The animal kingdom contains so much more than just iconic lions, lone wolves, and our beloved silly cats. Planet Earth is home to millions of different species that make us excited and immediately inspire us to learn everything about them. But while charismatic and cuddly creatures get all the hype, some critters are unfortunate enough to have a bad rep as dangerous, frightening, or even disgusting. So let’s balance out the scales a little bit, shall we?
Some nature enthusiasts pay attention to these underappreciated rarities and are ready to share their discoveries with everyone online. So when user sqnyq reached out to Ask Reddit with a very fine question, “Which animal do you think deserves more love and recognition than it gets?”, people wasted no time in typing out their answers.
To celebrate their efforts and show some admiration for these overly misunderstood creatures, we have gone through the thread and handpicked some of the best responses it had to offer. So scroll down and enjoy learning more about these species as much as we did. Share your own takes with us in the comments, and be sure to check out our previous feature on weird animal facts right over here!
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Crows, they are so intelligent
When I was 14, working at a farm some crown opened our chickens door (they were just a different breed that makes blue eggs, to separate them among the others we had them in a huge cage that they can really move around, a huge one). i was so fucking mad like why the fuck a crown would open that fucking door. anyways i closed it. few minutes after, same crown opened the door again. when i went there i was shocked. there was a huge snake there and the crow was literally trying to help the chickens to get away from the snake. people just look at them as some useless bird whatsoever but they are not
Crows are amazing. They appreciate you as long as you appreciate them. They can talk, bring gifts of thanks. Truly wonderful.
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Bats.
Bats are one of the most beneficial animals on the planet. A single bat can eat over 1,000 insects in one night of feasting. Take into account the largest bat colony is in Texas and is about 20-40 million bats (depending on time of year). Think about how many more bugs there would be without those bats
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I LOVE bats!!! They are so amazing, and I know people do not agree but, they are so cute!!!
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To learn more about underrated creatures and why we fail to give them the appreciation they truly deserve, we spoke with Jennifer Verdolin, Ph.D. She is an internationally recognized animal behavior expert, professor at the University of Arizona, and author of Wild Connection: What Animal Courtship and Mating Tell Us about Human Relationships who shares her insights about the animal kingdom on Twitter and Instagram under the handle @RealDrJen.
According to Verdolin, most species are overlooked and underrated, but one that she believes deserves a ton more credit is vultures. “Globally, they are one of the most threatened groups of birds,” she told CNN News. While there are many incredible species of vulture, “23 to be exact”, the animal behavior expert wanted to focus on the black vulture.
“They are socially complex, hanging out together to eat or roost together. When they are socializing there is the usual drama, some friendly interactions, some aggressive ones, that one vulture that wants to be in charge, eat first, etc.,” she explained, adding that they are pretty monogamous too. “Of course, they provide an important service. They are the cleaners and I’ve watched them pick the carcass of a raccoon or possum clean in a little under an hour.”
Cows. They’re cute smart and kind. Like very big milk puppies
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M I L K P U P P Y
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The simple honey bee…
They are endangered and are a major part of the ecosystem. Without the honey bee lots of vegetation would die off due to the lack of pollination. No I am not a bee keeper or even work with bees, its just I have a healthy respect for them and what they do.
Spiders on the other hand can all go back to that alien planet they came from.
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Don’t say a bad word about spiders! I had an infestation of Florida Brown Widows, and they were only there because we had an infestation of some type of bug that came in a shipment of dog food. Most spiders aren’t harmful to humans, and the ones that are usually hide or show bright colors to scare you off. If you live anywhere near mosquitoes, you should be happy to have spiders, mosquitoes are the deadliest insects on the planet.
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Another animal species Verdolin deems as greatly unappreciated are spiders. “They are talented and, of course, snack on other little critters in our home.” The expert continued to explain how they can hear you across the room and how some of them are also known to be incredibly social. Let’s not leave out the desert spider female, “a mom who literally gives her life to her kids.”
