If an animal is small and kinda cute, doesn’t always mean it won’t murder your face when you least expect it to, but the same is true of the opposite – not all the horrifying mutants of nature are out for your blood. These particular nine animals couldn’t hurt you if they tried, yet we’re still afraid of them for some reason.
Here are top 9 scary-looking animals that are actually harmless.
1. Manta Ray
Can you believe that these giant flat ocean-dwellers that grow up to 25 feet are absolutely harmless? Well, unless you are small fish or plankton, of course. Manta rays are the bros, while stingrays are the nopes.
2. Vulture
These birds look absolutely terrifying, and are often seen chomping on dead bodies. And while the looks don’t do them any favors, and they could potentially give you a painful peck or a scratch, these scary birds won’t attack you even if you tried to agro them. Those sharp beaks and claws are used only to cut down the dead animal bodies.
3. Aye-aye
Madagascar is a magical place with incredible endemic fauna and flora species. One such weirdo is the Aye-aye – the world’s largest nocturnal primate, not to mention the best-looking one too. Needless to say, this cuteness will not hurt a fly! Actually, that’d be a lie because they eat lots of bugs, but you know what I mean.
4. Giant African Millipede
Is a 15 inch jet-black millipede creepy? Hell. Yes. But can this ugly boy actually harm you? Unlikely. It’s a vegan, really, so juicy human meat is out of the question.
5. Goliath Birdeater
Speaking of creepy… birdeater spiders are outright blood-chilling monstrosities. The hairy body and legs, the huge size, and their less than stellar reputation makes them look scary, but completely harmless for us humans. The worst they can do to you is bite you, but their jaws aren’t strong enough to get through the skin…
6. Camel Spider
Okay, technically camel spiders CAN hurt you, because they got quite a bite, but unless there are say, a 1000 of them attacking you, you’ll be fine. They’re usually solo players, hunting stuff like small rodents, insects, lizards, and birds.
7. Vampire Bat
You knew this one had to be on this list. While there have been cases of vampire bats attacking people in the past, none of those cases had a lethal outcome. These bats do drink blood of their victims, usually cattle, but never suck them dry.
8. Coconut Crab
For a good 5 years I used to think that coconut crabs are all weird photoshops, but nope, turns out they’re as real as you and me, and they’re actually the biggest land-dwelling arthropods. While their pinch can hurt, it won’t snap your head off or something. These big crab boys like their fruits and coconuts, but don’t mind snacking on small animals or small birds.
9. Basking Shark
It’s a shark! RUN! Just kidding, basking sharks are probably the most harmless animals on the planet. It’s a huge mellow fish with a big mouth and an appetite for small fish and plankton. Definitely the friendliest shark you’ll never meet!
