Unfortunately, like people, some animals are just rude jerks! From birds to insects to mammals, here are six of the most obnoxious animals on the planet.
- Lions
Most think of the lion as a noble, majestic beast who protects their pride as the master of his domain. Lions are even associated with Jesus Christ the bible and countless other stories and fables through history have been written about lions. Unfortunately, lions can behave badly, and toward their own children too! Male lions have been known to kill their own lion cubs if they are taking too of their mother’s attention.
- Ants
Ah, the hard working ant, lifting many times their own body weight for the good of the colony. But did you know that ants are the only species besides humans to start wars and enslave their own kind? To the winners go the spoils, and ants that are victorious capture any other surviving ants and enslave them. They also steal the other ant colony’s eggs. These captives and, once they are hatched, the newborn captives are forced to work for the victor’s colony until they die.
- African bat-bug
Ugly, aren’t they? Maybe this explains their bad behavior. They mate in a very unfortunate way; instead of normal mating habits, the males stab the females. Science says there is no medical reason for the bat-bug to do this other than to make the female suffer. Maybe they have terrible aim or maybe they’re just jerks! Regardless, the African bat-bug gives new meaning to the “battle of the sexes” with their violent struggles. Over time, the females of the species have developed defenses against the males to avoid being stabbed but it still happens.
- Bottle nosed dolphins
Dolphins have even better PR than lions, with great reputations of being one of the smartest animals on the face of the earth. They have rescued swimmers and are used in physical therapy for human paraplegics. Unfortunately, like humans, dolphins are the only other animal that will kill for the fun of it. A study was conducted in the late 1990’s when the carcasses of hundreds of porpoises began showing up, looking as though they were punched repeatedly in the stomach. Porpoises don’t share food or compete with dolphins in any way, yet the bottle nosed jerks were attacking them in high numbers. Fortunately, dolphins haven’t been known to attack humans.
- Chimps
Since they’re our closest relatives, sharing 95% of the same genes, people are drawn to chimpanzees. They are like a funnier, hairier version of humans, aren’t they? Bad news; some jerky human behavior has rubbed off on chimps. Known to kill each other regularly in territory wars, chimps will also kill for water and food resources if necessary. This isn’t the worst; chimps have been known to eat each other when really on a roll. I’d say that cannibalism is the ultimate jerk move, wouldn’t you?
- Otters
Aw, cute, furry otters floating on their backs, cracking open oysters for lunch? Yes – jerks. Since otters need to eat about 25% of their own body’s weight worth of food every day, they become quite nasty when their resource is threatened. Male otters have been known to hold baby otters ransom until the mother gives them food. They have also been known to attack baby harbor seals to protect their food resource. In South America, there is a species of river otter that gets over six feet in length. Not only that, these giant otters hunt in packs. The next time you see cute little otters holding hands to sleep in the water, remember that they are still jerks.