Octopus, very intelligent creatures and fascinating to watch
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Makes me sad everytime I see them butchered in grocery stores. You cannot farm them either, they literally die of depression. They are so smart and aware. People have no clue.
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All of the animals deserve more love, recognition, and respect.
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They get a bad rap because they have adapted to coexisting with humans and take full advantage of it.
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Wildlife is truly remarkable. The whole animal world is fascinating and full of unsolved mysteries we humans are trying so hard to crack. But at the same time, we tend to pay more attention to certain species (often adorable-looking) and continue to carry specific opinions about other critters that usually turn out to be wrong.
When asked why some animals unconsciously appeal to us more, Verdolin pointed out there are a few answers to this. As she explained in her book Raised by Animals: The Surprising New Science of Animal Family Dynamics, animals that are “cute” or look young (just like pandas, dear readers) trigger our brains to be careful, look after, take care of them, and reduce aggression.
“That’s why we will spend hours looking at videos of baby animals. Once animals are all grown up, I think some species, like the panda and koala benefit from this tendency,” she continued. “They have large heads, and in the case of pandas, a coloration that makes them look like they have big eyes — even though neither of these species is particularly friendly.”
Opossum!
Eats ticks and pests, rabies resistant, carries cute babies on its back, has a bunch of teeth, marsupial!
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this post sounds like a dating profile for opossum
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Owl’s keeping the rodent population under control. Plus they are super cool.
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Barn owls have the cutest little faces!!
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Hedgehogs. They’re literally an endangered species in the UK. I wish people would recognise that and do more to help!
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How can we help? Pleaseprovide information.
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“Another factor, though, that we can’t ignore is the cultural conversation we have about some species and mythology about certain animals,” Verdolin said, adding that the perfect example of this is the wolf. “We literally spend billions to care for our pet dogs, which are essentially juvenile wolves 7000 years + removed, and support movies and policies that decimate wolves. We also have a disdain and fear of coyotes, which are not that different either.”
There are countless other species like sharks, snakes, and bats that have a bad rep in the human world and face similar issues like wolves and coyotes. “The cultural stories we have about them reinforce negative tropes and influence our opinions,” Verdolin said. “And then there are of course the ‘unattractive’ animals. We are incredibly biased against species we don’t think are ‘cute’ or attractive.”
Donkey.
Grumpy horse with bunny ears
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Donkeys are one of the happiest animals I’ve ever met?? **Happy loud horse w bunny ears
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Turkey vultures. Hear me out: they look ugly af, but they’re gentle creatures who just clean up the environment naturally. If they get too scared, they will vomit themselves. They can eat diseased flesh without taking on any illness. They live in a flock, and are tied to their mates until death. They’re also endangered in some areas.
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I think they’re beautiful!
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Backyard birds.
Set up a bird feeder and see how much enjoyment you can get just by watching and counting the different kinds of birds that show up.
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This picture looks like one bird showed up to the other bird’s shop to buy 1 seed.
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The animal behavior expert revealed we tend to underestimate most species of other animals. “Historically, modern humans have looked for ways to separate themselves from other animals. This is in direct contrast to Indigenous people that see themselves integrated with nature, reflecting the traits and aspects of other species in their cultures, beliefs, and spirituality,” she continued.
“So first we have this notion that we are separate from and then comes the idea that we are better than. Incidentally, this is connected to how we have marginalized groups of people whether it be based on socially defined racial categories, gender, religion, etc.” Verdolin pointed out this led to us ranking other species as better or worse according to how “similar” they are to us.
Spiders. Most are harmless to humans and they get rid of irritating bugs.
They are also perfect for keeping away irritating humans
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Yeah… I’ll just appreciate them from afar
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Pigs!!!! They have emotions very similar to humans
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Much smarter than 3/4 of the US Supreme Court. And that is a fact!
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Pit bulls
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Please stop cutting off dogs’ ears.
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“Science has had to redefine ‘human’ so many times because we keep discovering all the ways we are not different,” she noted. “Beyond ravens counting and solving puzzles faster than a college student or elephants visiting the bones of their fallen friends and family members, we know that pigs grunt to express their feelings and that other animals have personalities. They are sentient. Period.”
