Animal Defense Mechanisms That Prove Nature Is Beautiful And Terrifying

The world is a big, scary place. Like, it’s terrifying. Especially when there are nasty predators around every corner. But the animals we’re going to talk about aren’t letting predators get in their way.

Some of them are cute animals. Some are gross animals. And some are just totally weird animals. But evolution gave all these critters crazy ways to keep themselves safe. Safe and uneaten. Mostly they’re about not getting eaten by other, bigger animals.

Anyway, these insane animal defense mechanisms will blow your mind. And they’ll probably also remind you of just how fantastic (and scary) nature can be.

Hairy Frog

animals defend themselves
animals defend themselves

You may recognize the hairy frog and its mutton chop like body hair from its appearance in seventeen thousand X-Men movies. When hairy frogs need to f— somebody up they push their toe bones through their skin to create barb like claws.

No word on whether or not one of these sharp little amphibians has tricked itself out with adamantium yet.

Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/24510-Trichobatrachus-robustus

Malaysian Exploding Ant

animals defend themselves
animals defend themselves

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These little guys are true animal kingdom badasses who refuse to let anybody tell them how to live their lives.

When facing death by predator the ants don’t just give in to being eaten, instead they give a big f— you to their attacker and explode, killing themselves and covering the would be ant eater with a toxin that can be fatal.

Source: http://www.animalplanet.com/wild-animals/7-malaysian-ant/

Slow Loris

animals defend themselves
animals defend themselves

The slow loris doesn’t have much going for it protection wise at first glance but they’ve got some tricks up their sleeve.

And by tricks up their sleeve I mean they have toxic glands on the inside of their elbows that they lick and rub all over their body, making them not so fun to take a bite out of.

The toxin combined with their saliva makes their bites nasty too, they can even send humans into anaphylactic shock.

Source: https://www.wildlifealliance.org/meet-the-slow-loris/

Sea Cucumber

animals defend themselves
animals defend themselves

A lot of animals play dead to avoid being attacked or eaten but sea cucumbers take this ruse to a whole new level.

To convince predators that they’re really truly dead, sea cucumbers contract their muscles so hard that some of their organs temporarily pop out of their anuses.

Sea cucumbers also think this is a hilarious party trick but their friends are pretty over it.

Source: https://www.wiseoceans.com/seasense/invertebrates/