I've noticed a lot of animals will earn nasty reputations when they don't really deserve it. Me I apriciate life in most forms. When a creature that pretty much likes to keep to itself gets demonized or is demonized do to the actions of humans I become rather upset. Any way here's my list of most demonized animals from least to most. 5:Bears 4:Pitbulls 3:Spiders 2:Snakes 1:Sharks
Not everyone is afraid of bears, heck some people will keep em as pets or feed wild ones. Yet many people see them as these big bad monsters that would kill you as soon as look at you, these people are what I like to call ignorant. I think this comes from the fact that bears can be pretty grouchy and rather territorial. Accompany that with the fact that they can very easily kill a person and it sort of makes sense that they would be demonized. I put them lowly ranked on the list because it makes sense why people would be afraid of them and they aren't all that dispised.
Pitbulls. Born and breed killing machines that love attacking anything in sight without reason just because they can. This is actually a common belief. Pitbulls are very strong dogs with a helacious bite. That is why many people raise them as attack and or guard dogs. Since so many people raise them that way and so many of them grow up living that way it's understandable that they would become aggresive. In my experience however they are often very sweet and gentle animals. I have a pet pitbull and he is very sweet and always wants to play. I know two other pitbulls, one of which will try to crawl under people's feet to become a foot rest, and the other who belonged to a now deceased family friend only wants to be petted. I met only one aggresive pitbull and that one came from the home of dog fighter who got raided by police and sentenced to prison. Even that pitbull wouldn't attack anyone outright, He only bit lightly if someone got to close and he couldn't run away.
Spiders are pretty much just a nusence to me. There are SOOOOOOOO many around where I live but any of them that get in the way are harmless. The only ones here that could do any real damage aren't all that common. Black Widows pretty much keep to themselves and their webs are pretty easy to spot. Even if I were to get bit by one it wouldn't be that big a deal. Since the power of their venom and amount they use would only be enough to kill a small child or a an allergic person I wouldn't even need antivenom. A brown Recluse bite when untreated can cause infection that will inevitably kill if the person doesn't have strong immunuties, but we don't live in the stone age, we have medicine. One trip to the E.R. and I would be fine. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of nasty spiders that are aggresive and deadly, but that doesn't mean we should every one of his species no matter they threat they pose to us.
Snakes: This one is similiar to spiders, actually I only placed snakes higher on the list because they're less of a nussence to me. See plenty of snakes could kill somebody on a whim, but most snakes won't. How many snakes in North America can kill someone before they could get medical attention, alright maybe a few, how many snakes waste their venom on passerbyes, not so many but it can still happen. See a baby Rattlesnake is actually more dangerous then an adult because they have very little control over their venom, an adult is likely to drybite in self defense. For those not familiar with a dry bite it's when a snake bites but injects no venom. I'm sure people can have good reason to kill snakes in other regions, most people don't in North America.
Sharks could kill a person on a whim, they could snap down on your body and tear you to shreds, I mean they're basicaly dinosaurs. They have the power to kill, and there is little you could do if one had the intent to make a meal of you. Now also consider that sharks don't really think much of humans. They pretty much are content just wondering around and leaving us alone. Never the less sharks are killed and hated. If you want to start debating about how many people get killed by sharks, why don't you go look up how many sharks get killed by people? Compare the number of sharks in the sea to people in the world and the percentage goes up even higher then that. Are sharks dangerous? Yes. Are they going to eat everything you love while you sleep? Probably not.
So that's my list. If anybody has anything to add then please feel free. If there are any creatures you find too often demonized please share. If you disagree with any of my statements just remember I'm not disagreeing with the fact that these creatures could easily kill (Well depending on the person) and I'm not trying to debate that, but these guys aren't as dangerous as they are often made out to be.
I am not afraid to admit this. Bears scare the crap out of me. But what you said has thrown bears into a new light for me. Even though they DO still scare me, i think they are misunderstood and wont try and kill me next time im out hunting and see a bear in the distance.
I only met one wild bear. He was walking around behind an old shed picking at huckleberry bushes. I was only like 7 so he looked gigantic to me then but in all reality he was tiny. See there are not really a lot of bears in Alabama and the ones that are here don't really get very big. He was actually pretty relaxed he just sorta wandered around the woods near my house. He stayed away from my house and never went very far because he only had like seven or eight acres to walk about. I think that bears may actually be the most dangerous creature on the list. If your in the wrong place in the wrong season there is a good chance you could be killed. Even at that they're usually pretty lazy creatures with some amusing tendencies. I really like bears but I don't enjoy getting close to them. It never feels good when you could be killed at any moment. Still has anybody else heard about how sharks are moving further inland and getting more aggresive. So now your only slightly More likely to get struck by lighting than eaten. I mentioned that I had a pet pitbull, well I did have a pet snake but she wouldn't eat and she eventually died. I geuss she kind of starved, She would eat occasionaly but it wasn't enough for her to survive. She was a Bal Python pretty young I called her Medusa. She was pretty willey for a Bal python but she was still pretty laid back in general. My grandmother had severe Arachniphobia when she was young. She was so afraid of spiders that she would completly stop moving at the sight of a jumping spider. She went to classes to overcome her fear and the final step was getting a pet turantula. I believe she purchased a Mexican Red leg from a local pet store and that was that. I never really developed Arachniphobia because it wasn't uncommon for me to pick up and play with jumping spiders. My grandmother also kept many snakes and tought me about them to. I learned about sharks by studying about them and not watching Jaws, Sharknado, Ghost Shark, or Sharktopus. I know it isn't fair to group those crapfests in with Jaws but the point remains the same. As far as pitbulls I really just described my personal experience with pitbulls. Oh and I almost forgot I saw a shark when I went to Florida (I don't even think it was supposed to be there) I was sitting on the beach during dusk and watching the waves when I saw a fin come out of the water in the distance. It was just swimming there. It was so quiet to. It wasn't scary or cool or anything like that, it was just......peaceful.
