See the creature, be the creature… live in the creature? These animal-shaped buildings take the concept of surreal estate to a newer, wetter-nosed level.

Whose necks? Youse necks! The Giraffe Childcare Center in southwestern Paris’ Boulogne-Billancourt district certainly stands out amongst the French capital’s classic architecture.

Then again, the design by Paris-based Hondelatte Laporte Architects would probably stand out just about anywhere.

The giant yellow giraffe appears to provide support to the building’s cantilevered roof while creating visual interest for students and staff who pass by its tree-trunk-sized legs as they come and go. Flickr member Inter- snapped the shots above in the summer of 2013.

See Food

Café Fish (also known as the Fish Dance Restaurant) in Kobe, Japan was designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry and was built in the late 1980s.

Located in Kobe’s gritty docklands district, the four-story-tall sculpture sits cheek-by-jowl (do fish have jowls?) with the actual restaurant, so don’t expect to dine Jonah-style. Flickr member Jacome (jacomejp) captured the metal-scaled eatery in November of 2013.

World’s Coilest Tower

Who knew Thailand had kaiju too? The coral-hued Wat Samphran Dragon Temple near Bangkok towers 16 stories into the sky.

The dragon is hollow and features an internal stairway. Flick member Serg Brandys visited the temple complex in late 2014.

Terrapin Stationary

The Kura Kura Ocean Park on Kartini Beach in Jepara, Indonesia opened in February of 2011. The park combines the attractions of a water park with those of an educational aquarium.

The main building is cast in the shape of an enormous sea turtle (“kura-kura” in the Bahasa Indonesia language) and is divided into two floors. Flickr member Diza Abdulloh (Diza5) visited the park in April of 2016.

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Creature Comforts 12 More Animal Shaped Buildings

These interior photos by Kai Fagerström depict wild forest inhabitants who have made derelict human-owned dwellings their own – domestic portraits-at-home with a undomesticated twist.

An abandoned series of small shacks and quaint cottages in Finland, slowly reclaimed by nature, show hints of slowly-invading of plant life,  but the even faster introduction of woodland animals including squirrels, foxes, owls and more.

This surprising variety of crafty creatures have adopted and reshaped the existing spaces to suit their own needs, tunneling through vents and fireplaces, nesting and resting between walls and below floors.

Though this photography project started with a few quick shots in a set of cabins in the woods near the photographer’s summer home, the deserted spaces have turned out to be so rich in potential wildlife portraits that the results now populate an entire book of images (The House in the Woods).

Great patience is required to wait and take just the right desired shots, which are so well-composed you could almost imagine the animals posed to have their picture taken. “Deserted buildings are so full of contradictions [and] I am fascinated by the way nature reclaims spaces that were, essentially, only ever on loan to humans.”

Each image has a story, often elaborate, about how it was taken. About the last one above, for instance, from National Geographic: “On a summer night a family of badgers file into the kitchen from a tunnel they dug under the fireplace. It took four years before Fagerström finally caught the skittish, nocturnal weasels. For this shot he set his camera on a windowsill, then stood outside on a ladder for hours before pressing the shutter via remote control.”

Thankfully, evolution has most recently tended to reward creatures for strong thinking abilities, as it’s allowed us to rise to the top of the food chain. If we’d been alive in earlier eras, however, we may not have been so lucky. Different times called for different attributes, and there was a time when size and ferocity were a species’ most important quality. Here’s an exploration of 14 of the largest, strongest, and in some cases, strangest, creatures that have called our planet home:

(Images via sumner, copyrighted, tenth medieval, wapedia)

The Moa were flightless birds that resided in New Zealand as recently as 1500 AD. Hunted to extinction by Maori tribesmen, this bird’s dominant physical presence wasn’t enough to fight off sharpened spears. At 12 feet in height and over 500 pounds in mass, the Moa make the modern Ostritch seem diminutive.

(Images via sedgwick museum, moblog , ny times, plesiosaur)

Pliosaurs haunted the world’s oceans, attacking with intense power and speed. With short necks and huge jaws, they were killing machines. The largest Pliosaur skeleton was an incredible 52 feet long, with its head making up almost 8 feet of its total length.

(Images via sasquatchers, free republic, unexplained mysteries, crypto mundo, API)

A possible inspiration for King Kong, Gigantopithecus’ appearance resembled modern day apes, only it was much, much larger. The heftiest ape in history, they could top out at nearly 10 feet and weigh over 1,000 pounds. Gigantophithecus was a distant relative of the modern Orangutan, so most artistic depictions take this into account.

(Images via national geographic, WSU, scifi meshes)

Whorl Sharks were similar to their modern cousins despite jetting along almost 300 million years ago. While modern sharks have rows of serrated teeth ready to replace any that fall out, the whorl shark had an interesting lower jaw that looked like a circular saw, where newer teeth would push older teeth further along the line. There’s some debate about the placement of the tooth structure, but regardless of its location in the mouth or deeper in the throat, it had a startlingly unique appearance.

