Category Wildlife

Which animal is believed to be dangerous but is actually altogether harmless?

While many animals in the world look dangerous and live up to their frightening appearances, there are many others which pose little to no threat to us humans.

Here’s my list of 7 scary looking animals that are practically harmless.

1. Gharial

Many people would be right to fear a gharial if they’ve heard stories about how other crocodilians kill hundreds of humans each year, but is this slim snouted creature really as dangerous as its cousins?

In truth, gharials only hunt small prey like fish and frogs as their jaws are too slim and weak to take down larger quarry. As a result gharials are unable to attack large prey, namely humans.

2. Milk snake

While, the milk snake may bear a striking resemblance to the venomous coral snake they are completely harmless. They have no venom and are actually quite docile in nature which makes them pretty good pets for reptile lovers.

3. Sand tiger shark

Most people know that sharks in general don’t deserve their fearsome reputation as an eating monsters but very few of them are completely harmless. While, the great white, tiger and bull shark have all been known to kill people, the sand tiger shark is actually completely harmless.

This shark’s barbed jaws may look threatening but these scary looking teeth are exactly what keep this fish from being even a slight danger towards us. The shark’s mouth is too small to cause a human fatality so only squid and fish fall victim to this shark’s jaws. While this shark is very docile there have been a few attacks when it’s been provoked…

4. Goliath bird eater

Goliath bird eating spiders may have venom. They may take down small birds and they may be freaking massive but are they really a danger towards humans?

In truth this tarantula’s venom is harmless and is quite similar to how a wasp’s sting would feel. Main difference is that these spiders only bite in self defense, so I’m pretty sure you won’t be bothered by this giant.

5. Manta rays

Manta rays are very large and if you have ever heard of sting rays, you might be frightened by this aquatic creature. Manta rays are actually gentle giants and are only filter feeders, meaning they eat really small prey. To make things better, they don’t have stingers so divers have nothing to fear!

6. Thorny devil

These lizards may be small but I’m pretty sure most of us would be scared if this spiky reptile came charging. Luckily this animal only feeds on insects and when it does feel threatened it squirts blood from its eyes…which may seem gross but wouldn’t really harm a human being. To make things even better, these scary looking lizards run at the first sight of a human being!

7. Basking shark

The second-largest shark species is pretty harmless despite its frightening set of jaws. Like many of the ocean’s largest predators, this creature is a filter feeder and that means humans aren’t on the menu!

 

Credit : Quora

Picture Credit : Google

Why do tigers and lions never fight each other?

It’s because Lions and Tigers do not co-exist in a shared territory anymore (thanks to humans).

However Tigers and Lions used to share common habitats in Asia, specially India and Iran before the end of 20th century. Fights between these two beasts were recorded in the accounts of travellers, folklore and stories.

20th Century had been the worst century for animals in these regions. Both British and Indian/Persian Royals hunted down Tigers and Lions in huge numbers, bounty was put on them and due to rapid urbanization and huge agricultural demands their habitats were run over by human occupation.

Lions were less of a shy animal compared to Tigers which preferred to hide in deep forests, so Lions were killed more, so much so that Lions went locally extinct in Iran and most of India.

Only 12 were left in a small forest in Gujarat, India by the end of 20th Century. They were able to survive because King of that region decided to protect them.

Tigers also perished as they were also hunted down to near extinction.

They became extinct in Iran and were only able to survive in small pockets of forests in India.

So, if not so for relentless hunting of Wild Animals by humans in 20th Century, Tigers and Lions would had still co-existed with each other in Jungles of Persia and India, and we may had witnessed Tigers and Lions fighting over territory and prey in the wild itself.

 

Credit : Quora

Picture Credit : Google

Why duckbill platypus have pouch?

The duckbill platypus uses its cheek pouches to store food. Its pouches come in handy when it goes down to the bottom of the river to gather its food, mainly insect larvae, water snails and crustaceans.

These Australian mammals are bottom feeders. They scoop up insects and larvae, shellfish, and worms in their bill along with bits of gravel and mud from the bottom. All this material is stored in cheek pouches and, at the surface, mashed for consumption. Platypuses do not have teeth, so the bits of gravel help them to “chew” their meal.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Why walrus have pouch?

The walrus has a pouch on its throat, which inflates with air and props the animal up when it goes to steep in an upright position in the water.

The only natural predators for walruses are polar bears, orcas and humans.

Adult females are generally smaller than males, with an average weight of about 1,900 lbs and an average length of approximately 9 feet.  Calves of both sexes weigh between 100 to 150 pounds and are about 4.5 feet in length.

