8 Scary Facts About Animals We Thought Were Helpless

At school we were taught that nature gives dangerous animals a striking color and a fierce appearance, so people let their guard down when they are next to a cute little animal. But even behind the most adorable appearance can hide a ruthless manipulator, a cruel thief and even a maniac. In this post you will learn about the main dangers of representatives of the animal world that we used to think were harmless creatures.

O awesome.club warns that after reading the post, you can change your ideas about animals.

Koalas are the animals with the smallest brain in relation to body among mammals. In addition, this organ is absolutely smooth, and due to these characteristics, these creatures are not very intelligent. For example, they do not recognize harvested eucalyptus leaves as food and may starve to death even if they have a lot of food in front of them. The cause of the flat brain is believed to be addiction to eucalyptus, which is a very toxic plant, almost devoid of nutritional value. This diet has converted the koala into an antisocial animal that sleeps 20 hours a day. Despite their adorable appearance, koalas have a bad temper: males abuse females. Nor do they show tolerance towards other species. These animals also end up in dangerous situations due to their clumsiness: often, people who decide to help them are injured by their sharp claws. The species is not yet extinct because it is protected and, in the wild, does not have to compete for food. No other animals eat the toxic eucalyptus leaves. In addition, koalas have a natural “helmet”: the brain occupies only 61% of the cranial cavity, all the rest is cerebrospinal fluid that acts as a shock absorber when they fall, protecting them from injury.

Looks like this bug-eyed little boy can’t defend himself. But in fact, the loris is the only representative of primates that is poisonous. Its venom is produced by glands in the fore extremities, so the animal often licks its paws, applies the toxin to its head and accumulates it in saliva. In case of danger, try to scratch the enemy to poison him. In the venom of lorises there is a protein similar to the “cat allergen” that can cause suffocation and death not only of small animals, but also of humans, due to anaphylactic shock.

Scientists also claim that lorises can mimic a dangerous reptile: venom, “lenses” around the eyes, hissing sounds they make in times of danger, and traces of the tail resemble the cobra snake.

This little cat that can be found in the wild looks like a pet. But its way of survival is very treacherous: when it is hungry, it mimics the cry of its prey and catches it. This is the only feline that uses vocal imitation to hunt.

Dolphins are very social and active animals, but in this case it can also be a negative trait. While there are many stories about the miraculous rescues of people and sea creatures by dolphins, among these mammals there are the “bad boys”. Here are its most important negative traits:

They are aggressive towards each other and the battles are so fierce that the losers have to isolate themselves; Scientists have witnessed dolphins harassing and intimidating other marine species; These animals have a weakness for cruel play. For example, there have been cases where birds were dragged into the water with no intention of eating them. Also, just for fun, a dolphin might bite a scuba diver or play with a baby shark.
playing it as if it were a ball. Young dolphins suffer from an addiction: they hunt off the coast of Western Australia and eat fish that contain tetrodotoxin in their skin. Scientists argue that in this way they are driven to a state of intoxication caused by this poison.

In 2010, Professor Jacob Bro-Jorgensen, from the University of Liverpool, noticed that after mating, the female abandons the male and the male finds a clever way to stop her from leaving. He runs in front of her, looks at the bushes and creates the illusion of danger: he throws his ears back and starts snorting, as if a predator is nearby. Therefore, it is clear to the female that she will be safer with him and should stay.

Why do males do this? The competition between them is quite tough, so they are willing to go to great lengths to be chosen. Furthermore, these animals tend to get rid of each other in a very dirty way: they remain silent when they see a predator approaching its competitor, just waiting until there is one less male.

Look closely at the prairie dog. Can you imagine that there is a maniac from the animal world before your eyes? He poses no danger to people, but is famous for his inexplicable love of killing marmots, scattering their corpses across the prairies. Scientists cannot explain such behavior because these rodents are staunch vegetarians and simply have no reason to get into conflict with other animals.

Weasels have a quality that many people desire: eating and not getting fat. But at the same time, it is also its curse: the animal cannot stop killing due to its accelerated metabolism. It prefers its prey to be large (up to 10 times its size) as it needs to eat half its own weight every day to feel satiated.

If a trial had been held in the animal world, sea otters would have been sentenced to life imprisonment. These seemingly cute and very intelligent creatures commit horrible atrocities. For example, males, when they don’t feel like looking for food, take the females’ offspring hostage and wait for the food as a ransom payment.

Which of these “villains” from the animal world surprised you the most?