i know its a stingray but it looks like cthulhu popped his head up to say hi
I thought it was a giant squid.
holy shit they get this big?
They do get this big! They also tame relatively easily and are surprisingly docile animals. Its popular to swim with them in many beachy areas. As long as you’re not stupid and mean to them, your odds of being hurt by them are very low.
I had the opportunity to swim with a school of them on a sandbar once and I must say they are very aggreeable animals, though they do have the tendency to mob you if you have food, and they can be quite heavy. Still very pleasant animals.
ha cthulhu
Humans will pet anything. If aliens come, that might be what distinguishes us from the rest of the galaxy.
“we were going to blow them up, but they engaged in an oddly pleasing patting ritual and, well, it was nice.”
I read today that stingrays recently passed the mirror test: they recognize their own reflection, potentially implying they have some concept of self.
The Redback would like you too! They love humans and human homes, and seem to preferentially prefer living around us. Their venom causes almost pure pain and they are happy to share it. Here’s a picture of one eating lunch.
Perhaps you’d like the Sydney Funnel-Web Spider instead? A spider that more or less is restricted to our largest, most populous city and can kill you. It likes to dig holes in your garden.
Perhaps reptiles are more your style? Consider our Tiger Snake, which is not a peaceful soul content to be left alone. Tigers have attitude and will have a go when provoked, unlike the relatively chill red bellied black snakes.
Also around our homes we also have the notorious Magpie, aka murder bird, which is not really as bad as the internet makes them out to be unless you’ve bothered them previously, but they can do significant damage divebombing your skull if they decide to.
Like birds? The cassowary probably should be a cryptid, but this dinosaur who didn’t get the message really exists, and will trample your organs. It eats fruit.
On the topic of large herbivores, red kangaroos are as big as ours come. They will eviscerate dogs and humans that get too close, and will total a car in a crash. Do not approach a red kangaroo hit by your car unless you are sure it’s dead.
If you’re interested in something a little more legendary, we have the Razorback pigs. These are not cryptids, they are large enough up north to start eating cattle.
reblog this post with a cool animal species lets make a wholesome thread
ok ill give a headstart:
i really like leopard seals
axolotls are p rad
I LOVE THOSE
potoos look like muppets and i ove tem
here’s a quokka it’s like someone decided to splice together a wallaby and a teddy bear they literally always look like a benevolent cartoon
i don’t think you can get more wholesome than that adorable lil seed-eating smiley face. they’re not even like dolphins, cute on the outside and evil on the inside. they’re herbivores about the size of a cat. there is nothing wrong with them.
The Springhaas, or “irl pikachu” as it is sometimes known, is basically a rat shaped like a bunny abruptly caught in the middle of trying to evolve into a kangaroo. This is why they tend to look startled.
This is a dik dik. They are tiny antelopes from southern and eastern Africa–seriously so smol. With teeny hooves and teeny horns and big soulful eyes. And the name is fun to say. It comes from the alarm call that the females make. They live together in monogamous pairs.
Long Eared Jerboa
The adorable mash-up of a hamster, bunny, and kangaroo. Whiskers with no end, ears that put a fennec to shame, and adorability beyond measure!
bringing this back on your dashes
This is the paradise tree snake of southeast Asia:
Pretty, right?
But that’s not even the best part…
These guys can actually flatten out their bodies and…
FUCKING GLIDE FROM TREE TO TREE HOLY FUCK IS THAT AWESOME OR WHAT
Ratufa indica. Look at this awesome purpley squirrel.
Also they apparently get along with just about everyone and everything. They’re just friendly giant rats that are adorable and they deserve more love.
The honduran white bat is tiny and fluffy.
Platypus!
One of only two mammals that lay eggs, has a venomous spur, can detect electricity, and so fuckin’ weird people thought they were a hoax at first.
Botos – pink river dolphins – are amazing.
When the Amazon rises, they swin amongst the trees and eat fruit.
Also, in local legends, they transform into pretty young men who seduce girls.
the vaquita!!! they’re the smallest and most endangered porpoises on the planet
this is a picture of a calf but they usually grow to 140.6 cm (4.6 ft)
leopard geckos absolutely have to be on this list!! i love them, they are my children
This guy is a hoatzin, also known as a stinkbird. Because it stinks. Like really really bad. ‘Cause it solely subsides on plant matter, which it ferments in its giant crop that, combined with its short wings, make it too awkward to fly properly. It’s a stinky, useless bird that is actually doing pretty okay despite being clumsy and having a specialized diet ‘cause it smells so bad that most things don’t want to eat it. Supposedly it tastes as nasty as it smells.
Also, the babies have little claws on their wings that help them grip on branches and stuff. They fall off when they get older, but still. LOOK AT IT. LOOK AT THEM. LITTLE DINOSAURS.
I love hoatzins. I love these smelly horrible babies.
What a good post! Here’s
Elaphodus cephalophus, aka, a Tufted Deer! Like other, boring-er deer, but with FANGS and a cool hairdo!
I offer you, the highland cow!
They’re a scottish breed of cattle that come in quite the range of colors, have long wavy coats and long horns.
Also their calves look like literal stuffed animals.
Highland coos! So cute.
This here is a coquí (co-KEE) – it is a teensy eensy tree frog whose name comes from the incredibly loud (considering their size) sound they make. They chill out in Puerto Rico and at night they sound like a chorus of fairy car alarms going off.
This is a golden takin. They’re from the Himalayas. I think the first image I ever saw of one was on a piece of Nepalese currency.
wupacing 
