They ’re precious . They ’re cuddly . But beware : They ’re dangerous .
1. Koalas
It may seem operose to trust , but these seemingly cuddly fauna have a saturnine side . Most of the time , the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree - hugger keep to themselves , adhere to a strict agenda of snacking and snoozing ( up to 22 minute a day ! ) . But sometimes , akoalasnaps . Koala - on - kangaroo bear violenceis generallypretty meek , but they have been have a go at it to go after andiron and even humans .
For example : In December 2014 , Mary Anne Forster of South Australia found herself at the receiving ending of avicious biteafter trying to protect her two dogs from an fast-growing koala . The koala bear sink its tooth into Forster ’s leg and refused to let go , relent only after she reached into its mouth and poke its jaw apart with her hands . Forster then walked her dogs more than a mil back to her firm before blend to the hospital for stitches .
2. Beavers
Beavershave immense , razor - discriminating teeththat never blockade growing . They ’re fiercely territorial . They ramp up complex subaqueous lodges with architectural preciseness . And , most importantly , they can be bold . There was thefisherman in Belaruswho died when a beaver bit through his femoral artery . At a lake in anAlaskan Canis familiaris parkland , angry beavers sent a half - dozen dogs to the emergency veterinary surgeon for stitches , prompting park officials to post signs reading “ WARNING AGGRESSIVE BEAVERS ARE LIVING IN UNIVERSITY LAKE ! ”
And those are just the healthy , well - adjusted ones . Rabid topper have gone after natator in Canada and the U.S. , including an83 - year - erstwhile womanin Lake Barcroft , Virginia . “ There is no means I will float in that berth again , ” she said after the incident .
3. Cows
Not all cows have a mean bar . But some cows — like Heck cattle — do , and they ’re terrifying .
In the 1920s and ’ 30 , German zoologists ( and brothers ) Heinz and Lutz Heck each sought to recreate the extinct wild ox called theaurochs , which boast heavily in Germanic mythology . Heinz Heck choose Spanish fight kine as a breeding strain for their prehistoric cast and aggression , and the Nazis used their fierce look-alike in propaganda . Then , World War IIhappened . The Nazis fell , but the uber - cows survived .
Heck Bos taurus still roll Bavaria to this solar day and are useable for leverage . Farmer and photographer Derek Gow brought a herd of Heck kine to his UK farm in 2009 and successfully breed them before clear he was in over his top dog . “ They would render to kill anyone , ” he toldThe Guardianof the dozen or so he had to put down because of the peril they posed . “ Dealing with that was not a lot of fun at all . ”
4. Dolphins
It fathom horrific , but it ’s dependable : Dolphins can be middling horrible .
research worker have suspected as much since the 1990s , when the battered cadaver of C of porpoises and baby mahimahi started washing up on both sides of the Atlantic . Eventually the research worker concluded that male mahimahi were slaughtering other dolphins , including their own babies , just because they could [ PDF ] .
This news was especially alarming to federal officials , who were implicated about human safety in the growing and unregulated industry of dolphin touristry . “ It ’s a time bomb waiting to go off,”saida spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service .
If that was n’t bad enough , dolphins havesexually assaulted diversand swimmers onnumerous occasions , and have been known toplay volleyballwith helpless baby shark .
5. Prairie Dogs
Researchers say white - tail prairie Canis familiaris routinely hunt and trouncing undercoat squirrel , with which they vie for resources . The prairie frump are plant - eater , so once they ’ve burn the squirrel to death , they just drop the carcass and stroll away . The first time prairie dog expert John Hoogland realise it happen , he was shocked . “ It bowl over the resource that something like that was lead on under our noses and we did n’t notice , ” he toldNew Scientist(which — be warned — includes Hoogland ’s ghastly images of the slaughter in its story ) .
The prairie dogs have a clear motivation : those that kill tend tohave more babiesthan non - killer , and they and their offspring are more likely to endure .
“ It begs the question of whether it ’s going on in other metal money , ” Hoogland said .
6. Slow Lorises
When a slow loris feels imperil , itthrows its armsover its head . This is adorable , but it ’s also strategic : The little archpriest has venomous elbows , and that particular arm position gives it an chance to lick the toxin - produce secreter in its upper subdivision and occupy its lip with venom . While the spite itself is only secure enough to kill little brute , loris bites have sent humans — including one research worker — to the hospital in anaphylactic jar .
Some scientists contend that the loris ’s cubitus greaseisn’t spite at all , and that its ability to bolt down is purely incidental . But this is probably not much comfortableness to someone who ’s just been bitten .
7. Swans
Like most cows , most swan are fine . Sure , they get a moment territorial during cover season . But the swans that are not fine are really , really not fine .
TakeHannibal , the swan who kill 15 other swans and injured dozens more on the ground of Pembroke Castle in Wales . Hannibal bit his victim , beat them with his wings , go their toe , and admit their heads underwater until they drown . After each brutal attack , Hannibal would march in front of his killing , displaying the carnagefor his married woman — Mrs. Hannibal — and cygnet .
And then there ’s Mr. Asbo , the swan thatterrorized rowerson the River Cam in Cambridge for eld . Mr. Asbo ( short for “ Anti - Social Behaviour Orders ” ) regularly attack and even capsize small boats before turning his hostility on large vessel . Eventually , even the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( RSPCA ) agreed that Mr. Asbo was “ out of control ” and got a license to relocate him and his mate to another county . One year later , a youthful male swan come along in the same spot and started threatening people . Locals name the cocky newcomerAsboy , after his father .
8. Hippopotamuses
Each class , the humblehippopotamuskills more people than Panthera leo , Panthera tigris , or bear . Orsharks , for that thing . They ’re intensely belligerent , which is a dangerous calibre in an creature that can pass 17 animal foot long and 10,000 pounds . They ’re not slow , either : They can reach speeds of up to 30 geographical mile per hour on farming , outpace even Olympian Usain Bolt . They go after each other , after mankind , after crocodiles , and even afterboatsand cars , flipping the crafts and attacking the inhabitants . From prison term to fourth dimension , someone will strain to tame a hippo and keep it as a pet . Thisdoes not terminate well . Do not try this .
A reading of this story first ran in 2015 ; it has been updated for 2023 .
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