10 Adorable Animals That Do Terrifying Things

Some animals are dangerously cute-and we mean that literally. Some of these critters like cute enough to cuddle, but with secret deadly defenses. Join Michael Aranda for a new Animal-centered episode of SciShow!
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Sources:
ivc.lib.rochester.edu/natures-...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Pufferfish:
www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/13/10/6...
io9.gizmodo.com/5879406/how-th...
Poison dart frog:
www.bbc.com/earth/story/201504...
Slow loris:
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-n...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
primatology.net/2010/10/19/ar...
Platypus:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/...
Spiny mice:
news.discovery.com/animals/spi...
www.nature.com/nature/journal/...
Dolphins:
www.bbc.com/earth/story/201602...
booksandjournals.brillonline.c...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
Sea otters:
www.fort.usgs.gov/sites/defau...
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
jeb.biologists.org/content/217...
Ducks:
scienceblogs.com/notrocketscie...
Moon snail:
www.pugetsound.edu/academics/a...
www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2008/f...
Ladybugs:
beheco.oxfordjournals.org/cont...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
www.bbc.com/earth/story/201505...
Images:
Pufferfish:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Poison dart frog:
flic.kr/p/7BnTKq
flic.kr/p/gRYCXh
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Slow loris:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Platypus:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Spiny mice:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Dolphins:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Sea otters:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Ducks:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
flic.kr/p/5PfMWH
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Moon snail:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Ladybugs:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

[@ScorpioHighlander]

Now what we need is 10 creepy creatures with endearing behaviours.

[@MajikkanBeingsUnite]

Vampire bats bring food home for those who can't make the commute! Granted, said food is cow blood and they barf it up for the other guy, but still, they're caring for friends and family who are unwell or busy looking after babies, which is really sweet and endearing!

[@yaritzamiranda921]

@@MajikkanBeingsUnite it's the thought that counts I guess

[@eightbitfeline1415]

crocodile mothers are good mothers and they care for their own young, hope this counts.

[@matthewjacobs2991]

Like the spiders who keep pet frogs like a dog

[@G-A-Jaxon]

They did.

[@stormyjellybean2925]

I love that pretty much every other animal out there has evolved to interpret bright colors as a warning, meanwhile humans are just like, "LOOK HOW FUN YOU ARE!"

[@MirrorscapeDC]

all except birds, for whom is usually means 'looks how handsome i am!'

[@frozeneternity93]

I wonder if there is an alien race out there that thinks we are cute... little do they know

[@gorillaguerillaDK]

Compared to them we are..... Mwuhahahaa

[@nicodemusedwards6931]

+putrifiedpuppy disemboweledkitty that's most species.

[@leoschue8071]

If they've seen us at all, they probably *do* know.

[@nicodemusedwards6931]

+putrifiedpuppy disemboweledkitty no, these are the traits of nearly every animal on earth. Billions of years of evolution has crafted these traits to be the ones leading to success. All animals are smelly, most are loud, they all take as much as they can given the opportunity, they fight or devour other species, each animal believes it's the most important and its life and genes matter more than anyone else's, because they evolved to be like that. The only thing separating us from fish is that we for some bizarre reason care about these facts. But everything negative you described about humans, those are traits every animal has. Because those are the traits that make survival easier on this mud ball

[@kernell32bcn]

lol

[@dylanpainter4803]

For some reason I really enjoy the lack of "Top" in the title.

[@ACH1EVE_CH1M]

Maggots also do the same thing as moon snails. They turn dead flesh into clear slime and then suck it all up. It's really helpful to people who have wounds with lots of dead skin or flesh, and doctors often use them to clean infected wounds. It's completely painless, too!

[@emanuelemanzoni5191]

often used to use them* (I hope at least)

[@Alpha1200]

The Platypus really is the oddest being in the world. It seems like it's a bunch of other animals just thrown together.

[@jennypulczinski7204]

And God said, "What am I going to do with all these left over parts?" And the platypus was created.....

[@emanuelemanzoni5191]

"Kant and the Platypus", book by italian writer Umberto Eco, exactly revolves around this point, if you ever want to read that. It's more philosophical than really scientific, but interesting nonetheless

[@Acidhair]

When you interview to be a SciShow host , do they look for people with alluring voices? I love all of their voices

[@dakel20]

I actually had an egyptian spiny mouse as a pet when I was a kid. It was like a miniature hedgehog and was always quite happy.

[@user10476]

Am I the only one who tries to guess who will host the show, during the intro?

[@martymcfly3938]

Same!!

[@monicaklassen974]

me too!!

