The animal kingdom is full of creatures who look quite horrifying to human eyes. Many of the most frightening creatures live deep in the depths of the ocean, never to be seen by humans. However, some scary looking creatures are known to live above ground, and photos of one such animal are going viral this week.

The Shoebill stork is a humongous bird that needs to be seen to believe. This creature looks like a man in a scary costume, but we can assure you that this animal is VERY real indeed!

The Shoebill stork looks an awful lot like a muppet, looking like a prehistoric creature that somehow survived the extinction of the dinosaurs. This creature resides in the African wetlands, and experts at the Audubon Society call it “The Most Frightening Bird on Earth.”

The shoebill stork’s scientific name is Balaeniceps rex, and it is typically as big and tall as an average child with a beak that is both massive and threatening.

The bird’s beak is so big that it looks like it can tare off a human head, and his feet are bigger than those of many professional athletes! These birds can actually grow to be as much as 60 inches tall, the height of some grown adults.

There are still around 5,000 to 8,000 Shoebill storks living in Eastern Africa, and they love to chow down on snakes, lizards, catfish, eels, and even baby crocodiles if they can find them.

“The Shoebill will stand there, motionless as a statue, and wait for some poor lungfish or baby crocodile to swim by,” Audubon.com writes. “Then the bird will pounce forward, all five feet of it, with its massive bill wide open, engulfing its target along with water, mud, vegetation, and probably any other hapless fish minding their own business.”

Check out a shoebill stork in action in the video below, and SHARE this story so your friends and family can see this as well!