{"id":511153,"date":"2026-03-08T12:45:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T12:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/511153\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T12:45:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T12:45:28","slug":"a-wandering-meatloaf-and-a-two-headed-snake-meet-6-of-oregons-weirdest-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/511153\/","title":{"rendered":"A ‘wandering meatloaf’ and a ‘two-headed snake’ \u2013 meet 6 of Oregon’s weirdest animals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

Head to the Pacific coast and you may encounter a gumboot chiton \u2013 a blob-like marine mollusc<\/a> 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<\/a> with ‘two heads’.<\/p>\n

Weirdest animals in Oregon
\nRubber boa
\n\"NorthernThe rubber boa lives in a range of habitats across Oregon, from grasslands and deserts to coniferous forests. Gerald Corsi\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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<\/a> eats small mammals, such as shrews and mice<\/a>. 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 \u2013 hence its nickname, the ‘two-headed snake’.<\/p>\n

California quail
\n\"CalifornianA California quail, or valley quail, perches on the branch of a hawthorn tree. Credit: George Lepp\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Gumboot chiton
\n\"GumbootThis image shows the underside of the gumboot chiton. Credit: Ed Reschke\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Coastal giant salamander
\n\"CoastalAs a juvenile, the coastal giant salamander has striking filamentous gills. It loses these when it becomes an adult. Credit: Wirestock\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The coastal giant salamander looks like something out of Star Wars<\/a>. It is one of two species of Pacific giant salamander found in Oregon \u2013 the other is the Cope\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Townsend’s big-eared bat
\n\"Townsend'sA Townsend’s big-eared bat in flight. Credit: McDonald Wildlife Photography\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Townsend’s big-eared bat makes it onto our list of Oregon’s most peculiar animals for its ears alone \u2013 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,\u00a0sawflies and dung beetles.<\/p>\n

Ochre sea star
\n\"OchreA group of ochre sea stars and anemones at Myers Creek Beach on the Oregon coast. Credit: Greg Vaughn\/VWPics\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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\u00a0animals look like they’ve been painted onto the coast. And it’s not just their colour that seems surreal.<\/p>\n

The sea stars have the incredible ability to regenerate<\/a> 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<\/a> (SSWD) in 2013.<\/p>\n

Top image: Hal Bergman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

More amazing wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From glossy black bears and quill-covered porcupines to elegant red-tailed hawks and stripy chipmunks, Oregon is home to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":["post-511153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}