10 cute animals that are actually deadly.

 

some of the scariest looking spiders snakes and wild cats  what's even more surprising is that some of the cutest creatures you just love to pet could pretty much kill you fuzz balls win over your heart check out our list of the 10 most adorable animals that are actually deadly.  

1. leopard.

 

 seals don't let these sea puppies fool you as staring into those innocent sparkly eyes may be one of the last things you do leopard seals actually rank alongside killer whales as Antarctica's top predator they may look tubby and useless on land but underwater they can reach speeds of up to 25 miles using their powerful four flippers named after their spotted coats and fearsome jaws leopard seals can grow up to ten feet long and weigh up to one thousand pounds but size and teeth don't necessarily mean danger what you should be worried about is that these animals are notoriously aggressive and if you get too close you may risk paying the ultimate price as British marine biologist Kirsty brown did in 2003 she was snorkeling near a research station on the Antarctic peninsula when a seal reportedly dragged her underwater and caused her to drown making Kirsty the first human fatality caused by a leopard seal think that sounds nuts wait until you.

  2. cats. 

don't worry we're not suggesting that your cat is going to kill you in your sleep but they sure will kill everything in your backyard an extensive report written in the journal nature found that cats are responsible for an average of 2.4 billion bird deaths and a whopping 12.3 billion mammalian deaths a year in the united states alone okay so you're not that scared considering it's mostly mice rats and birds your kitty has it out for but let's put it this way if those numbers were human lives domestic cats would eliminate the human race twice over every year so if any native mammals like the mouse or the chipmunk go extinct we'll know who to blame real quick.

3.  puffer fish.

 

 the puffer fish may have made a cute cameo in finding memo but don't be fooled puffer fish are one of the most poisonous creatures on the planet when they feel threatened they inflate their bodies to protect themselves making them look all puffy and cute but that's exactly when you'd want to back off when a puffer fish inflates self it releases so much of the poison tetrodotoxin it can kill up to 30 humans japan actually eats 10 000 tons of these inflatable animals each year but even in death puffer fish are 1200 times more poisonous than cyanide to be exact so naturally chefs must undergo rigorous training then take an in-depth exam to be legally allowed to prepare the poisonous delicacy.

4.  panda.

 no matter how many adorable videos you've seen of pandas they're not all cute and cuddly these bamboo eating fuzz balls have strong grips and can deliver powerful bites that are strong enough to harm a human leg in 2015 a wild panda had wandered into Elizabeth village in the Gansu province of china and officials tried to capture the animal and release it back into the wild they chased the panda into a man's farm where the bear sunk its teeth into the farmer's leg he had to endure operations and got very close to having his leg amputated the farmer received 71 thousand dollars from the village council and learned an even greater lesson which is that pandas are not to be messed with no matter how cute they are.

5. raccoons.

 if you've seen guardians of the galaxy  you'll know better than the mess with an angry raccoon but not for the reasons you saw in the movie adorably nicknamed trash pandas raccoons should actually be taken a lot more seriously although they'll usually avoid confrontation they will bite and scratch if they feel threatened sure raccoon bites are not that harmful but what most people don't know is that these creatures are one of the most common carriers of rabies rom fever to vomiting to hallucinations and once clinical symptoms appear rabies is virtually 100 fatal thankfully rabies is a vaccine preventable virus but you should probably still admire these fuzz balls from a distance.

6.  squirrels.

 how dangerous can a critter be that skittishly avoids humans and whose cute videos go viral every time it is spotted in the wild well being potential prey to a lot of predators has hardened up the squirrel and its defense mechanisms quite a bit in California squirrels have developed impressive defense mechanisms against one of their most frequent predators the rattlesnake the squirrel has been known to develop immunity to their venom bite them back then heat up and enlarge their tails making the infrared sensing snakes think there's a large predator in front of them rabid squirrels are also capable of biting humans like their raccoon cousins but perhaps the most horrifying squirrel incident was in Russia when a pack of squirrels killed and picked apart a stray dog that's right a big stray dog was nosing about the trees and barking at squirrels hiding in the branches overhead when a number of them suddenly descended and according to reports literally gutted the dog.

7.  platypus.

 if you've never seen a baby platypus it's sincerely going to melt your heart even as adults the platypus continues to be just as adorable as it is unique but not only is the duckbill platypus one of the few mammals to lay eggs it's also one of the few to be incredibly venomous yup the males of this duck-billed species have sharp spurs on the heels of their feet spurs that contain venom similar to those of other deadly animals like snakes and spiders a sting from a male platypus is said to feel like hundreds of hornet stings and although not deadly to adult-sized humans victims of an attack are guaranteed to be out of commission for at least a few weeks so think twice before approaching a platypus.

 8. anteater. 

anteaters poor vision bad hearing and no teeth make them almost adorable to watch as they're forced to use their long snaps to gobble up the tiny ants and termites which makes up the majority of their diet it's hard for anyone to believe they could be deadly but what they lack and bite they make up for with a serious pair of claws they've been known to use against predators like pumas and jaguars and if a beast like the puma is scared of the anteater then it's safe to say we humans should be too while incidents are rare and anteaters usually avoid contact with humans a few giant anteaters have reportedly killed people in 2005 an attack that left 100 dead in northwestern brazil just two years after another man was killed in a similar confrontation with one of the long-nosed creatures so think twice before you encroach on an anteater's turf

9. swan.

 swans are nowhere near as gentle as they look while these elegant creatures are a symbol of love grace and purity to us humans they're also known to be highly territorial and aggressive in a few rare cases even murderous if you've ever gotten close enough to a swan you'll know just how quickly these creatures can turn on you thankfully they are far more likely to scare you off with their large wings than they are to bite in 2017 abating group in England was bullied out of the water when a particularly angry swan reportedly attacked and sank their priceless sea going vessels even more shockingly in 2012 a Chicago man drowned after swan attacked his kayak so hard that it actually capsized it was said he'd gotten too close to the swan's nest causing it to get agitated so there's a lesson learned folks.

10.  slow lorries.

 the picture clearly appears to be the venomous bite of a slow lorry the slow lorry is one of the rarest and cutest primates typically found in southeastern Asia and while its soft fur and bulging eyes make it irresistibly cute as humans you must keep in mind that it is also a poisonous creature in fact they are the only poisonous primates on earth slow lorries have glands on the sides of their elbows which release a foul-smelling toxic fluid when they feel threatened the lorries then lick their own poison off their elbows and mixes it into their saliva before biting the predator who disturbed it generally only used as a defense mechanism this venom can cause rashes illness anaphylactic shock or even death in humans there's one cute little monkey you'd better not play around with and.