15 Of The Worlds Nastiest Animals

If you have a pet of your own, whether its a cat or a dog or maybe something else, you have probably noticed some behaviors that may seem unusual or just downright disgusting. Maybe you have caught your dog enjoying a nice meal… that he had already previously eaten for dinner. Perhaps you have caught your cat urinating on the furniture, leaving behind a stench that you might find hard wipe out. Whatever your pet has done won’t even compare to these 15 animals with gross behaviors. Some of the disgusting attributes that these animals embrace may even contribute to their various ecosystems.

1. Hippo

Hippos may seem like they would be big, harmless and lazy animals however they are actually quite dangerous. They are feared in Africa as they are one of the most dangerous animals there, killing more people than any other animal. Another reason to avoid these animals is the fact that when they emerge from their mud baths they tend to ‘muck spread’ or fling a mixture of their own urine and feces at each other.

2. Giraffe

You may not know it but giraffes tend to drool a lot. Their diet of leaves from tall trees requires a little extra help for the giraffes to swallow. Their surplus saliva may act similar to a beverage that you would need if you have ever eaten something dry enough to turn your mouth into a desert. If you had an 18-inch tongue you would need excessive amounts of spit to keep your mouth properly moistened as well.

3. Horned Lizard

Could you imagine using your own blood as a defense mechanism? That would be disturbing and confusing, right? Horned lizards are able to quirt a stream of blood from the corners of their eyes for a distance of up to 5 feet. This is done by restricting the blood flow leaving the head, which in turn increases blood pressure and ruptures vessels around the eyelids. This defense mechanism is said to taste horrible for would be canine or feline predators but seemingly has no effect on birds.

4. Flys

It should come as no surprise that house flies are disgusting. You can often find flies gathering around feces or garbage or even worse. Flies are covered in bacteria and that dog poop you see those flies gathering around… yeah, they eat that. What makes it worse is that if a fly lands on your food, they will actually vomit their digestive juices onto it. I wouldn’t want to eat that, no matter how small they may be. Also, flies like to lay their eggs in dead flesh which leaves behind maggots.

5. Cows

Do you ever get a bit gassy after a big meal? Imagine eating 90 pounds of food a day and not burping once or twice. You may not realize this but cows are almost always leaking gas from both their front and rear ends. They can actually evacuate up to a half gallon of gas every minute. I bet gas prices would be cheap if we filled our cars with cow methane.

6. Hoopoe Bird

This cool looking bird may seem cute for bird lovers but you may have to wear nose plugs if you want to get near it. The Hoopoe bird has a special gland near its anus which creates a terrible smelling substance, and no it’s not poop. The scent actually carries the weight of a rotten flesh smell which the bird covers itself in. The foul smell also acts as an antibacterial agent as well as a parasite repellent. Baby Hoopoe birds forgo the smell altogether and squirt feces into the faces of would be predators when they feel threatened.

7. Sea Cucumber

These underwater sausages tend to make meals out of the worst of the ocean floor. Sea cucumbers like to dine on the feces and bodies of dead animals. What makes this interesting is that in some cultures, sea cucumbers are looked upon as a delicacy and an aphrodisiac. Sea cucumbers have also been under research for medicinal properties and have been used in Asian folk medicine.

8. Vulture

If you have ever seen a vulture circling around in the sky it usually means death is near or has happened. Their diet preference is that of rotten flesh which may seem incredibly vile and disgusting but it actually has its purpose. Next time if you ever see a vulture think of them as a cleaning crew. However, vultures also don’t have sweat glands which means they need alternative methods of cooling off. They ‘shower’ themselves and cool off by urinating down their legs.

9. Hagfish

These weird underwater creatures are just about blind as well as toothless. However, their diet consists of flesh… dead animal flesh. They tend to eat a corpse from the inside out and enter from whatever available hole they may find. A whale that finds itself at the bottom of the ocean may become a meal to hundreds of Hagfish. Hagfish also have a peculiar defense mechanism. They can expel and produce around 17 pints of mucus. Just a small portion of this mucus can turn a glass of water into a glass of snot-like substance.

10. Skunk

Everybody knows that skunks can produce a terrible stench that can stain the insides of your nose and is hard to get rid of. They use their gross smell to ward off threats and scare away predators. What you may not know is that skunks can actually aim their smelly spray by using a pair of ‘nozzles’ in their anus. Skunks can twist and turn these nozzles in any direction making their spray effective at any location.

11. Jackal

Jackals are wild scavengers that know to always finish a meal, never leaving behind left-overs and typically taking care of other animals left-overs. Jackals will eat rotting or diseased flesh even if its been sitting out in the hot sun for days. When lions are done with their meals, jackals will happily move in and finish their plate for them. Jackals also vomit up food for their pups to eat and if their pups can’t finish their delicious meal, the adults will simply re-eat what they already ate once before.

12. Leeches

Leeches are known blood suckers of the animal world with a majority of them living in freshwater environments. Leeches actually have two suckers, one in the front and one in the rear. They are disgusting looking worm-like creatures that feed on the blood of both vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Leeches have also been used medicinally for quite some time. The clinical use of bloodletting through leeches has been practiced for thousands of years.

13. Tahr

Tahr isn’t a typical name you hear whenever you think about animals in the wild. However, these animals are closely related to the mountain goat, making them a little less unusual. What is unusual about them though is their mating rituals. Females like to let the male know they are in the mood for loving by urinating on them. I hope he is wearing a rain jacket for that golden drizzle.

14. Koala

Koalas aren’t typically a disgusting animal that many people think about. The gross nature of these animals actually stems from a relation between mother and child. A Koalas diet consists of eucalyptus leaves that are packed with toxins. The digestive system of a Koala can nullify the toxins in these leaves, making them safe for consumption. However, baby Koalas are not born right away with this strong detoxifying defense. In turn, baby Koalas feast on the feces of their mother in order to strengthen up their digestive systems.

15. Botfly

Botflies lay their eggs inside the skin unsuspecting mammals which leaves behind a nasty surprise once it develops. The future baby Botflies become maggots that live in the skin of their hosts. This terrifying parasite can leave a hole in your skin the size of a quarter. Fortunately, they are typically noticed fairly early if you happen to be chosen as a host. Congratulations, it’s a baby Botfly!