8 scary facts about animals we always thought were adorable (9 photos)

In biology lessons, we were taught that nature rewarded dangerous animals with bright colors and an angry appearance, so when we see a funny fluffy face, we lose our vigilance. But under the pretty image there can be a cruel manipulator, extortionist and psychopath. In this post, you will learn incredible facts about familiar animals that are actually notorious villains.





Koalas



Koalas have the smallest and smoothest brains of any mammal. In this regard, the animal is not distinguished by intelligence, and scientists believe the cause is toxic eucalyptus leaves. This mono-diet has led to koalas sleeping 20 hours a day. Despite its harmless appearance, koalas have an evil and antisocial character, males treat females cruelly, and are not very kind to other species. Koalas often get into trouble, and people trying to help become victims of their sharp claws. They have not become extinct until now only because they are a protected species and there are no more people willing to eat eucalyptus leaves. Also, their brain is perfectly protected from shock and injury, since it occupies only 61 percent of the skull, and the rest is cerebrospinal fluid.

Slow lorises





Looking at this handsome guy, you might think that he is quite harmless. But in fact, the loris is the only representative of venomous primates. The poison is secreted from the forelimbs, so lorises often lick their paws, smearing the toxin on their heads and accumulating it in their saliva. In case of danger, the animal tries to cling to the enemy with its poisonous paws. Loris venom causes suffocation and death in small animals, and anaphylactic shock in humans.

Scientists have discovered that lorises are able to imitate the Indian cobra: poison, “glasses” around the eyes, hissing sounds that animals make when in danger.

Long-tailed Margay cats



These small cats live in the jungle and resemble pets. But in reality they are very insidious. When a long-tailed cat hunts, it imitates the cry of its intended prey and lures it into a trap. This is the first cat to use vocal imitation to hunt.

Dolphins



People often hear stories about the happy rescue of a person by dolphins. But we don't know much about the dark sides of these cute animals. Dolphins are very aggressive towards their relatives. They fight tooth and nail. And there is evidence of dolphins bullying other marine life. For example, they catch and deliberately drown birds, although they do not eat them themselves. They can playfully bite a scuba diver or a baby shark.

Swamp



Topi antelopes are very cunning and inventive. After mating, the females usually leave immediately and the males have come up with a clever way to detain their beloved. They imitate a dangerous situation: they flatten their ears and snort anxiously, as if a predator is lurking nearby. They show the female that she cannot do without protection. And they get rid of competitors in the most sophisticated way: the topi simply remain silent when they see a predator sneaking up on another male.

prairie dogs



Take a closer look at this fluffy one! Here is a real psychopath from the animal world. Scientists cannot explain their behavior: they mercilessly kill small gophers for no reason and scatter their corpses across the prairies. With all this, prairie dogs are vegetarians, and they would seem to have no reason for such behavior.

Weasels



The weasel is a very active and ever-hungry animal. The beast cannot stop killing due to its accelerated metabolism. Weasels choose prey much larger than themselves, because to be full, they need to eat half of their own weight.

Sea otters



This is what these criminal minds came up with. When they are hungry and too lazy to hunt, they take the cubs hostage. After that, they can only wait for food to be brought in exchange for the babies.