No one in their right mind is going to mess with a bear or a tiger; one look at such an animal is enough to tell you it’s dangerous. Likewise, you’d have to be a fool to poke a rattlesnake that’s coiled, rattling, and hissing.
Nature doesn’t always make it so easy to tell which animals are dangerous and which aren’t, and mistaking a deadly animal for a harmless one can be a deadly mistake. Here are 15 wild animals you should give a wide berth to no matter how cute and cuddly they might look:
Wild Horses
Wild horses aren’t pets. They don’t want you to pet them or try to ride them. In the unlikely event that one allowed you to get close, you’d be at risk of a nasty bite or, worse, getting kicked, which could kill you.
Chipmunks
Chipmunks are cute, and it’s fun to watch them dash all around, but if you ever need to handle one, protect your hands. They’ll deliver a painful bite, and it won’t kill you, and they aren’t carriers of rabies, but you might have to go get a tetanus shot.
Chimpanzees
Highly intelligent and trainable, chimpanzees look (and can be) friendly, and movies and TV shows have helped create this narrative. In reality, they can be violent, and they are strong enough to tear a person apart. Some have learned this the worst of all ways.
Kayan Loris
This nocturnal primate that lives in the highlands of Borneo and looks a lot like a lemur may look adorable, but keep your distance. It’s the only known venomous primate, and its bite is toxic enough to kill people.
Honey Badgers
If you’ve watched wildlife shows about Africa, you probably already know that you don’t mess with a honey badger. They’re only about the size of a small dog, but they have a reputation for being the fiercest creatures on Earth. They’ve even been known to eat crocodiles and antelopes. The common American badger isn’t as vicious, but it’s also something best left alone.
Koalas
How many people have had an adorable stuffed panda as a child (or adult)? Well, the real pandas don’t want to be your teddy bears. They weigh up to 30 pounds and have sharp teeth and claws that they have used on humans when feeling threatened.
Red Pandas
Red pandas look cute and fluffy, but don’t try cuddling with one. Although they mostly eat bamboo, they do sometimes prey on birds and small mammals. Their sharp teeth and claws can do a number on you if you get too close.
The Geographic Cone Snail
Shell collectors prize cone snails for their colors and patterns, but in the sea, cone snails are quite dangerous due to a toxic venom that paralyzes their prey. The geographic cone snails of Indo-Pacific reefs are among the most venomous of their type, and several humans have died from their venom.
Pufferfish
These are fun to watch and look at, and the living ones don’t pose that much threat to people. It’s eating them that can be deadly, as their flesh contains a deadly poison. They’re a delicacy in Japan, where they can only be prepared a certain way by specially licensed chefs, but a few people still die every year from eating them.
Golden Poison Dart Frog
In the jungle, a general rule of thumb is that the more colorful a frog is, the more likely it is to be lethal. The tiny golden poison dart frog secretes venom through its skin, and each frog has enough venom to kill 10 adult humans.
Cape Buffalo
The cape buffalo may look gentle, but it’s aggressive, territorial, and even vengeful. It can kill lions. It can use its horns to flip a car over on its side. Big-game hunters consider the cape buffalo one of the most dangerous animals in the world, and many hunters have been killed by them.
American Buffalo
The storied bison of the American West also look docile, but they are extremely dangerous. Large and powerful, they’re also fiercely defensive, and it’s easy to make them mad. They can run as fast as a horse, too, and they have horns that have gored people to death.
Every year, in national parks like Yellowstone and Badlands, people get attacked by buffalo despite all the warnings to stay far away from them.
Moose
Another underestimated large American mammal is the moose, the largest specimen in the deer family. Before you get to thinking that a moose is a gentle giant, consider that they are bigger than grizzly bears, aggressive when threatened or surprised, and unpredictable.
Tsetse Flies
If you’re feeling sleep-deprived, the idea of a tiny African fly biting you and giving you a sleeping sickness might not sound so bad. It’s a serious disease that can lead to seizures, comas, and death.
Blue-Ringed Octopus
This beautiful octopus can fit in the palm of your hand, and they often appear on the shores of Australia and the eastern Indo-Pacific. If you see one, don’t pick it up; the venom their bites deliver makes them one of the deadliest animals in the sea.
The bite may feel like just a little nip, and you might not even notice it at all, but people bitten feel the effects almost immediately and die within a few hours.
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