Tag Archives: animals

6 Unusual Baby Animals That Are Actually Cuteness Overload

Panda bears, tigers, elephants: “cuddly” celebrity species have it made. They rake in the majority of conservation funding. Possums that tote straw with their tails? Bats that run on their wings? Vultures that stick their heads into carcasses? Ummmmm…not so much. Here are six baby animals that are just so ugly, weird, and cool — some essential to our ecosystems — that they’re actually quite lovable. But, when it comes to beauty in the animal kingdom, as the cliched saying goes, it’s “in the eye of the beholder.”

Bats

Baby Bats
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 18: (EUROPE AND AUSTRALASIA OUT) Wendy Wimberley from the Bat Clinic in Advancetown has over 130 baby bats after the wet weather. (Photo by Luke Marsden/Newspix/Getty Images)

What animals lap blood, are completely blind, get tangled in your hair, and hang out exclusively in belfries? Well, whatever they are, they’re not bats: the only mammals capable of true flight. From bumblebee bats, which are approximately the size of jellybeans, to giant golden-crowned flying foxes, “flying rodents” are responsible for pollinating over 500 species of plants, including mangos, bananas, and cocoa. Bats also the slowest reproducing mammals on earth. During early June to mid-August, most species produce only one pup. Pink, hairless, blind: within a week, the pup’s sprouting hair, opening its warm round eyes, and practicing its babbling or baby talk. It’s also cuddling in its mom’s wings — or if it’s being rehabilitated by humans, it’s wrapped like a miniature burrito in a cozy little blanket with a pass in its mouth.

 

Possums

cute baby possum

North America’s only marsupial, possums have superpowers: they’re mostly immune to rabies and the venom of rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and other pit vipers. Possums also have a fifth appendage: a prehensile tail that allows them to hang from tree branches for a short period of time. With 50 teeth, excellent night vision, and superior intelligence — a study in the Journal of General Psychology says that their memory is better than cats, dogs, rats, and rabbits — possums are nature’s cleanup crew, eating rodents, insects, frogs, and even animal bones. They can even have up to 25 babies (joeys), who are the size of small beans, at one time! You might think that possums are weird, maybe even super ugly, but we call them heartwarmingly cute. So endearing, in fact, that a dog name Pretinha adopted her own “litter” and even gave them piggyback rides, giving a whole new meaning to “playing possum”.

 

Skunks

baby skunk

From Captain Jack Sparrow, a blend of Keith Richards and Pepé Le Pew, to Bambi’s Flower, skunks might be stars on the silver screen, but in real life, people raise a stink over them. Why? Nocturnal and solitary, skunks have two lines of defense: an awkward handstand-dance, where they stomp the ground and slap their tails, and an oily, sulfur-smelling spray that causes skin irritation and even temporary blindness.   However, skunks have a devoted domestic following — it’s legal to own them as pets in 17 states. “Skunks are way-way more affectionate and way smarter [than dogs and cats],” Travis Hamza told National Geographic. “They personify determination and have a keen sense of ingenuity that would put a smile on Willie Nelson’s face and a tear in his eye. Skunks are as American as it gets.” You might think that’s a bit of a stretch. But, you have to admit one thing: these lil’ stinkers are just plain adorable.

 

Giant Anteaters

Baby Anteater

Toothless with a two-foot tongue that’s loaded with tiny spikes, at first glance, the seven-foot-long giant anteater wouldn’t even move the cute-o-meter. Add in four-inch claws that are used to fend off cougars and jaguars and gray, straw-like hair and you might, just might, dare to call this South American-native ugly — very, very ugly. But, what they lack in style, they make up for in smarts.  Flicking their tongues 150 times per minute, they suck up more than 35,000 ants and termites per day while never completely destroy their nests. Giant anteaters don’t sweat, and they also use their snouts as snorkels, making them the Michael Phelps of the animal kingdom. That leaves no doubt in our minds: adult “ant bears” are cool.  Their babies? Endearing: they’ve got us  (especially London Zoo’s Beanie, who’s surrogate Mom is a teddy bear)  wrapped around their fingers, err…claws.

 

 

Vultures

baby animals

When you hear the word “vulture,” you probably picture a bald, squabbling bird that has no sense of smell and dagger-like talons circling around some poor soul that’s on the brink of death. And you’d be partly right. Living on every continent, except for Antarctica and Australia, vultures mostly consume corpses that have rotted so much that the meat can be toxic to other animals. And, yes, we won’t lie — nature’s janitors have some pretty disgusting habits: vomiting to lighten their bodies weights, peeing to cool off their legs, and eating animals’ afterbirths. But, something has to clean up our mess — in the U.S., someone hits an animal with his or her car every 15 seconds. Aside from vultures mating for life, which we think is downright romantic, baby vultures are horribly cute from their baby blues to toddling around their “nests” on big dinosaur feet.