[@Andytlp]

no youre the not only one hahahaha gotcha.

[@iiFallenWish]

I do! I thought this topic was more Hank but I'm glad they chose the host they did! I like him better

[@LaurenDouglas]

Nope! They really threw me off when they had a female host last week.

[@clydefrosch]

being poisonous doesn't really seem like a secret scary behavior

[@MunsterMittin]

I would have loved to hear a bit more about the slow loris, and it would be amazing if scishow gave it a whole episode because slow lorises are endangered due to their cuteness. They're popular pets in places like Japan and there are tons of videos of the cute animals on the Internet kept illegally. As a result the slow loris is only increasing in popularity and more and more wild slow lorises are abducted. They're just a really unique mammal and it would be a shame to lose them.

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

My anthropology professor talked about the slow loris, and how the zoo he visited had them in an enclosure with red lights during the day to simulate night, so people could see them up and active. Well, as active as they get. And at night they used bright lights to simulate daytime.

[@wiertara1337]

Here are true facts about the duck. Oh, I miss ZeFrank.

[@BeepDerpify]

What happened to him??? :(

[@DjPrinny]

buzzfeed happened

[@_Seileach]

Didn't know he's the president of Buzzfeed now...

[@phlegm.]

ikr i miss him a lot too 😢

[@Dantick09]

Me too

[@joshbh101]

I kinda think us Australians should make a monster training game based on our animals in a horror setting.

[@1db1db1db]

at first i was wondering if they got a new person but nah he just got a haircut

[@Trillin09]

The more you know!!!!!!!!

[@DoomKnight131]

he also took off his jacket :P

[@alicattor1469]

I believe this was actually filmed at the time that his hairdresser was sick the day he was supposed to get it cut. So he ended up with hair too long to spike up for a little bit!

[@PureGold197]

Me too

[@NairobiOGKush]

Ahh, I know that feel.

[@ScootrRichards]

Thank you so much for not showing a de-skinned spiny mouse crawling about.

[@MickeyDeeM]

I'm scared of dolphins. They are really weird.

[@garytheclone1890]

don't forget that they like to masturbate with a dead fish.

[@ashleyli924]

But I love dolphins :P

[@notnormalyet]

They also sexually traffic baby dolphins.

[@shadowflamegxkryptic5298]

+BrosjustCuz Both.

[@Kujien]

They're evil dont be fooled they will take over, do your own reasearch

[@ryanstaudacher7469]

The new hair cut is actually pretty good...

[@stuartlees2609]

Michael has such a soothing voice. It's shockingly calming when trying to sleep

[@ronniessebaggala362]

I am also contributing to the comment section.

[@kindscreams7967]

Ha

[@Mechadude32]

What the hell do you mean "also"? Do you see any other meaningful contribution?

[@ronniessebaggala362]

Meaningful or otherwise , it is still contribution. Thanks for your contribution.

[@cameoshadowness7757]

+Robert Podruzny Uh... Yay! Participation! Sup.

[@ronniessebaggala362]

Hmmmm, are there any aliens in this chat trying to pass of as humans?

[@tigerwolf2243]

You know . . . I've never actually thought of pufferfish as cute . . .

[@n1303144]

The definition of cute from scishow: puffer fish, vibrant suspicious looking frog.

[@Nomaken2]

"When provoked these mice shed their skin right of their body leaving a gaping wound." That's very interesting. Just a second. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[@hallieeramos]

The sweetness of otters is a lie?! What is my life?! (Also, love the haircut Michael. I wasn't sure about it at first, but you really do look great.)

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Otters and kittens alike will feed on fish that are alive.

[@elfmonster1476]

Of all the awful things otters do, that was the least awful one of them.

[@jennypulczinski7204]

Every summer people get attacked by river otters on Lake Superior. Cute and sweet and funny, but also cranky and vicious members of the weasel family

[@The1Helleri]

I wasn't really listening. I was mesmerized by him having combed his hair.

[@necrisro]

Speaking of ladybugs, i haven't seen one for years, there used to be a lot, what happened ?

[@andrewq8527]

Humans

[@alzoron]

There's all over my garden, which I'm totally fine with.

[@TheMightyPunion]

same, where have they gone

[@avigyabhattarai8158]

I thought you were talking about miraculous ladybug ... When you're too obsessed

[@pumpuppthevolume]

+The Mighty Punion they are clogging my house that's where

[@-7070]

CORRECTION: The picture you used of a "king cobra" is a spectacled cobra.They get their name from the shape on their head similar to how monocled cobras got their name. King cobras do not have markings on the head only some species of eleapids.

