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Snakes are another notoriously feared creature, but as Nancy Lawson wrote for the Humane Society, we have no reason to fear them. She explains that many people assume snakes are out to get us because of how dangerous they can be to small prey like mice, but the reality is that they usually just want to be left alone. “They swallow their food whole, and in the United States there are no snakes big enough to eat us,” Melissa Amarello, executive director of Advocates for Snake Preservation, told the Humane Society. “They just don’t want to have anything to do with us.”
Some people even justify torturing snakes because they assume that they deserve it or if we don’t kill them first, they will come after us. Nancy noted the example of a cruel “rattlesnake roundup” in Texas where thousands of snakes were forced out of their dens with gasoline then tormented and killed for entertainment. In reference to the roundup, Amarello said, “If those were rabbits … it would be excruciating to experience because they would be screaming out loud and we could all hear it. We just can’t hear it when snakes are doing it.” Even though they may not be considered cute by many people, snakes still deserve their peace. As David Steen, author of Secrets of Snakes: The Science beyond the Myths says, “They’re just little animals, and they’ve got their own lives going on. They’re fascinating creatures with a lot of mysteries left to reveal.”
We hope you are enjoying this list of debatably adorable creatures that you might be very glad to never encounter in real life. Keep upvoting the pics that make you feel the most conflicted, and then let us know in the comments what your favorite “cute nope” animal is. Remember, we may live in an appearance-obsessed society, but those toxic ideas don’t need to extend all the way to the animal kingdom. After all, I’m sure these animals find themselves absolutely gorgeous (and not terrifying at all).
