Stinky Alert: Meet the 8 Most Stinky Animals

Animals don't particularly care if they smell bad, and if that stench keeps hungry, predatory animals or curious humans away, it's much better for them.

In the following slides, you'll discover the ten most smelly species in the animal kingdom, from the aptly named stinky bird to the ocean-dwelling sea hare.

Stinky bird

The stinky bird, also known as Huatzen, has one of the most unusual digestive systems in the bird kingdom: the food it eats is digested by bacteria in its front intestine rather than its back intestine, making it very similar in anatomy to ruminant mammals such as cows. The rotting food in its two-chamber bowl smells like manure, making the stinking bird the last resort for food among indigenous human settlers in South America. You might imagine that a bird with such a stench would survive on sticky frogs and poisonous snakes, but in reality huatzen is entirely vegetarian, feeding exclusively on leaves, flowers and fruits.

Southern Tamandua

The Southern Tamandua, also known as the Lesser Anteater – to distinguish it from its well-known cousin, the Larger Anteater – smells stinky like a skunk, and (depending on your inclinations) is less pleasant to look at as well.

Normally, a tamandua-sized animal is a hungry jaguar (spotted tiger) fast food, but when attacked, this South American mammal releases a horrible smell from its anal gland at the base of its tail. As if it weren't repellent enough, the southern Tamandua is also equipped with a tail capable of grasping objects, and its powerful arms, covered with long claws, can hit a hungry (wildcat-like) marjai and push it away into the opposite tree.

Throwing beetle (thrower or shell)

One can imagine the sling-beetle rubbing its front limbs together and offering the villain's individual talk (monologue) in an action movie: "Do you see these two bottles I carry? One contains a chemical called hydroquinone, and the other is filled with hydrogen peroxide, the same substance you use to dye your beautiful blonde hair. If you mix these two bottles together, they will quickly reach the boiling point of water and will dissolve in a pile of sticky, smelly substance." Fortunately, this chemical arsenal of the ejector beetle is only deadly to other insects, not humans. (Curiously, the evolution of the defense mechanism of this beetle has been the subject of constant interest of believers in "intelligent design.")

Royal Rat Viper

One does not usually associate snakes with unpleasant odors – poisonous bites, yes, and the pressure they apply to slowly squeeze the lives of their victims, but not unpleasant odors.

Well, Asia's royal rat snake is the exception: also known as the "stinking snake" or "stinking goddess," it is equipped with post-anal glands that can be quickly emptied when threatened, with expected results. You might think that such a feature would develop in a small snake that can't defend itself, but in reality, the king rat snake can be up to eight feet long – and its favorite prey is made up of other snakes, including the similarly foul Chinese cobra.

Hoopoe

A bird widespread in Africa and Eurasia, it's not smelly around the clock, seven days a week, but it stinks enough just to make you never want to see it again for the rest of your life. When a female hoopoe reproduces or incubates her eggs, her "virgin gland" is chemically modified to produce a liquid that smells of rotting flesh, which she immediately spreads throughout her feathers. Newly hatched hoopoes of both sexes are also equipped with these modified glands, and to make matters worse, they have an explosive (and smelly) habit of defecating on all unwanted visitors. It remains a perennial mystery why hoopoe is never sold in pet stores!

Musk ox

Being in a herd of rickety musk bulls is a bit like being in the NFL team's locker room after a game in which extra time was resorted to – you'll notice and smell, as we can say it, a pungent smell that (depending on your inclinations) is either seductive or nauseating.

During the mating season, in early summer, the male musk ox secretes foul-smelling liquid from special glands near his eyes, and then proceeds to rub it into his fur. This unique stench attracts receptive females, who wait patiently nearby as males fight each other for dominance, lowering their heads and colliding with each other at high speeds.

Skunk

The skunk is the most famous smelly animal in the world - so why is it at the bottom of this list? Well, unless you've been living in a secluded room since birth, you already know that it's never a good idea to get close to a skunk, who won't hesitate to spray predators (and curious humans) whenever he feels threatened.

Contrary to popular belief, you can't get rid of the deep smell of skunks by bathing in tomato juice; instead, the Humane Society of the United States recommends a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dishwashing soap. (By the way, there are about a dozen species of skunks, ranging from the familiar striped skunk to the more unusual stinky Balawi badger.)

Sea Rabbit

The word "smell" carries a very different connotation under water than on land or in the air. However, there is no doubt that fish, sharks and crustaceans react negatively to poisonous sprays, and there are no marine invertebrates that release more toxic sprays than sea hare, a type of soft-shelled mollusk. When threatened, the sea rabbit releases a crazy cloud of suffocating purple gas, which quickly overwhelms and then disrupts the predator's cranial nerve. As if that weren't enough, this mollusk is also toxic to eat, covered in transparent, unappetizing and slightly annoying mucus.