ILLUSTRATIONS Renato Faccini
When it comes to ensuring food, reproduction or the perpetuation of the species, apparently cute or harmless animals unleash their beasts – with frightening behaviors that, in human society, would be worthy of a psychopath.
Although shocking, most of these behaviors have natural justifications. They are motivated not by “evil”, but by the survival instinct, supported by successful results throughout the evolution of the species. “Many of the behaviors described are nothing more than ancient strategies for survival and reproduction”, explains Luís Fábio Silveira, curator of the Museum of Zoology of the State of São Paulo.
1) You are not my son!
ANIMAL Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
If the female gives birth to twins, she chooses only one of them to take care of. The other is abandoned, without remorse, in the forest, to fend for himself or die. In zoos, this behavior is rarer, but it is even more tragic: the decision can take a month and the mother even prevents the zookeepers from getting close to the spurned cub.
2) Kidnapping and rape
ANIMAL sea otter (Enhydra lutris)
To obtain food in winter, the males kidnap young of their own species and only release them in exchange for all the food hunted by the mothers. Another cruel habit is to rape baby seals as a form of sexual exercise. The otters even kill the drowned victim and continue the abuse for up to a week, with the body already decomposing.
3) Antarctic tarragon
ANIMAL Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)
Do you know why these birds are always shown in a cute way in cartoons? Because it would look bad if the characters started acting like in real life, sexually abusing puppies or corpses! These far from gentle behaviors were recorded by British naturalist George Levick between 1910 and 1913 in Antarctica.
+ Is the sloth really lazy?
+ What are the animals that fly the furthest without having wings?
4) Sibling Bullying
ANIMAL Great Egret (casmerodius albus)
The bird is prone to fratricide – that is, it kills its brother or sister. When three embryos are fertilized, the first two receive a high load of hormones, but the third fails to develop much. At birth, the weakling will serve as a “little toy” for the stronger siblings – and then he will even be kicked out of the nest! In zoology, the direct annihilation of the youngest by the firstborn is called cainism – a reference to Cain, from the Bible.
5) treacherous affection
ANIMAL giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)
Do you know how this apparently peaceful animal faces a predator? With a nice hug. But that’s not cool at all. When cornered by jaguars and wolves, it rises on its hind legs and opens its front legs. If the attacker advances, the anteater wraps around the rival and sinks its 10 cm claws into his back.
6) A stranger in the nest
ANIMAL cuckoo (family) Cuculidae)
Female songbirds and spotted cuckoos use their resemblance to birds of prey to scare away sparrows and canaries that are hatching eggs. When the victim is away from the nest, the cuckoo eats one of the eggs and replaces it with one of its own, which is raised by the foster parents. Even worse: after being born, the cuckoo still kills its “brothers”!
7) Friend of the jaguar
ANIMAL Anubis baboon (papio anubis)
When there is plenty in the savannah, he pretends to be a peaceful herbivore in order to gain the trust of the gazelles. In times of drought, its true face is revealed: infiltrated in the middle of the flock, it sneaks up to a stray cub and, without anyone noticing, executes it quickly before the screams give it away.
+ What animals are still used to make fur coats?
+ Do animals go to heaven?
8) The terror of the oceans
ANIMAL bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
When someone says that man is the only animal that kills for fun, feel free to correct the information: this species also enjoys “gratuitous violence”. When they are rejected by the females, the young males gather in gangs and monitor coastal areas in search of smaller cetaceans, such as porpoises and porpoises, which they kill by biting and hitting them. (Between 2005 and 2014, more than 40 carcasses of porpoises killed by bottlenose dolphins were found in Monterey Bay, California).
If the female accepts the male’s advances, the danger appears between 12 and 17 months later, after pregnancy. The chicks can be killed by a rival male, interested in mating with the female birds in the group. (By the way, bottlenose dolphins are so sexually active that there are also several reports of cases of masturbation with “little sex toys”, such as bones and sticks).
What if there are no females around? No problem: dolphins collectively rape other males. A small group pursues an unsuspecting victim who has come to the surface to breathe and, after overpowering him, takes turns penetrating. Often the easy targets are sick group members, too young or too old to defend themselves.
9) mother bitch
ANIMAL Hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)
In captivity, the female always gives birth to many cubs. But, if in the first few days, she identifies some kind of physical anomaly or illness in them, she gnaws them alive with her incisors! She also acts like this when there is a lack of food and space in the cage, if she wants to feel dominant or if she needs to get the attention of the keeper.
10) Rather them than me
ANIMAL hare (family) leporidae)
In this mother’s heart, only herself fits. She abandons the young for the entire first month of life, visiting them in the burrow only once a day, for about two minutes, to bring food. That’s because the place is very targeted by predators, so she avoids staying close. If any rival arrives, the litter is to be damned!
