14 Hilariously Wrong Historical Photos Depicting Animals

As artists and scientists throughout history began to study animals in earnest and create compendiums of fantastic beasts (and where to find them), they had to rely on secondhand knowledge to create their own drawings. The result? Hilariously inaccurate and weird depictions of creatures that look more like they come from a Dr. Seuss book than an encyclopedia. Via: Ranker

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01
A Leopard, Unknown Artist, 12th Century

via Wikipedia
02
An Elephant, Jacob van Maerlant, c. 1350

via Wikipedia
03
A Snail, Jacob van Maerlant, c. 1350

via Library of the Netherlands
04
A Spider, Jacob van Maerlant, c. 1350

via Wikimedia
05
A Whale, Unknown Artist, 13th Century

via The British Library
06
Crocodile, Unknown Artist, Late 13th Century

via Wikimedia
07
An Oyster, Jacob van Maerlant, c. 1350

via The national library of the Netherlands
08
An Owl, Unknown Artist, 1230-1240

via Wikimedia
09
Lions and Bears, Unknown Artist, Early 13th Century

via Wikimedia
10
A Hippopotamus, Jacob van Maerlant, c. 1350

via The national library of the Netherlands
11
A Lynx, Unknown Artist, 13th Century

via Wikipedia
12
Gibbons, Aloys Zötl, 1833

via Wikimedia
13
A Beaver, Edward Topsell, 1658

via Edward Topsell/The Public Domain Review
14
An Elephant, Unknown Artist, 15th Century

via Wikimedia