Sometimes, it’s important to remember that nature can’t exactly get angry. If it seems like it’s spitting out a lot more bizarre and even horrifying creatures than it should, there’s usually some sort of advantage that comes with their bizarre nature.
So when we can’t see silly, yet probably charming dodos anymore, but certain places are awash with skin-crawling spiders and snakes, it’s nothing personal.
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And the reason why I say all of this is that these photos might otherwise convince us that any assurances that nature isn’t angry would sound more like, “I’M NOT MAD.”
Unless they’re crashing around our houses, its usually kind of hard to be scared by most birds.
However, it feels pretty natural to at least find it a little spooky when so many of them are coming together to form some giant tornado shape.
It’s unlikely that they’re doing it quietly, either.
This is known as an assassin bug and all of those other bugs on its back are its victims.
According to Smithsonian Magazine , it’s not just keeping those carcasses around as grim trophies.
They’re actually supposed to confuse predators by hiding the assassin bug’s smell in the collection it’s brought together.
This family of birds would look pretty cute if they weren’t nesting in the mouth of a dead pike.
To be fair, it might still feel warm and it definitely provides a lot of cover. Birds don’t necessarily take aesthetics into account when they move in.
When animals fight, sometimes it’s hard to decide which one is more intimidating, but that’s not the case here.
The clear winner in this duel is the orb weaver spider, which is almost as famous for its unique spiral style of web-slinging as it is for punching above its weight.
The Hydnora africana plant isn’t quite as fearsome as it looks, but it does smell like poop.
According to Gizmodo , this is so it can attract dung beetles and trap them with those weird openings that are covered in strands.
That’s not so it can eat them, but rather so it can hold them for long enough to spread its pollen.
The glass frog looks normal until you check under it, which might give you some unpleasant flashbacks of science class.
Yes, the layer of skin on its underside gives a jarringly vivid picture of its inner workings.
As Smithsonian Magazine reported, you can even watch its heart beating from this angle.
This snake is apparently not one of the more dangerous types, but good luck telling someone that when they find it here.
There’s world of difference between catching a snake in the garden and having one pop up to say hello when we’re trying to drive.
After someone left a tin of cat food in a room for 10 days, this is what happened to it.
It sort of looks like it needs a haircut, but it’s actually growing some long and strange strands of mold.
This strange creature carries an equally strange name: Arctic Footballfish.
And as if looking at it wasn’t already a gross enough experience, according to Marine Fishes Of Arctic Canada , this creature is known to release a cloud of snot if it thinks a predator is trying to eat it.
This disturbing fish is called a stargazer and we’re getting a sense of why it stays so low to the ground.
You might think it would be kind of hard to miss a face that looks so much like it belongs in our nightmares, but any fish that does is sure to get eaten up.
The more we learn about the parasite in this fish’s mouth, the worse it gets.
As Wired reported , the isopod known as Cymothoa exigua enters a fish’s mouth, eats away its tongue, and replaces that tongue with itself.
Not only does that mean it gets a cut of any food the fish eats, but it also means that once it leaves, that fish can no longer feed itself.
Hedgehogs are very cute, but it’s hard to wrap our heads around what we’re seeing when we come across their skeletons.
Granted, there’s something kind of satisfying about the fact that it looks like the skeleton has a little chair now, but it’s still hard to reconcile this sight with the critters.
It’s hard to know whether to feel relieved or more unnerved when one startlingly big creature eats another one.
After all, while I wouldn’t want either of these things landing on my face in the night, having this fatal hunt play out on my bed wouldn’t be any more reassuring.
Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if photos like this are real, but this scene might have really unfolded like this.
As much as the fearsome reputation of sharks can be a little overblown, it’s never a good sign when one this big seems that interested in a water-skier.
Unsurprisingly, this photo leaves a lot of people hoping that this is just a particularly tiny snake.
Although grasshoppers normally aren’t anything to worry about, seeing a pack of them get this big can only lead to a case of the willies.
This guy is creepy looking enough before we find out how it likes to introduce itself.
It catches its prey in its pincers by hiding under rocks near streams. Hopefully, that information prepares you for an encounter with them because that sounds like a recipe for a good scare.
This is the skeleton of a pufferfish.
Also known as a blowfish , it is safe to say this creature’s skeleton is equally as frightening as the real thing.
This stingray has seen better days.
Two clean bite marks out of the side of this ray indicate a pretty vicious attack.
A life lived in the ocean is a dangerous one.
Not many people have come across skulls like this.
Apparently, this buck skull had been under water for over a year.
This person could probably count on one hand how many mantises they have.
According to Reddit user titeriteir0 , pictured here is a ghost mantis, dead leaf mantis, banded flower mantis, devil’s flower mantis, and a Indian stick mantis.
Apparently this is Frank, the jumping spider.
The story is that Frank eats the houseflies in this home.
Even though he’s pretty cute, it is still bizarre to see a fly head sticking out of his mouth.