11) The best at what he does
ANIMAL Wolverine (gulo gulo)
No wonder it inspired the violent X-Men hero Wolverine. Similar to a long-tailed bear, the wolverine also kills for pleasure. Also called a glutton, he is opportunistic: he manages to unlock human traps to catch mutilated prey and, alone, faces packs of wolves and lynxes to steal their food. The wolverine is one of the few wild species of mammal that can never be tamed, even born in captivity.
+ Can animals predict earthquakes?
+ Is the tapir really a stupid animal?
12) Hypnotic distraction
ANIMAL Weasel (mustela nivalis)
If you saw a weasel interacting with a hare, you would certainly think it was cute. This animal is moving quickly from side to side in front of the «friend». It also makes several jumps and wags its tail in movements that seem mesmerizing. But it’s all just a low blow…
When the hare least expects it, the weasel curls up around him and starts crushing him mercilessly! In fact, the predator was distracting her victim with the fatal dance, in which she tests possibilities of attack. Another trick of the weasel is to make sounds similar to whistles and chirps, to attract certain types of birds and then take over their nest.
To make matters worse, the animal usually kills almost all the prey it encounters, in order to store food (and skin the skin, using it to line its burrow). The problem is that it prefers fresh food, so it rarely returns to “stock” – that is, it kills unnecessarily. No wonder it is considered a pest in rural areas of Europe.
13) Blood, sweat and tears
ANIMAL butterfly (order Lepidoptera)
Even friendly butterflies have their dark side. To give nutrients to their partners, males of the madrilenial species suck the blood of other animals. It gets even more disgusting: they don’t bite the skin, like mosquitoes, but prefer to «lick» the fresh meat of freshly slaughtered animals. They also form colonies inside carcasses.
As if it weren’t enough to be poisonous, the Chrysiridia rhipheus, from Madagascar, flies to perching birds to insert its barbed proboscises into closed eyelids and suck out their tears! The liquid is rich in sodium, an important component for reproduction, which can also be easily obtained from urine, manure and even human sweat.
14) The cruelty of life in captivity
ANIMAL Hen (Gallus gallus domesticus)
It’s not just you who gets tense at work. Under the stress of the farms, the painful ones can attack their companions for free, with pecks, and even start cannibalism, attracted by the blood of exposed mucous membranes. Others even eat their own chicks if they realize they are going to be slaughtered or that the chicks will be stolen. There are also chickens that practice self-mutilation. Therefore, many have their beaks cut off.
15) I’m in charge here
ANIMAL pygmy chimpanzee (Pan paniscus)
Tell me if this scene wouldn’t traumatize any mother: a male tearing his own children to pieces and devouring them, right in front of the female. According to the American Society of Primatologists, as chimpanzees live in a matriarchy system, the best way for the male to impose himself is to threaten the future of the entire group. From time to time, females also commit infanticide, to challenge clan rivals.
+ Which animal has the strongest mod?
+ Is the zebra white with black stripes or black with white stripes?
16) Kinsman is serpent
ANIMAL Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
In the 19th century, European settlers confused the species with a bear, because of its inhibition and its howling. In fact, koalas don’t like anyone’s approach. Not even family members! Mothers, for example, kick and bite their own babies out of trees as soon as they are 1 year old.
17) Hunger Games
ANIMAL Boar (Sus scrofa)
Forget Pumbaa The Lion King. From infancy, wild boars are tough: cubs are born with teeth (including four canines) that they use to bite their mother’s teats when they want milk. Wild hunger only increases: as adults, in times of scarcity, they even eat the corpses of other members of their group. They can cause great damage to agriculture: they are capable of devouring entire plantations and animals such as goats and chickens.
And, many times, they themselves arrange for their colleagues to die. Rather than expel young rivals from the pack, older males elect them as “squires,” placing them at the head of the pack. If something goes wrong, look how practical: they save themselves and even eliminate the competition without getting their hands dirty.
18) Attack without mercy
ANIMAL giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)
It is also called “river wolf” because it hunts in packs. Their tactics owe nothing to the most ruthless war strategists. Faced with difficult prey, such as the piranha, for example, the giant otter tries to mutilate its fins, to avoid escapes and attacks, and hands it over to its young so that it can be fought over as a trophy.
The group can face even larger animals, such as panthers. If an American alligator is lying in the sun in the dry, the giant otters will take turns approaching from behind and nipping its tail incessantly, until it leaves it confused and exhausted. It’s the cue for the flock to get out of the water, immobilize the prey and eat it alive! In 45…