[@shibolinemress8913]

Another cute killer that comes to mind is the lovely but deadly blue-ringed octopus.

[@thekendrickhuynh]

Michael Aranda makes my knees weak. Also, his voice is 95% identical to Hank's.

[@phantasm1234]

Can you do one on cerebral aneurysms? I had one rupture at 19 and would love to learn more!

[@louiskohnke2343]

Damn, I always knew Perry had some secret weapons

[@littleneri3761]

Well that explains why Perry is such a badass fighter.

[@tezzanoia]

I frequent the pet mice subreddit a lot, because I have mice myself, and I remember someone posting about spiny mice once and the comments discussing how they're not exactly great pets because of the skin shedding thing (I mean, imagine handling your sick pet because you have to in order to help it and it just gets rid of its skin, leaving it sick and injured)

[@wonderman1918]

You forgot to add humans on to that list...

[@nerdnation1076]

True!

[@stephennazzaro9833]

humans aren't cute...

[@stephennazzaro9833]

+Zheming Zhang that's just another reason why humans are not cute.

[@fapasaurusrex]

Ayy lmao

[@stephennazzaro9833]

+TheSuckySix I'm a short grey alien

[@thepalestripper]

You guys should do a video on coconuts, they're a pretty unique fruit, like what does the milk do for the coconut? And is the coconut actually a fruit like I assumed?

[@studioyokai]

I could be remembering wrong but BOTANICALLY speaking, I believe it's closer or a weird seed - the "milk" is, um. Well I've been told it's functionally similar to some of the stuff that makes up semen. Not sure if that's accurate or the function of keeping it liquid, but. Thats what I have been told. Which is amusingly awkward for those of us that like coconut 😅 It's important to note though that there's at least two different definitions of "fruit" - the botanical one (in which a tomato is a fruit), and the culinary one (in which tomato is NOT considered "fruit" because it's got the wrong culinary properties to go in, say, fruit salad) I'm pretty sure that coconuts are, as I said, not BOTANICALLY a "fruit", but in culinary terms, to the best of my knowledge, they are. Which is why you will probably never see a tomato flavored ice cream, but might see coconut ones. Also, as a side note: it occurs to me I should note this only necessarily applies to Western/European derived culinary use. I say this because I have no idea how different plants are classified in any of the Asian or African or various indigenous culinary systems that might exist, but I know at least the Japanese do have azuki beans, which are sweet enough they do in fact have "red bean ice cream" - the flavor is in fact surprisingly sweet and even subtly "fruity" to my pallete, so it works extremely well - but I don't know if they have special categories in their traditional cooking for that like we do with fruit/vegetable, or if it's simply classified some other way. 🤔

[@EmpressOfExile206]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned that the "king cobra" pictured was not a king cobra.. lol it was a spectacled cobra!

[@TheXfams]

I actually learned something NEW from this. Thank you! You guys are awesome!

[@jarrettadam1490]

you forgot to mention the most dangerous animals, human beings.

[@madbrowndog4887]

That's because not all of us are cute.

[@CrazyMonkeyMusic]

Roses are red, Violets are blue, Why am I posting this? I have no clue.

[@soccergirl36963]

held my interest all the way through. very intriguing! thanks, guys!

[@terryenby2304]

These are all so CUTE 😍😍😍 but happy they are safely behind a screen!!

[@shukenten4191]

6:39 "Know this Timechild! I will smash your skull like a clam on my tummy!"

[@rubychopra7137]

In the UK we call ladybugs 'ladybirds'. I think ladybird sounds a lot prettier

[@DreadKyller]

It does sound prettier, but they are far closer to a bug than a bird so I think ladybug makes more sense.

[@_MythicalWolf]

How the fuck does that shit make sense. They're bugs.

[@barginprice]

+00WolfSpirit Bird actually refers to beetle. It's weird but it does turn out that bird is a nickname for beetles.

[@magicbluewolf94]

In taxonomy, only certain insects are actually referred to as bugs, specifically members of the order Hemiptera, which includes aphids but does not include ladybugs.

[@supervegito2277]

Aproximately 1000 kilometers of water east marie chicken.

[@tiffanykoch3139]

how am I so amused and terrified simultaneously?

[@ashyvo84]

Love the new look Michael!

[@amypond1890]

number 4... perry how could you

[@annonimooseq1246]

They actually acknowledged this in an episode, and of course it was hilarious

[@Dementos_Derp]

So Perry could kill Doofenshmirtz... hmmm seems familiar Batman and Joker

[@Smilley85]

Perry is a domesticated platypus. Those have their spines removed.

