What are the cutest wild animals you've seen? Ever since I was a kid, I've loved animals. I used to watch those “Wild Kingdom” shows and wonder what it would be like to be out in the forest/desert/wherever they were to be with the animals. I thought of being a zookeeper, but learning that I'd have to clean out cages and feed things that could easily bite me soon cured me of that. Now I just to enjoy them through a computer screen or, at one point, my sister's house. These are, in my opinion, some of the cutest wild animals I know of. I'm sure you've seen them before, but who doesn't like cute things? That, and some of the videos are funny.
This adorable guy was just discovered less than ten years ago! Actually, let me rephrase that. The olingito-a smaller version of the olingo and part of the mammalian family-has been around for a lot longer, but it wasn't noticed by humans to be a species on its own until fairly recently. It looks like a cross between a raccoon and a teddy bear and is about the size of a house cat. You just want pick it up and pet it! I'm not sure how it would react to that, but it's definitely one of the cutest wild animals around.
Even though I don't think wild animals should be pets, this video is kind of cute. Think about it; isn't Jonas (the tiger) acting just like a dog here? Trying to get into your food, licking you, chewing on things he shouldn't? Again, I don't think wild animals should be kept as pets in the house, but Jonas seems to love his “people”.
My mother would say the tarsier is “so ugly, it's cute”. The fact that they usually weigh less than half a pound and are the size of my fist makes them easy prey for cats and snakes, but the very strong back legs make it easily able to get away. The fact that its head can turn around a complete 180 degrees and its brain weighs less than one of its eyes makes it one of the strangest but most interesting animals I've heard of in a while. I want one!
In real life, these guys are a lot more shy than the one that hawks car insurance. I guess that's to be expected when you only weigh half an ounce! That's mostly from the smaller ones, though; they 're usually anywhere from 0.04” and 15.7”. I love their suction-cup feet! My sister used to have a few and it was so much fun to watch them climb the walls of their terrarium and, sometimes, other parts of the house. She used to let it sit on her head sometimes, but I'm not that adventurous.
This video says it all. Just don't watch it while drinking coffee; that is, unless your keyboard needs a shower. :)
These primates are native to Indonesia and, despite not being aggressive like other monkeys, are critically endangered because of the loss of their habitat to urban sprawl and occasional hunting by humans. They're very social, with the females being extremely picky about the males they mate with. I think we can learn something from that! Just kidding! Not only are these guys photogenic, they're smart; the pictures in this article were taken by the monkeys! dailymail.co.uk Hilarious!
My best high school friend used to say she wanted one for a pet. Seeing as they can get to weigh over 350 pounds and eat about 30 pounds of bamboo a day, I think that's a bit ambitious! They're also endangered, mostly due to the fact that deforestation in their native China is depriving them of their sole source of nutrition. They're mostly docile but, like any bear, will attack when provoked. I think it's interesting that they have a bone on their wrist that acts as an opposable thumb so they can grab onto things, something usually seen only on humans and primates. They're cute.
These are just a few of the cutest wild animals I've seen. I'd mention the frogs, insects and other lizards I like, but I don't want to creep you out too much. If you want to see more, the a-z-animals.com website is very informative. What about you? What are some of the cutest wild animals you've seen? What are the ugliest? Which ones would you want as pets, if any? Discuss!