50 Animals That Don't Get The Recognition They Absolutely Deserve, As Shared In This Informative Online Thread

To learn more about underrated creatures and why we fail to give them the appreciation they truly deserve, we spoke with Jennifer Verdolin, Ph.D. She is an internationally recognized animal behavior expert, professor at the University of Arizona, and author of Wild Connection: What Animal Courtship and Mating Tell Us about Human Relationships who shares her insights about the animal kingdom on Twitter and Instagram under the handle @RealDrJen.

According to Verdolin, most species are overlooked and underrated, but one that she believes deserves a ton more credit is vultures. "Globally, they are one of the most threatened groups of birds," she told Bored Panda. While there are many incredible species of vulture, "23 to be exact", the animal behavior expert wanted to focus on the black vulture.

"They are socially complex, hanging out together to eat or roost together. When they are socializing there is the usual drama, some friendly interactions, some aggressive ones, that one vulture that wants to be in charge, eat first, etc.," she explained, adding that they are pretty monogamous too. "Of course, they provide an important service. They are the cleaners and I've watched them pick the carcass of a raccoon or possum clean in a little under an hour."

Another animal species Verdolin deems as greatly unappreciated are spiders. "They are talented and, of course, snack on other little critters in our home." The expert continued to explain how they can hear you across the room and how some of them are also known to be incredibly social. Let’s not leave out the desert spider female, "a mom who literally gives her life to her kids."

Wildlife is truly remarkable. The whole animal world is fascinating and full of unsolved mysteries we humans are trying so hard to crack. But at the same time, we tend to pay more attention to certain species (often adorable-looking) and continue to carry specific opinions about other critters that usually turn out to be wrong.

When asked why some animals unconsciously appeal to us more, Verdolin pointed out there are a few answers to this. As she explained in her book Raised by Animals: The Surprising New Science of Animal Family Dynamics, animals that are "cute" or look young (just like pandas, dear readers) trigger our brains to be careful, look after, take care of them, and reduce aggression.

"That's why we will spend hours looking at videos of baby animals. Once animals are all grown up, I think some species, like the panda and koala benefit from this tendency," she continued. "They have large heads, and in the case of pandas, a coloration that makes them look like they have big eyes — even though neither of these species is particularly friendly."

"Another factor, though, that we can't ignore is the cultural conversation we have about some species and mythology about certain animals," Verdolin said, adding that the perfect example of this is the wolf. "We literally spend billions to care for our pet dogs, which are essentially juvenile wolves 7000 years + removed, and support movies and policies that decimate wolves. We also have a disdain and fear of coyotes, which are not that different either."

There are countless other species like sharks, snakes, and bats that have a bad rep in the human world and face similar issues like wolves and coyotes. "The cultural stories we have about them reinforce negative tropes and influence our opinions," Verdolin said. "And then there are of course the 'unattractive' animals. We are incredibly biased against species we don't think are 'cute' or attractive."

The animal behavior expert revealed we tend to underestimate most species of other animals. "Historically, modern humans have looked for ways to separate themselves from other animals. This is in direct contrast to Indigenous people that see themselves integrated with nature, reflecting the traits and aspects of other species in their cultures, beliefs, and spirituality," she continued.

"So first we have this notion that we are separate from and then comes the idea that we are better than. Incidentally, this is connected to how we have marginalized groups of people whether it be based on socially defined racial categories, gender, religion, etc." Verdolin pointed out this led to us ranking other species as better or worse according to how "similar" they are to us.

"Science has had to redefine 'human' so many times because we keep discovering all the ways we are not different," she noted. "Beyond ravens counting and solving puzzles faster than a college student or elephants visiting the bones of their fallen friends and family members, we know that pigs grunt to express their feelings and that other animals have personalities. They are sentient. Period."

So Verdolin would like to remind you that we humans are not that separate from other animals. "What happens to them, how we treat them, is a direct reflection of the state we are in right now. As puffins washed ashore dead earlier this year and little blue penguins followed a few weeks ago, other species are in crisis," she reminded us. "And so are we."

She understands it’s much easier to think about a panda than a squirrel that’s running around in your backyard. "But every squirrel is out there trying to make a living, raise a family, avoid death and suffering, and catch a few naps in the morning sunlight. Stop for a minute next time to watch, observe, and think about how you can make the lives of animals right there around you better today," Verdolin concluded.