NEW YORK—Maybe there’s some deep-seated ecological guilt in our post-millennial zeitgeist, but suddenly New York’s galleries and museums seem thronged with creatures of the natural world who are, let’s say, far from happy. Whether they derive from children’s books, cartoons, the history of art, or observation of the natural world, these animals range in character from the simply odd to the downright scary. Tigers shot through with arrows, exploding squirrels, and poisonous rats are all here, making for one of the most unsettling Editor’s Picks I’ve ever come up with.

Click on the photo gallery at left to see these fearsome creatures.