In the animal kingdom most animals are either cute or deadly. There are only a select few that can be classified as both. These are the top 5 cutest animals that could easily kill humans.
Metasepia pfefferi are also known as the flamboyant cuttlefish that can be found in tropical Indo-Pacific waters off northern Australia, southern New Guinea and numerous islands of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Metasepia was first discovered in 1885, but the first observations of these fish were not reported until 1988 by Roper and Hochberg and very few studies have come out since. Flamboyant cuttlefish are small creatures only 8 cm long. They are brown with splotches of white. They have tentacles that are orange in the middle and red on the ends. Their small physique and squishable features is what makes them adorable. They eat crustaceans and small fish. The flamboyant cuttlefish is the only poisonous cuttlefish to humans.
Sloth bears are also called Indian bears. They have the face of a sloth with the fur and body of a bear. Their derpness makes them stupidly adorable. Sloth bears are native to the Indian subcontinent. They eat fruits, ants and termites. Sloth bears were discovered in 1791 by George Shaw. Sloth bears are more inclined to attack humans than any other bears. In the course of 5 years, there were 735 sloth bear attacks on humans. There are only 20,000 of them left, classifying them as endangered.
Blue glaucuses are a species of sea slugs found in the pelagic zone, floating upside down by using surface tension of the water to stay afloat. They are cute tiny animals that have lots of tentacles. They are 1.2 inches long and they have no eyes. They eat small venomous siphonophores, such as bluebottle jellyfish, and small creatures floating at the ocean’s surface. They were discovered in 1777. There is not an exact number known of how many blue glaucuses are left but they are considered endangered. A sting from a Blue glaucuses can lead to nausea, pain, acute allergic contact dermatitis, vomiting and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Slow lorises are a group of several species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus Nycticebus. They are long like a sloth, but they don’t have long claws. Their face is round and they have a cute button nose. Slow lorises are located in South and Southeast Asia. The first slow loris was discovered in 1770. They eat insects and other arthropods, small birds’ and reptiles’ eggs, fruits, gums, nectar and miscellaneous vegetation. Slow lorises are classified as wild endangered animals. Slow lorises are the only know venomous primate. When they’re alarmed, they can lick a modified sweat glands near their elbows, spreading the toxin to their teeth. If they were to bite a human they can cause anaphylactic shock and even death to humans.
Sugar glider is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum. They have large, expressive eyes, are small and have playful behavior. They are found in the forest of Australia and New Guinea. Sugar gliders feed on tree sap, nectar and insects. They often bite and get easily agitated. They carry hundreds of diseases like Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis and Leptospirosis to name a few.
Sugar gliders, slow lorises, blue glaucuses, sloth bears and metasepia are all cute in their own unique ways. This does not however distract from the fact that they are highly deadly. Although highly deadly each one of the animals contribute to the animal kingdom. They are all vital for ecological balance.