 

Armadillos

Baby Armadillo

Armadillos, possums on a half-shell, are “ugly enough to stop clocks” and “dumber than a bag of hammers.”  That’s what someone posted on a forum titled “armadillos are friggin’ creepy.” (Biased? Definitely!) Maybe, that exact thought has popped into your mind once or if you live in the deep South, dozens of times.  We’re sorry to break it to you, though: the “A” in armadillo stands for “awesome.”  They can breathe underwater for six minutes,  and their tongues allow them to slurp up 40,000 insects in one setting. (They’re the anteater’s cousins, after all.) Scientists even believed that armadillos could have “virgin births.”  In actuality, females can delay egg implantation for four-months to two years. And, if that’s not cool enough: nine-banded armadillos always give birth to four identical, soft-shelled pups. That’s cuteness to the A power.

Volunteer Opportunities for Animal Lovers

Do you wish you could spend more time with animals while making a difference? If you have a passion for furry friends and helping people, there are plenty of ways to get involved. Volunteering with animals is a great way to learn about animal-related careers and still give to the community in incredibly meaningful ways. Below are several often-missed ways to get involved with the philanthropic side of animal care.

 

Humane society opportunities 

The first place many people think of when wanting to volunteer with animals is the Humane Society, and it’s for a good reason. Most of them are always looking for help. But when many people think of volunteering at the Humane Society, they think of cage cleaning and kennel maintenance. And while these are necessary duties, if you’re not the mucking-about-in-filth kind of person, there are plenty of easily overlooked ways to put other skills to use with the Humane Society.

Wendy is a volunteer for the Humane Society.
“Wendy is a volunteer for the Humane Society.” from Jo & Joey on Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)


Many Humane Society locations will have the basic animal socialization needs, like cat cuddling and dog walking. These are great options if you just want some one-on-one time with some animals.

But there are also other programs like helping with mobile adoptions, where volunteers bring animals out into the community to show people what types of critters are currently up for adoption. This is a wonderful option for those who like to interact with the public as much as they enjoy working directly with animals. Along the same lines is helping with community events like run-walks and other fundraisers. Many shelters will also need help with animal training courses or may even need clerical help.

Your best bet is to call up your local Humane Society and see what they need.

Like most volunteer positions, you’ll most likely need to attend one or several training/orientation sessions, depending on which service you’re looking to help out with.

 

Foster and rescue care  

Want to work with animals, but would rather do it in the comfort of your own home? Starting a rescue or serving as a foster home for rehabilitating animals is perfect for those who have a strong caregiving streak for sickly, injured and healing animals.

Gouda
“Gouda. This the most ridiculously cute set of puppies my parents have fostered so far.” from Keith Kissel on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Again, a great place to start is with your local Humane Society, many of which need people to take recovering or young animals into their homes to prepare them for adoption into permanent homes. The Humane Society will often support you with resources and training.

If you’d like to focus on a certain animal/breed it’s also possible to start running your own rescue out of your home, in which you take in animals and care for them until they can be adopted out elsewhere. This is a good opportunity for enterprising, organized people who prefer to work independently.

Granted, this is the most time-intensive and complicated option for volunteering with animals. With this, you’ll essentially be running a business. You’ll be connecting with others to find animals in need, possibly working with fundraising, getting the animals spayed and neutered and you’ll need to know everything about keeping animals healthy. You may have to pass state licensing requirements to become a nonprofit as well. This is often a graduated method of working with animals after you’ve had pets of the same type/breed and have worked with a shelter extensively.

If this is something you would seriously consider, start by learning everything you can. Talk to those who run rescues and research what it takes to run one.

 

Animal therapy programs 

Here we get back into something that’s less time-consuming. Getting your pet certified as a therapy dog is a rewarding way to work with your own pet and other people out in the community.

For those who have never seen a therapy animal, these are animals that are certified to go into facilities like hospitals, schools and nursing homes to visit with the patients, students or residents. Studies have found that interaction with animals helps with recovery and improves psychological wellbeing.

Norman West Therapy Dogs
“Norman West Therapy Dogs. Norman West showcased the various therapy dogs children can read to at the library.” from Pioneer Library System on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)


To start this process, you’ll need to seek certification through courses offered by a therapy dog organization, many of which can run for about 12 weeks or so, though requirements vary. You can find a list of certifying organizations here. You’ll learn and be assessed on how to work with your dog and other people in the community in an effective, safe manner.

 

Zoo volunteer opportunities  

Want to work with exotic animals or help with animal education in the community? Check with your local zoo, if you have one. Many volunteers work directly with zookeepers to help maintain the zoo in some organizations, though not all.

New Heights
“Baby penguin climbing up Katie’s leg (before comically tumbling off).” from David Goehring on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)


A more common way to volunteer at a zoo is to become what many zoos call “docent volunteers,” in which people work with education programs and tours. This is a great option for those who love interacting with the public one-on-one, talking about animals and public speaking. Another common volunteer role is to work with fundraising programs to help directly raise money for a zoo.

 

Aquariums 

Aquariums are an often-overlooked place to volunteer, but many of them do need help. You may be surprised by what aquariums need from volunteers.

Miller & I
“Miller & I” from Stacina on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

For instance, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has a number of volunteer positions that involve giving talks to school groups, gathering data about the guests who come to the aquarium though tasks like market research, helping with animal husbandry, working with the water quality or working in the library, to name a few. Experienced divers can even give presentations in the tanks to guests.