Orangutans. Being an ape and not being a batshit crazy violent animal is achievement enough in itself, but orangutans take it a step further and are surprisingly smart and docile.
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If you ever get to see the series where robotic animals were placed in certain environments to see if they would be accepted as part of a family group was incredible. Spy in the Wild is the name of the show. Some of the “animals” took 2 years to build as they looked exactly like the animals themselves. The orangutan was one one of my favorite episodes. Smart and very funny.
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The platypus; a mammal that lays eggs, has a duck bill, uses electrolocation, and has venomous claws.
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And it f*****g glows under black light.
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Squirrels. I could watch squirrels run around and climb trees all day long.
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I read somewhere that the different attitudes of Americans vs Europeans (don’t know about the rest of the world) to squirrels are because the European red squirrel is a shy, adorable little animal, whereas the American grey squirrel is an obnoxious a*****e… Anyone care to confirm/correct?
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So Verdolin would like to remind you that we humans are not that separate from other animals. “What happens to them, how we treat them, is a direct reflection of the state we are in right now. As puffins washed ashore dead earlier this year and little blue penguins followed a few weeks ago, other species are in crisis,” she reminded us. “And so are we.”
She understands it’s much easier to think about a panda than a squirrel that’s running around in your backyard. “But every squirrel is out there trying to make a living, raise a family, avoid death and suffering, and catch a few naps in the morning sunlight. Stop for a minute next time to watch, observe, and think about how you can make the lives of animals right there around you better today,” Verdolin concluded.
The Pangolin. It’s severely endangered yet It’s not protected.
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The Pangolin is very protected. In countries where it is native, the have swat team stings to rescue live as well as dead Pangos to prevent them from being trafficked to China and other places where they are considered magic, medicinal or high end meat… none of which these little guys are.
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Chickens. Smart, affectionate, with complex social lives and personalities, they can be kind, affectionate, sneaky, greedy, generous, caring or selfish… each one it’s own unique personality
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Chickens are such funny animals! My friend’s chicken, whose name is Josephine, keeps following me to work each day
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Sharks, they do get recognition but most of it is negative. Sharks are 👌👌
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… Yeah sorry but I’m still terrified! I think they can be cool, just not in person near me 🙂
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Red pandas… So damn cute.
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Sadly even with the legal protections, their population has been declining rapidly.
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Elephant
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The most amazing creatures on the planet. Trunks sensitive enough to pick up a pebble, yet strong enough to knock over trees. Or kill a man. Especially a vile one who beat his elephants. I loathed him.
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Rats.
They are incredibly smart, sweet, and social animals who *did not cause the black plague*. One reason why they are often used for experiments (lab rats) is because they are so socially similar to us humans. [Rat Park]
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However they were responsible for carrying the fleas that did spread the plague. Unfortunately humans of the time didn’t know that so they killed the cats instead. The cats, of course, were keeping the rat population in check. Once most of the cats were gone… Black Death.
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Beavers.
Beavers are incredibly hard workers. Capable of the same level of decision making and precision that goes into our construction of dams or homes or chopping down trees. There ears can sense the slight trickle of water indicating a leak.
In a story linked below the arrival of settlers in the 1800’s wiped out beavers in one area effectively destroying the ecosystems that the beaver dams had created and wildlife depended on. The loss of beavers was still so profound that HUMANS started to make their own beaver dams!! Then like the born workers they are, a few beavers must have heard through the grapevine and took over what humans were doing with far more than their teeth and bare hands.
They work so hard. Their work ethic is better than any humans. They are always on call. No nights off. Now, I truly admire the team work and socialist structure of most any colonies, but beavers can build dams that transform its environment and create their own mini ecosystem. They are incredibly important and considered a keystone species. The largest beaver dam is half a mile long and started in the 70’s and is located in Canada. That’s generations of beavers dedicated to the “family business” of continuing this huge dam. They of course continue to MAINTAIN a dam a half mile long. Made of just sticks and trees and mud and whatever other tricks they have. I have the utmost respect for their abilities and contributions to their environments!
