6 of the Most Interesting Animal Facts That Are Perfect for the Halloween Season

Halloween is coming round very soon. Aside from crafting skulls on pumpkins or dressing up as monsters or superheroes, another popular activity during this season is probably sharing scary stories. Tales like ghost encounters or stories about evil folklore wreaking havoc in the naturally terror-stricken minds of humans may be fun, but most would have probably heard about every single story one way or another, that it has lost most of its novelty. Some may even be tired of it already, especially since everyone knows most of them are just made up.

As an alternative to these not-so-interesting fictitious stories, we rounded up some really creepy details about some commonly seen animals that will make your hair stand on end. Here are some that definitely topped the list:

1. Vampire bats do suck human's blood.

When we hear about bats, the first three words that will most definitely come to mind are "dangerous," "creepy," and "blood-sucking." This is not surprising at all. Through the years, bats have always been associated with evil mythical creatures — with the most notable coming from association with the descendant of the world-reknowned bloodsucking Dracula, a vampire character in a lot of horror stories. In fact, one species of bats was named after vampires due to similarities in their preferred diet.

While most bats are herbivores, there exist some vampire bats that are sanguinivore. This simply means that unlike their relatively herbivore siblings, these vampire bats choose to nourish themselves with vertebrate blood. One variant of these vampire bats — a hairy-legged type at that, was actually reported to be just like Dracula in their preference to consume human blood, can be found in the northeast areas of Brazil!

However, before anybody starts thinking of how risky it is to have them around and start eliminating these interesting vampire bats, read this first: This hairy-legged vampires on wings consume birds' blood, an extremely high-fat nourishment as opposed to those of the protein-based mammals'. However, due to the decline in their main source of food caused by encroaching humans, this resulted in multiple deaths of these bats due to starvation. So, much like the rest of the population, the vampire bats adapted quickly and started consuming that which is the most abundant – human blood.

So after all else is considered, doesn't this makes us humans scarier than these blood-sucking bats?

2. If you think sharks are scary, think again! It seems cows are even worse.

If sharks could speak, you will probably hear them beefing non-stop about how incorrectly we assume them to be terrorizing at nearly every turn, when in fact, it is the cows that could actually cause more death to humans.

Each year, there are at least 20 people who die in the United States because of cows. This happens quite often and is usually because of the kicking and razing that groups of cows do. Most of these deathly instances are unprovoked, too. 

Sharks, on the other hand, rarely attack humans. Between 2007 to 2018, there are only a total of 920 cases of shark attacks worldwide, and almost all of them are actually non-fatal. On average, there is only one shark-related death annually.

Despite that, we often see shark-infested thrillers on the big screen. Who could ever forget the classic film Jaws? As a child, most of us probably refused to go near any ocean or similarly huge bodies of water after watching it for the first time.

But now that the truth has been revealed, we wonder: is there any possibility that the gentle-looking cows would feature as deadly killers in films? That will be a-moose-ing.

3. Male otters choke their partner... and it's not kinky or nice.

Let's get sexual here: male sea otters are aggressive when mating. While some might think this is normal among mating animals, otters are can be pretty drastic as their mating habits usually involves strangling or nose-biting — which is definitely not the love bite some of us prefer. In fact, these strangling and biting habits often results in deep wounds, or in some cases, even death from drowning among female otters. 

But the predatory otters' aggression does not end here. In a report made public by the California Department of Fish and Game, there were rape cases too. In fact, the report included details about 19 incidents of male otters forcing themselves into young harbor seals, with 15 of them ending up in death. To make matters worse, some of these otters copulated with their victims long after they have died.

This behavior is still unexplained but the researchers suspected that it might be due to the increasing number of male otters which translates to less chances for sexual encounters. The gap is reportedly huge enough for some males to be denied the mating opportunity, making them vent out their frustration on the poor unassuming seals. Creepy!

4. Hakuna Matata... or not?

"Hakuna Matata... what a wonderful phrase... it means no worry for the rest of our days," says a song from one Disney classic film that is probably part of everyone's childhood.

The film, Lion King, features a meerkat called Timon as a side character. He is probably the most popular character because of his goofy attitude. Another reason must be because of his back story. Timon is a misfit kid who decided to go on his own because nobody likes him, except for his mom who always stands by his side.

Of course, that is what a mother would do. But would the same thing apply in real-life situations? The answer is yes, mama meerkats will protect their babies called pup, in ways so extreme that they can murder other meerkats' babies to ensure the survival of their own.

This act is usually done by the alpha females who want to monopolize breastfeeding. By doing so, she will ensure that her pups will have enough nutrition until they are old enough to consume solid foods.

5. Squirting blood from the eyes as a defense mechanism

All animals and even some plants have their own protective capabilities that protect them against their predators. But the short-horned lizards probably have the most unique yet also one of the creepiest and most bizarre defense mechanism — they have the ability to shoot blood from the corner of their eyes. The blood can shoot up to three feet and is meant to confuse enemies, but studies said that the blood can be poisonous in dogs and coyotes, which usually prey on these lizards.

But that's not their only talent. They can also inflate their bodies like a balloon.

6. Cone snails can fire venom as fast as guns firing bullets

Snails are associated with the word "slow." But it certainly does not apply to one specific type, the cone snails, especially when they're hunting for food.

A research published in Current Biology said that cone snail can shoot as fast as 400,000 m/s2 or just as fast as a fired bullet! The scientists believed that it is a necessity so that the snails can hit even fast-swimming fish.

On top of this ability, the cone snails have venom that is considered as the world's deadliest. It is so potent that it is believed that a single cone snail with this venom can kill up to 700 persons.

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