Animals with cute appearances often attract people’s attention. However, in nature, there are many animals that look cute and innocent, but the truth about them is completely opposite to their appearance.
1. Giant panda
The first on this list is the giant panda, they look very cute and are loved by people around the world.
However, giant pandas are not animals with a vegan diet, in addition to bamboo, they can also eat meat, eating bamboo is just a change to adapt to the living environment. One thing that few people know is that they also have a nickname “iron-eating monster”, this animal has a very large bite force compared to its relatives. The bite force of this animal is only behind the polar bear and the brown bear. Although it has a cute appearance, don’t be foolish enough to provoke them.
Contrary to the misconception that pandas like to live in groups, this animal prefers solitude and will almost always avoid direct contact with its own kind. Every year, male and female pandas only meet during the mating season for about 2-3 days in the spring (from March to May every year). After that, the male will say goodbye to the female and return to enjoy a solitary life until the mating season the following year.
It may sound unbelievable, but although 99% of what this animal eats is bamboo, it is a “carnivore”. On average, an adult panda needs to “devour” at least 18 kg of bamboo leaves every day. Wild pandas will sometimes eat grass, wild tubers, bird meat, rodents, and even carrion. Meanwhile, captive pandas can also eat honey, eggs, fish, carrots, potatoes, bush leaves, and fruits such as apples, oranges, or bananas.
2. Pallas’s Cat
The second on this list is the Pallas’s cat, also known as the manul cat or “hozen rabbit”, although it is called “hozen rabbit” but it does not resemble a rabbit at all.
This wild cat has round eyes and a small body, despite its small body, it is one of the most ferocious species in the cat family.
They are very ferocious, have good vision and hearing, which is an advantage for hunting prey, and can quickly escape danger when encountering other larger predators.
Unlike normal cat breeds, the Pallas’s cat has a flatter and shorter face. Their teeth are also smaller in number than other cats. The cat’s cheeks have a white stripe of fur, running from the corner of the eye to the chin. The Pallas’s Manus cat’s legs are quite short but proportional. Their gait looks flexible and graceful, attracting the affection of many cat lovers around the world. Pallas’s ears are often short and set far apart. This is a special highlight that only this breed of cat has.
This breed of cat is considered an extremely skilled hunter. They have the ability to hide, stalk and chase prey accurately. Thanks to their flexible mind that is trained every day, they survive well in the wild.
As a wild cat breed, they like to live alone and hide alone. In their habitat, this breed of cat often chooses caves, ravines or rock crevices as hiding places. Therefore, the personality of Pallas’s cats is not as gentle as domestic cats. They are always wary of humans or any kind of animal. Even when they are born, kittens have not opened their eyes yet but already know how to growl to threaten enemies.
3. Honey Badger
Honey badgers can be found in most of sub-Saharan Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran and western Asia. They can adapt to a wide range of conditions, from warm rainforests to cool mountain regions. Their home ranges can be as large as 193 square miles (500 square kilometers).
Most honey badgers are active during the day, but when living near human settlements, they are often nocturnal.
They are good at making rock crevices and hollow trees into shelters, and will also make their home in abandoned “homes” for other animals such as porcupines and mongooses.
Honey badgers are quite long, ranging from 55 to 77cm, with a shoulder height of 23 to 28cm, and a tail length of 12 to 30cm. Female honey badgers are usually slightly smaller than males. Males weigh between 9-16kg while females weigh between 5-10kg. But honey badgers are very agile and… reckless. They are not afraid of lions, so stealing food from foxes, hyenas, and leopards is very normal. Honey badgers are considered the least worrying species, because of their wide distribution range and high adaptability to many environments. They mainly eat other animals, and few species in the wild are capable of defeating honey badgers because of their extremely brutal defense.
Honey badgers are famous for being very aggressive, they often try to avoid a fight. However, when confronted, they will not hold back, sometimes people have seen them fighting with hyenas, lions, leopards and giant pythons.