Seeing videos blowing up their incredibly hard work makes me sad. I get it, someone’s poor garden is flooded and we can’t stand for that. Or someone’s property is filling with water and they have the right to not want it to. But, it just seems so horrible to destroy something so incredibly built and with such hard work and dedication and brain power that we need to blow it up to take it down.
For the record, I get that beavers can cost millions in damages to property and some support trapping when their numbers get high or they become a problem.
But, I just truly hope animals have the capacity to just laugh at a species who’s numbers are growing faster than the environment can handle or support, whom quickly destroy and invade their homes before they take over and are everywhere, who cost thousands and thousands of years of growth and strength and survival in trees every year with their destruction, that species having the NERVE to point to others as needing help being controlled. Calling others destructive or a nuisance.
The best part is saying with a straight face how another species population is growing too fast and too large and needs to be culled and controlled. I know, I’m human. But even if it’s just us, it still feels hypocritical to say.
BEAVERS ARE AMAZING
(Just don’t think about the rodent thing)
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They were also hunted for their pelts, and were wiped out in certain areas.
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Hyenas. For hundreds of reasons.
Disney did them dirty.
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Disney did a lot of dirty.
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Beluga Whale.
ITS FOREHEAD IS SO CUTE. And it looks absolutely adorable coated with blubber all around
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Although I now know better and will not support Sea World, I went as a teen with a school trip and I swear I had a moment with a beluga. He (she?) stayed perfectly still in the water, right against the glass. I was sitting cross legged on the floor. It was dark, because it was part of the enclosure that you could walk into / under. We just stared at each other. I put my hand up and he put his head against the glass where my hand was. We stayed that way for about 10 minutes and then he swam away. I was so sad- I mean, I seriously aches inside. And I was an a*****e punk teenager. Then he came back! He did somersaults and flips and all sorts of people started pointing and shouting but he just kept staring at me. It was the most profound event
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Butterflies
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The living snowflakes of nature
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Dogs for sure, they get all the love and recognition and they still deserve more.
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Yes ❤️. We humans don’t deserve dogs. Without them, the world would be bleak.
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Carrion feeders of every stripe. They are the heroes of the animal kingdom, providing important steps in decomposition and reclamation of matter, and people think they’re yucky.
If you hit an animal with your car, and are able to stop, please stop and move the animal to the side of the road, it helps prevent carrion feeders from getting hit by cars later.
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Sort of unrelated but the bird in that picture is stunning 😀
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Bears
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They are one of my favourites!
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Vultures are natures sanitizer.
By eating the carrion, they prevent the spread of diseases. Their stomach acid destroys any pathogens and they also have a very stout immune system and their urine and defecations “cleans” the area of the carcass.
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Love vultures… Amazing flyers but when they’re on the ground they just always look pissed off… ” stupid carrion, lying in the stupid dirt, suppose I’ve gotta clean that up…”
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Pigeons!! We domesticated them for communication but now that we don’t need them they’re considered ugly and gross. But they don’t fear humans which is why they’ll come up to us. Poor things.
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I had a pigeon I raised when i was in second grade. It had fallen out of a nest where my dad worked. That pigeon followed me every where outside after i taught him to fly. He even landed outside the windows when i was indoors and did his little dance. He’d attack the schoolbus when it “ate” me. Once he even chased a bully about a quarter mile, flapping at her head. That bird was my best friend! Unfortunately i pissed off some older kids by sitting in “their” seat on the bus and in retaliation they later shot my poor pigeon. People, can we please get rid of guns?
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Reptiles generally. A lot of people think of reptiles and are disgusted. They either think of slimey snakes or agressive dragons. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t always cute and cuddly, but there’s so many snakes in rescues that never get a home because of the stigma.
I don’t think an exotic pet is right for everyone by any means, in fact I think it should be more regulated so that you have to put some thought into having one, but they really can be affectionate with the right owner and time.
