two-headed snake'.
California quail
This rotund, ground-dwelling bird, found throughout Oregon, has a curious feature on its head: a comma-like crest that rises from its black cap (in males) before fanning forward like a giant quiff. Made up of six feathers, the California quail uses this impressive headpiece to attract mates and display dominance.
Gumboot chiton
How could we not include a creature with the nickname 'wandering meatloaf' on our list of weird Oregon animals? It's easy to see how the gumboot chiton (its more official name) got its meatloaf epithet. Found on the Oregon coast, these large marine molluscs can grow up to 36 cm long, weigh more than 2 kg and do indeed look a bit like a slow-moving pile of ground meat.
Coastal giant salamander
The coastal giant salamander looks like something out of Star Wars. It is one of two species of Pacific giant salamander found in Oregon – the other is the Cope’s giant salamander. The coastal is the most widespread of the two, spending its days in and around the state's chilly mountain streams, feeding on small invertebrates and vertebrates, including other salamanders.
If threatened, this broad-headed amphibian can whip its long tail towards an attacker to scare them off. It also has toxins in its skin, which can cause nausea if consumed, and can deliver a rather painful bite.
Townsend's big-eared bat
The Townsend's big-eared bat makes it onto our list of Oregon's most peculiar animals for its ears alone – just look at the size of them! It uses these enormous appendages to detect its favourite prey, moths, along with other food items such as lacewings, sawflies and dung beetles.
Ochre sea star
Head to Oregon's shoreline at low tide and you may spot something bright and colourful clinging to the rocks: ochre sea stars. These orange, red and purple animals look like they've been painted onto the coast. And it's not just their colour that seems surreal.
The sea stars have the incredible ability to regenerate flesh, sometimes growing several new limbs from the central disc. Once abundant on the Pacific coast, numbers have plummeted since the arrival of sea star wasting disease (SSWD) in 2013.
Top image: Hal Bergman/Getty Images
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