Animals that you are for some reason scared of (Like really scared)

Jambo said:
Especially when they bare those ferocious jaws. :confused:

Pelicans is an interesting one though. What's scary about them? I'm assuming it's their unique beak.
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That stems from when a big one stole my hot chips by yanking hard on my hand while I was fishing at around age 6-7. Scarred me and now I hold a permanent hatred/fear of his entire species :D
 
Insects and many other arthropods creep me out a bit, mainly roaches and large crickets as well as some caterpillars. Giant isopods can also be included in that. While not scared, something about silky anteaters and colugos makes me a bit uneasy.
 
Emus are pretty terrifying. I remember once in like 2nd grade my class went to a farm that also kept a couple wild animals for some reason beyond my own comprehension (I think it was just the emu and some very snappy mute swans that almost bit off my finger but that's another story). I just remember watching as this terrifying creature that looked like something straight out of the Jurassic romped around as the farm owners described how deadly they were and how they could easily kill any of us.
 
bubblywums said:
I used to think I was alone in this phobia I have of chimps. I think they fit into the uncanny valley where they are too human-like. The worst is the hairless chimps. It makes me really uncomfortable. I don't feel the same way about other apes like orangutans or gorillas - just chimps lol.
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Watched Nope, the new Jordan Peele movie last night and the scene with Gordy was chilling. I don’t think you could have placed any other animal into that role. The chimps seem to fit into the uncanny valley range, they feel human, but not enough. It allows for it to feel like the mauling in the scene was 100% an intentional decision it made but he still has that sort of innocence to not know what he’s doing is wrong. Truly a horrifying scene.
 
It used to be horses that most scared me (I have had a few near-misses with them in the past) and I also had a phase where I had a fear of sharks (watching Jaws while still in primary school wasn't a great idea, it turns out).

But now, the animal that frightens me by far are dogs. Especially since the pandemic and lockdowns, where an increasing number of untrained dogs are in evidence. Earlier this year, I had a quite large (albeit not fully-grown) dog lunge at me because, in the words of the owner, I looked at it.

It's now got to the stage where, if I'm out birdwatching locally and I see a dog on the path ahead, I turn around and go home.
 
ChIkEn NuGrEt said:
Watched Nope, the new Jordan Peele movie last night and the scene with Gordy was chilling. I don’t think you could have placed any other animal into that role. The chimps seem to fit into the uncanny valley range, they feel human, but not enough. It allows for it to feel like the mauling in the scene was 100% an intentional decision it made but he still has that sort of innocence to not know what he’s doing is wrong. Truly a horrifying scene.
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Now that you mention it, I think Charla Nash getting her face ripped off by Travis the chimp really impacted me as a child. Essentially what happened in Nope. A lot of animal attacks on people make sense (protecting themselves, territorial, etc), but that one chills me.
 
Cockroaches, specifically the American and Australian Cockroach species. German cockroaches scare me a bit. The forest and hissing cockroach species I can handle
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cloudedleopard611 said:
I just remember watching as this terrifying creature that looked like something straight out of the Jurassic romped around as the farm owners described how deadly they were and how they could easily kill any of us.
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I don't think there's any deaths caused by emus - if anything a collision with one while driving would be the most likely reason. There was discussion about this recently over on the thread "Animal stereotypes that you hate." Emus may look grumpy and they might well peck you, but they aren't deadly.
 
Great Argus said:
I don't think there's any deaths caused by emus - if anything a collision with one while driving would be the most likely reason. There was discussion about this recently over on the thread "Animal stereotypes that you hate." Emus may look grumpy and they might well peck you, but they aren't deadly.
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Yeah, I'm sure they're not really as deadly as they're made out to be, but they're certainly pretty scary looking.
 
Great Argus said:
I don't think there's any deaths caused by emus - if anything a collision with one while driving would be the most likely reason. There was discussion about this recently over on the thread "Animal stereotypes that you hate." Emus may look grumpy and they might well peck you, but they aren't deadly.
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Ostrich and cassowary are the only birds that have definitely killed humans. There's been a few child deaths that were possibly caused by various eagle species. I'm still not going near an emu, though :D Anything with claws and a beak can manage to kill if they cut into you at the right spot.
 
DaLilFishie said:
Which species, if you wouldn't mind me asking?
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That would be our Ruffed Grouse, in the winter they often eat considerable amounts of laurel buds (which can contain rather potent toxins) which built up in their bodies over the course of the fall and winter. Being otherwise quite edible they were hunted frequently, which resulted in large numbers of poisoning cases. While it was typically treatable even back then there are several documented fatalities. Once the cause was realized they have been illegal to take during the winter months since 1886, and no confirmed reports have occurred since.

And interesting report on it here, (fair warning it does include multiple accounts of poisoning effects and treatment methods)
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...oQFnoECGkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2GbvEyrjPUU6ual9rEsPEq
 
Great Argus said:
That would be our Ruffed Grouse, in the winter they often eat considerable amounts of laurel buds (which can contain rather potent toxins) which built up in their bodies over the course of the fall and winter. Being otherwise quite edible they were hunted frequently, which resulted in large numbers of poisoning cases. While it was typically treatable even back then there are several documented fatalities. Once the cause was realized they have been illegal to take during the winter months since 1886, and no confirmed reports have occurred since.

And interesting report on it here, (fair warning it does include multiple accounts of poisoning effects and treatment methods)
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...oQFnoECGkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2GbvEyrjPUU6ual9rEsPEq
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Oh, interesting!
 
Sarus Crane said:
They certainly can be intimidating. I remember being at Two Tails Ranch and sitting on their large (castrated) bull's arm for a photo op and I knew that he was chill and all, but like you said couldn't get out the images in my head of incidents like what happens in Kerala, Tyke's rampage, other incidents etc.... You always have to be on your A-game around them all the time. Their impressive roars are the cherry on top. It's crazy to think how back in the day elephant handlers at circuses would drink the day away and then (due to drunkenness) do something stupid and then the elephant would react to it and kill someone whether it be out of revenge or just ticked off.... like this guy. I have no idea if he survived or not but his neck looks like it was snapped upon impact with the ground (viewer discretion is advised):


And they can certainly move really fast when they want to:

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That first video is insane. The elephant just tossed him like a doll
 
Screw cockroaches. Big time. Even I got scared of Hissing Cockroaches at times. But everytime I see one of those nasty poop colored being running around I'm in verge of screaming.
 
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