[@billysmith5409]

No their venom isn’t deadly to humans just mind numbingly painful. It’s so painful that painkillers are absolutely useless. They have to block the nerves from being able to transmit signals at all until the effects wear off.

[@pamelavalente3731]

Always learn so much from your channel...thanks! 💚😊💚

[@mangantasy289]

0:20 as an entomogist/arachnologist, I can perfectly well squee at baby crawlies too.

[@argella1300]

Honestly I'm surprised cone snails aren't on the list. HFS did an episode about poisonous animals recently, and the cone snail was mentioned there.

[@Hallieisntbritish]

This is all very interesting but... Michael your *hair*...

[@reidwilliams9970]

Great video as always! Also I love the new haircut

[@timmallette1888]

"how's that for a secret weapon?" NICE! +1

[@ImranQureshi-mf2gc]

I like this guy better than Hank.

[@Twilord_]

Why the hell did nature not give us these abilities?

[@cannisom7822]

because we got a brain that can do awesome stuff, but comsumes large amounts of energy

[@firebornliger]

Because we got the best ability: Tool use. Also we've got more stamina and a better cooling system than most mammals.

[@ammo1317]

Because we got brains and opposable thumbs instead

[@Internetzspacezshipz]

We developed something better: a complex brain, which is clearly much better than any other animal's adaptations. We are at the top of the food chain.

[@thesuckysix4242]

I would say our insane creativity is the most dangerous thing about us, even today. After all, people keep getting cancer from the mere mention of things nowadays, according to the comments.

[@jessiee2115]

Those aren't pictures of King cobras. Those are Spectacled cobras, which is what lorises seem to actually mimick. Makes sense as Naja naja (Specktacled cobras) are way more bitey than Kings.

[@vadejed]

i love the bottlenose dolphin but not only are they adorably intellagent but they are deadly little suckers... I LOVE EM

[@JohnSmith-lb7uu]

bangin' hair m8

[@DahliaKokoro]

you are distractingly handsome, completely lost track of what you were saying too many times

[@jiffyb333]

Love this show.

[@StarShine-Ranch]

10. Lady Bugs can also BITE you. If you are hiking in the mountains in the fall, and see swarms of ladybugs, WATCH OUT! They are looking for places to hibernate en masse, and any that fly onto you will bite, quite painfully!

[@senpaihorse7695]

youre hair isnt okay; im not okay. put it back, now

[@honeycoffeeandmilk996]

Don't worry, he has cut it, but there may be some more episode with floppy haired Michael (idk how many he filmed before Vidcon).

[@ImperiaGin]

Your hair isn't okay . I'm not okay ,put it back now . No he's a grown man no one cares what you like or don't get over it .

[@TheseWhiteNights]

I like it actually, he looks cleaned up :3

[@Locut0s]

So the lesson is they may be cute, but wait till you get to the sex to pass judgement. Cause they might be dangerous freaks? ;-)

[@cpob2013]

no were kinda above them. what other species in earth's history has been to the fucking moon?

[@Locut0s]

+Connor O'Brien I already gave notice to your point. I agreed that we are more intelligent. But to be honest that is all that separates us. And indeed it's not much. Sure we have been to the moon, but what if you look at what separates us from termites. Termites live collectively in colonies and in many continents build structures that are every bit as impressive as our greatest buildings. Take a look at your pet dog, can you deny that it feels almost all of the emotions that us humans do? If you say no then you haven't owned a dog. Our accomplishments are great I agree, but we don't have a proper yard stick to measure them against so we to readily become arrogant. I fully agree that what separates us from our closest relatives in the animal kingdom is spectacular on the surface. But I also think that we let it go to our heads far more than we should.

[@cpob2013]

Locut0s not much? we dominate every biome, split the atom, fly to space and could exterminate every single other species on the planet. fuck emotions we rule this planet. knock it off with the hippie bullshit

[@moistspaghetto4043]

+Connor O'Brien You're proving their point. ouo When you're debating against someone, I think you're not supposed to do that.

[@GarryDumblowski]

Actually, we couldn't exterminate every other species on the planet, because if we did we'd have nothing to eat and there'd be no oxygen to breathe. Although on the other side of the spectrum, if humans died out, so would all of the species that rely on us. This includes everything microscopic that lives on our body, some species of rats and mice, and probably a bunch of other things that I'm not aware of.

[@Crasho327]

Dude, love the haircut. Looks awesome.

[@destinyskiff]

Loving the new haircut Michael!

[@CorneliusSneedley]

Interesting and informative. One quibble, though. Can anything involuntary really be called a "behavior?"