The scientific name for walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, means “toothwalkers.”

Adult Pacific walrus can eat up 4.2 to 6.2 percent of their total body weight (1760-4000 pounds) each day – that’s between 74 and 250 pounds of food per day!

 

Picture Credit : Google

Why hamster have pouch?

The hamster has an elongated pouch on either side of its head that extend to its shoulders. The animal fills it with food it plants to eat later.

Most of the time, they fill their cheeks with food, but sometimes mother hamsters store their babies in their cheeks for protection. Hamster cheeks contain pouches that resemble small deflated balloons. As food enters, the pouch expands and retractor muscles squeeze the pouch and pull food back. 

Hamsters, like other animals, have two cheeks. Sometimes they stuff both of their cheeks and other times they only stuff one side with food. It is normal for hamsters to carry their food around or back to their beds via their cheeks. They will often continue to eat, even after filling their cheek pouches. Females may even carry or hide their babies in their cheek pouches.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Who are wombats?

Odd-looking, but cuddly

The pudgy and furry wombat is one of the oddest-looking animals on Earth – rather like a pig, bear and koala all rolled into one.

There are three species of wombat: the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus), the northern hairy-nosed wombat (Laisorhinus krefftii), and the Southern hairy nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons). You will be able to see all three in Australia and Tasmania, usually in forested and mountainous area.

Marsupial

Wombats are marsupials, related to koalas and kangaroos. They usually live up to 15 years in the wild, but can live past 20 and even 30 years in captivity. Rotund, with stubby tails, short ears and tiny eyes, wombats grow to around one metre in length and weigh anything between 20 and 40 kg. their fur is either sandy brown or grayish-black and this helps them blend with the landscape – a way of safeguarding themselves from predators.

Big eaters

These animals are nocturnal and emerge from their burrows to feed at night. Being herbivores, they feed on grasses, herbs, bark, and roots. They spend a lot of time, eating. They have sharp large incisors like rodents which help them gnaw at thick vegetation. Their teeth never stop growing. But they are slow to digest their meal – it takes around 8-14 days for them to fully digest their food. But this helps them adapt to Australia’s arid conditions. Since they derive most of the moisture they require from plants, they don’t need to drink much water either. And interestingly, they are the only creatures in the world to excrete poop that is cube-shaped!

Burrowing away!

They are amazing burrowers and dig lengthy burrow systems with their razor-sharp teeth and claws. Common wombats are shy and solitary and inhabit their own burrows, while the other two species may be more social and live together in large groups in their warren.

Quick sprinters

Wombats may look plump and slow, in fact, their walk is more of a waddle. Despite their podgy bodies and stubby feet, they can run really fast – even up to 40 km/h.

Just communicate

They communicate with one another in various ways – vocalizations, aggressive displays, and markings on logs and branches made by rubbing against them repeatedly. Wombats tend to be more vocal during mating season. When angered, they can make hissing sounds.

Jellybean or joey?

Female wombats give birth to a single young one known as a joey in the spring, after a gestation period of 20-21 days. When the joey is born, it is the size of a jellybean and not completely developed. The joey climbs into it mother’s pouch right after birth to finish developing and stays there for about five to six months. Wombats are weaned after 15 months.

Once pests, now protected

In 1906, the Australian government declared wombats pests and encouraged people to kill them. From 1925 to 1965, some 63,000 wombats skins were redeemed for cash. Fortunately, this practice has stopped. All species of wombats are protected in every state except for Victoria.

Powerful posterior

Startled wombats can charge humans and bowl them over, with the risk of broken bones from the fall, besides wounds from bites and claws. When running away from predators like Tasmanian devils and dingos, wombats rely on their thick rump skin to protect them. Their rear-ends are mostly made up of cartilage, which makes them more resistant to bites and scratches. At the end of a chase, wombats will dive into their burrows and block the entrance with their posterior. They’re also capable of using their powerful backs to crush intruders against the roofs of their burrows.

Wombat facts

  • A group of wombats is known as wisdom, a mob, or a colony.
  • Believe it or not, wombats can jump! Some have been known to jump over metre-high fences.
  • The giant wombat, an ancestor of modern-day wombats, lived during the Ice Age and was the size of a rhinoceros.
  • Since 2005, Wombat Day is observed in Australia on October 22.
  • Wombats have featured in Australian postage stamps and coins and ‘Fatso’, the wombat, was the unofficial mascot of the Sydney 2000 Summer Games.

 

Picture Credit : Google