#21
They are extremely interesting creatures who want nothing to do with you. Many species of terestrial/fossorial tarantulas that can die from falling literally 2ft to the ground or less. They are very, *very* fragile and rarely bite at all, and even then, **no-one** has ever died from a tarantula bite. Some females can live to **35+** years old with many hitting over ten years to twenty years easy.
If you see one in the wild, *please* leave it be. Some people find it funny to try and drown them in their underground homes or poke at them from afar, but its cruel, they aren't hurting you.
(I am a tarantula keeper lol)
Vultures are another animal that often are disregarded and underappreciated. As they are the scavengers of the bird world, it’s common for vultures to be portrayed as villains and unlikeable characters in animated films. But without vultures, we would be left with a lot more roadkill laying around. Vultures have an impressive sense of smell and can easily track down a fresh animal carcass. They do an excellent job cleaning up our roads, forests and deserts by eating up the decaying flesh that’s been left outside, which would otherwise become rife with bacteria and disease. Vultures are not likely to spread diseases to other creatures, but they do contribute great nutrients to soil through their droppings. So don’t judge these birds by their ugly exteriors; they’re the reason our highways are not overrun by rotting roadkill.
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#24
Similar to bees, wasps are another creature that many humans tend to hate. Sure, it can be annoying to be stung by one or have to swat them away from your picnic goodies. But they are actually quite smart and are important pollinators. In fact, certain fruits, like figs, rely exclusively on wasps to be pollinated. These little creatures also work as great clean-up crews, as they happily feast on dead insects. So if you find yourself irritated by a wasp that managed to find its way into your home, please think before you go swatting it down. There might be some plants waiting for it, so if you can find a way to coax it back outside without killing it, the wasp (and the fig lovers of the world!) will thank you.
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#26
We hope this list is helping you open your eyes to the wonderful world of the animal kingdom, particularly animals that you might not have been too fond of before today. Regardless of how you personally feel about any of these creatures, our planet relies on them to carry out a specific purpose, so it's our responsibility to make sure they do not go extinct. Keep upvoting the replies that made you reconsider your stance on any animal, and then let us know in the comments what your favorite underappreciated critter is!
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#30
They're fairly intelligent creatures for insects as well and are also highly sociable. Aside from the approximately 0.8% of cockroach species that are pests, cockroaches are important creatures to the health of the Earth and are also fairly interesting to study.