[@ChadMojito]

Yes.

[@CorneliusSneedley]

Crocodile Deathspeed Why?

[@CowTipper898]

Here is a definition of behavior that covers that "the way in which an animal or person acts in response to a particular situation or stimulus." So it doesn't have to be voluntary.

[@Zain-ku9hb]

It's because the way in which an animal or person behaves (voluntarily or involuntarily) in response to a particular situation or stimulus is what is known as behavior.

[@Corrupted355]

Why do my dogs shake their leg when I scratch them in the right spot?

[@micahgruenwald9321]

R.I.P. Michael's hair, I send my deepest condolences.

[@ladds9369]

I have officially found PhantomLord's doppelgänger

[@ingridc0ld]

Excuse me! I think centipedes are cute!

[@Alex-jd3hd]

I identify as a centipede....and i approve of this message

[@daquanrushing5584]

Centipedes are creepy

[@Arxielle]

I'm phobic to centipedes and I almost dropped my phone when I saw it.

[@Zomit.]

Ew

[@MananagKiVato]

Arxielle what's wrong with centipedes?

[@0xBADFECE5]

ahhhh michael where's the cool spiky hair

[@Galebreth]

I'm here to like Michael's hair. Also cute and deadly animals.

[@annoy4nce648]

Love the haircut

[@happyfrietiez]

do people actually consider these animals 'cute' ?

[@nerdnation1076]

You don't :(

[@amayotato]

Only one of them I consider cute - Dolphins.

[@Thebestusername-fy5sl]

They rape humans. Checkmate.

[@happyfrietiez]

I've seen that ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) very cute( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@AdityaMehendale]

Dear SciShow, please use the "equal to" sign more responsibly! 1:05

[@godlesslippillow]

I had an indoor plant that got aphids. I caught a ladybug and put it on the plant and watched it go to town on those little sugar pooping demons.

[@KauaiDee]

That centipede at the beginning....shoulda given a warning.

[@MananagKiVato]

Danielle Davis ikr! Just too adorable, couldn't stop thinking about it for the whole video.

[@qManiekp]

wyy ther's no human on this list? 😠

[@UthoRiley]

Because even though girls are adorable... :3 They lack the necessary neurotoxin filled, spined, cork-twisted bodyparts to compete! (And even though Trump has all of those, he's still not cute if that's what you were referring to) xD

[@stardreamer8996]

Bro, you ugly bro.

[@pnkflyd66]

+Utho Riley This does not explain the Hillary Clinton toxin

[@majormissile5596]

We don't need poison, we fuck everything up. Quite girls contribute by excessive use of hairspray, and therefore venting alot of CO2 into the atmosphere.

[@Jiefyang]

Like your new hairdo Michael... Oh the vid is also very good as always

[@gregorlamar9922]

Great video, and I like your hair better this way!

[@emmawilliams8512]

I love the new haircut! 💟💙

[@WezelLispProductions]

I love how you say "through" at 8:24. anyone else hear it

[@abdulrahmanalmudaires9050]

the video is amazing, please more videos about venomous animals and animals in general...😊

[@leerose8628]

Dude I love the hair.

[@flatflatspin9855]

EE-yuk! Good show!

[@BakusanDayo]

Ate fugu and lived =D It was actually really good, but not sure if it was just the adrenaline talking haha

[@hooman4717]

love his new hair cut,pls dont change it.

[@jacksim5759]

Like the haircut Michael :D

[@LordNitrogen11]

Love your new hairstyle.

[@81094aj]

I could listen to him talk forever.

[@elsbethsteele9285]

Awesome video! Animals are hardcore. LoL.

[@najmaht.a.1314]

lmao when u play zenkoi and u gotta eat pufferfish-like fish to craft gems

[@stevenrowson4339]

Never thought adorable when looking at a puffer fish

[@yamjamjam]

Nice hair Micheal! :D

[@howtotruckdriver101]

I like this show, this is one of those episodes where they just scares the shit out of me.

[@lazyKong64]

I like watching this show.

[@lashahalls215]

He seemed so casual when talking about the ducks. Like, "hey, I talk about animal vaginas and dicks every day. I named mine Fred"

[@annatria2130]

Jenna, and Julien should go see 7

[@adonis819]

I had a 12 inch Amazon centipede jump onto my boat in...the Amazon of all places. And I still jump every time I see them still, that thing was aggressive and I know what they can do.

[@SatyamKumar-ti6hw]

Whoa that's a lot of research. I liked it :)

[@123bbryant]

I was just thinking that!😆😆