Beware you zoo-phobics out there, for we’ve compiled a list of scary animals that are actually harmless. Although appearances may be deceiving, this doesn’t mean that you won’t have a nasty fright should you encounter any of the creatures in our countdown. Sea giants that will make your blood run cold, massive creepy crawlies that will startle you and slimy hissing serpents that will give you the heebie-jeebies; our countdown has every animal you have had nightmares about and more. Moreover, this countdown is more proof that you should never judge a book by its cover, even when that cover is rather frightening, as in the case of the scary beasts on this list.
Whatever our greatest fear is, it is usually something beyond our control (which is often partially what makes it so scary). But for some people, fears can be relentlessly persistent, disproportionate and somewhat irrational. When this happens we are not dealing with a simple dread anymore, but with a serious psychological condition known as a phobia. Phobic people can be terrified of anything from spiders to buttons, from heights to flowers, from open spaces to dentists, from gravity to balloons, from fish to the Pope, and much more. Just check out our list on The 15 Most Common Phobias in America that Induce Fits of Panic and find out which are the things our nation fears the most.
Indeed, the animals on this list are ones which could frighten the pants off of some of those people with animal phobias, despite their innocence. What animals are we talking about? Let’s take a look at the countdown and get to know ten scary animals that are actually harmless.
10. Manta Ray
This gigantic animal is the largest species of ray in the world and it can grow up to 30 feet! Despite their size, manta rays are actually harmless. They have no stinger and they feed on plankton. Nevertheless, running into one of them in their habitat, subtropical and tropical waters, is definitely a scary experience for swimmers and divers.
There are nine more scary animals that are actually harmless where that came from; OK, not exactly where, they’re not all from the sea, but you get the idea. Keep reading to find out what they are.