(Images via fmnh, fogato)

Gastornis, formerly known as Diatryma, is another horrifically large flightless bird. The most terrifying aspect of this animal is the fact that its beak implies it was carnivorous.

(Images via uta, atw, deep sea news, dinosaur pictures, hmnh, dinocasts)

Unlike sharks, that have survived for over 400 million years, Dunkleosteus had a short run of 50 million years. They would get up to 30 feet in length and weigh over 4 tons. They were the last of their kind, as we’ve been unable to find any closely related descendants.

(Images via aljazeera)

Little needs to be said about Titanoboa beyond this: 50 feet long and over 2,500 pounds. Like a titanic exaggeration of the modern boa, be thankful this snake went extinct nearly 58 million years ago.

(Images via yale, avph, charlie’s playhouse)

Arthropleura armata was the worst nightmare of any homeowner: an 8 and a half foot long bug. Similar in appearance to the modern centipede, it was one of the first invertebrates on land, and as such, most likely had little to no predators. Thankfully, they lived well over 300 million years ago, and won’t show up in your hallway any time soon.

Even the smallest creatures deserve mention, and the horned gopher (Ceratogaulus Rhinoceros) is no exception. As the smallest mammal to ever have horns, they should have at least a little recognition. It was originally thought the horns were meant for digging, but the consensus now seems to be that they were used for defense.

(Images via sitioco, cope podo, cool fun blog, mediterraneo diving, naturalist)

Jaekelopterus Rhenaniae is similar to Arthropleuria, only it lived in the ocean. At over 8 feet in length, this “sea scropion” (only in appearance) makes the largest lobsters seem like toys. It crawled along the ocean floors nearly 390 million years ago.

(Images via encyclo123, wikipedia, exhibitsrex, zimbio)

Mamenchisaurus looks much like another famous dinosuar, Apatosaurus (formerly known as Brontosaurus), and is similar except for one odd difference: neck length. Their necks were up to 46 feet in length and made up 50% of their full body length. They lived nearly 150 million years ago and were entirely herbivorous.

(Images via times online, nature)

What’s more fun than a kangaroo? A 10 foot tall, 500 pound kangaroo. Procoptodon Goliah was a marsupial just like its modern cousins, and had similar features, but with a shorter face and slightly different feet. They were alive as recently as 18,000 years ago and their demise is attributed to human activity.

(Images via abc, avph, absolute astronomy, darwin online)

Macrauchenia lived around 20,000 years ago and were first discovered by Charles Darwin on his famous voyage on the Beagle. These creatures seem like a grab bag of different animals, with a small trunk and a body reminiscent of a camel. Too large to be fast enough, and too small to frighten off potential predators, they never had much of a chance.

(Images via ucmp, blogol, wikimedia)

Chalicotherium was a giant beast that walked on its back feet and knuckles, and used its long arms to pull down high branches for feeding. They were most likely slow and spent a majority of their time consuming leaves. Their only protection was their size and heavy claws on their forelegs, both of which would deter modern predators, but were unexceptional at the time.

(Part Two in an Eight-Part Series on Brilliant and Unusual Artists of the World)

Being an artist, of course, necessitates a certain amount of creativity. There are some artists who are able to constantly surprise with their level of creativity, turning out art that is completely original. New York artist Jason Hackenwerth’s art is so distinctive and unusual that it’s safe to say the world has never seen anything like it.

Jason Hackenwerth creates massive sculptures from colorful latex balloons. The same balloons you might see taking center stage at a child’s birthday party. He spends days twisting and attaching the balloons to create huge creatures that are simultaneously bizarre and wonderful.

The creatures look like a strange cross between sea invertebrates, bugs, and alien monsters. When put into a setting like the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History (above), they truly come to life. Their otherworldly anatomy and bright colors make them almost believable as fierce airborne predators.

At first glance, the creatures may appear whimsical or even silly. And they are – but that’s not the whole story. The sculptures begin their lives as jovial, plump celebrations of life. As they age, the trapped air begins to escape. The sculptures that were once full of life begin to sag and droop, reminding us all of the transience of our own lives.

That’s not to say that seeing Jason’s work is depressing. In fact, he sees to it that each installation is full of life and joy. His sculptures are not meant only to hang from the ceiling; they are also wearable. He has made and performed in huge wearable sculptures called Megamites at shows and festivals around the world. Jason’s sculptures bear a surprisingly organic look, so it seems almost logical that they would walk around and interact with people.

Watching the videos on Jason’s website of his balloon creations in action, it’s easy to see why his sculptures have been welcomed in galleries across the country and internationally. He injects fun and playfulness into what he does, and it reflects in the finished product. He could easily take it the other way and highlight the decay of the youthfully rotund creatures. But the message of his art seems to be that life is short, so have fun and be youthful for as long as you can.

(images via: Jason Heckenwerth, Raid Projects, Site Projects, and Blarg)