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I love reptiles so much!
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Okay so I know a lot of people hate pandas for them eating bamboo even tho they’re designed to eat meat, but it’s not because they’re stupid. They lost their taste for meat. A gene they had which “motivated” them to hunt and eat meat somehow disappeared. It’s not like they can control that. And people also say they don’t mate on their own. Well god made female pandas go in heat for only three flippin days out of an entire flippin year. That’s it. Since their population numbers are so low, what are the chances a male and a female are going to see each other in that time frame
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People hate pandas?
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Parrots
Parrots are awesome
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I love the colors!!
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The shoebill bird. I know most people won’t think so, but I think that it’s the cutest animal I’ve ever seen
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I love it, but not because it’s cute. I love it because it is a living dinosaur!
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The Cacomistle or the Maned Wolf, both are really cool animals!
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The Maned Wolf is one of the strangest, most amazing looking animals ever…like a bunch of mismatched parts of other animals.
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Narwhal
Unicorn of the Ocean.
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Narwhals, narwhals swimming in the ocean, causing a commotion cause they are so awesome…
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Ducks
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I had ducks and when they ran to me on wet concrete for their food it always sounded like a round of applause the way there wet feet would slap the floor! Great guard ducks too!
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Gorillas. They’re cool. But I don’t hear people saying they’re thier favorite animal much
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Another majestic creature being hunted. Intelligent animals that are gentle enough to care for babies, but strong enough to rip an arm off. Again, the Rangers protecting them are amazing. The gorillas know that they are there and many times come to trust them. 140 Rangers have been killed by poachers.
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Rhinoceros.
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So endangered. They are hunted and killed for their horns, as elephants are for their tusks. The Rangers who are willing to put their own lives in danger to protect these amazing creatures, are heroes in my book.
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Swans. They will commit sewer slide if their partner dies. Beautiful and sad at the same time.
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Sewer slide? 😂, Gosh, that must be painful
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Turtles
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I love all turtles, but we have an endangered tortoise, the gopher tortoise which lives in burrows. I once beat up a boy who was standing on one in the schoolyard. I did not get in trouble.
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Skunks, they are wonderful animals.
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The odor is for defense. If they spray a predator it’s stuck with that smell and won’t be able to hunt. Nobody likes that smell but you gotta respect it.
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Lions. I just admire on how majestic and mystifying they can be.
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Don’t study them then. Stay happy and live the lions. If you study them, you probably won’t like them any more. I studied them after Lion King came out when i was a kid and i was crushed. 🙁
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Lizards in general. I hate when people say that they can not form social connections, I have a bearded dragon that will go out of her way to cuddle up to me, I had a male dragon that was best friends with my golden lab. Their favorite activity was looking out the window together. They would sit there, and my dragon would snuggle up to his ear and they would watch squirrels for hours. I believe that social cues for reptiles are very foreign and alien to us, but if you can find a way to open a door to their heart, you will never find a warmer place, even with cold blood. It is kind of like the way that I am attracted to ‘bitchy’ women, sure they are scaled and thorny on the outside. But when she wants to love on you and cuddle up, you will feel like the most important person in the world.
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I love lizards too!!
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Guinea pigs
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If you have one, make sure you have 2-theyre very social creatures that need a mate!
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The porcupine. I like them and find them interesting, but they smell like stale death. Just any I’ve been near smell horrible and carry a cloud around them. It’s entirely possible my experience is an outlier; I’ve only encountered them a few times, so I could be misled by a narrow sample. But the smell was assaulting.
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This is not a porcupine. This is an echidna.
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Humans, I see a lot of people (especially on Reddit) that seem to be misanthropes who hate their own species and each other, its a shame really. I wish people showed the same love that they have for other animals towards humans instead of constant hatred towards each other, it would really make the world a better place.
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Humans can be absolutely disgusting, horrible and evil, and yet also incredibly selfless, brave, and kind.
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Note: this post originally had 74 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
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