I have to disagree. You should thank all the spiders out there for eating so many insects that would otherwise be a much bigger nuisance to you than the spiders eating them. I can understand that some people are creeped out by spiders, but that doesn't mean you are exempt from understanding their value.
Also, I have two birdspiders at home. I wouldn't want them to roam freely in my room, even though I'd probably still be safe (they'd hide somewhere and wouldn't dare come near me); but they are beautiful animals. Some have amazing colours, and personally I find them very elegant in the way they walk (more slowly than other, smaller spiders, which is likely one of the reason it is less creepy). Also, they are really tidy animals; I kid you not, they take their trash (usually food rests) and put it in a dry corner to avoid mildew.
There is one animal I want to add to the list, even though some may say they are not misunderstood. I'm talking about the wolf.
Many will now protest and say that wolves are cool and not misunderstood and all, etc. But I can witness it in my country, where after being hunted away a long time ago, the wolf comes back. Tensions between wolves and herders immediately arise, and the wolf is denounced as a voracious killer and a danger to our herds. People are basically still afraid of the big bad wolf. This is the case with every big predator in a country where there is not a lot of wild areas anymore. But the losses in the herds are, when put in context, relatively small, and mostly due to improper guarding.
Finally the case of Yellowstone has showed how the reintroduction of a predator can set an ecosystem right again. Wolves are valuable animals, not only as idealised pictures with misty background on a t-shirt, but also in the nature, as real animals.
sharks are really missunderstood creatures also all say if you get in the habitat of the sharks they will eat you and its totally wrong they just attack for food and they think youre a vulnerable prey swimming around there spiders are really good in time of really bunch of insects , some people hate them because of the phobia they have , Pitbulls they all say they are bad animals and all that , and its like i always said : if the owner is bad dog is too , its not dog's fault its owner's fault . Snakes are really useful if you got problem with some other animals , rats etc . Bears most people are afraid or hate them because of the big it is but they are nice creatures instead you do something for them to attack you .
*smart People that keep bears as pets are idiots. Having them as cubs is one thing, but as full grown bears is another. They are not domestic animals. Another, as you said, they are territorial. Why you would keep such an animal in your home is insane. It will view that area as its territory and the food as his...so there you go you are in his land and eating his food. Good luck fighting something twice your size.
This is actually a common belief.
And rightly so. Now, I'll defend the fact that pitbulls are not as dangerous as people think, but we can't be idiots about it. They can be raised properly, yes, but at the same time we cannot deny that they are aggressive by nature. They were bred to be so.
3:Spiders
The power of generalizations and how it has benefited our species. A lot of spiders are deadly, a lot aren't, but it isn't easy for most people to spot the difference between which are and are not.
Snakes
Same thing as spiders
Now also consider that sharks don't really think much of humans
Unless you are bleeding.
there is little you could do if one had the intent to make a meal of you.
Do you know how to punch? Do you know how to aim your punch and a large target? You do? Good! Punch it in the face.
Do you know what gills look like? Are you brave enough to touch them? You are? Good! Go at 'em with all you've got.
Are sharks dangerous? Yes. Are they going to eat everything you love while you sleep? Probably not.
I have yet to meet someone afraid of sharks because they believed a shark was going to kill and devour everything and everyone they love in the dead of night. Mostly people are afraid of sharks because, again, it is capable of all the things you stated above.
Not supposed to be taken literally.
For the record, is there evidence that the "Punch the shark in the nose to stop it" method actually works?
Yes, it actually works. If you hit a shark hard enough in the nose it will back off, but punching a shark hard in the nose while underwater and in its mouth isn't easy. It's better to go for the eyes or gills, like what pang said in the rest of his post. --- None of these animals go out of their way to kill people. They either are scared, defending territory or offspring, suffer mistaken identity, or have been taught by humans to be super aggressive. Its no ones fault when someone gets hurt by these animals except for our own.
Going back to the point of Pitbulls, I have only met one aggresive pitbull and that particular dog was a gaurd dog on a logging chain that was bred with a wolf. I have met seven or eight pitbulls and only that one was aggresive. One let me pet her puppies (which was rather surprising I wasn't going to mess with em but the owner picked one of the little guys and handed him to me and the mother just sorta laid there) There was one that hurt me very very badly however. What did he do? He wanted to play and jumped up and hit my chin with his head. Out of all the pitbulls I had met only one was bred and raised to be mean. Only one was mean. Also if I'm not mistaken pitbulls are hunting dogs that were breed to hold down animals not kill them. A pitbulls jaw can pretty much lock in place (I don't know what it's actually called) It seems to me that most people that talk about how aggresive and violent pitbulls are have never raised one. See it's like how guns are seen as bad because of what people do with them. As far as Doughbermans they are also used for attack/guard dogs. Ability corelates with the use and exploitation of something. To further the metaphor with the gun consider what will happen if someone buys AK-47 with the intent to kill. Alternatively consider what happens when a guy buys an AK-47 Semi and equips it with scope for deer hunting. It's like the difference between the guy who buys a pitbull to kill people who come onto his property then the guy who raises them to be cute. I raised mine to be cute.
Bears - I have seen several in the wild and I saw one up close and personal. I got a pretty sudden start when I discovered one was walking right past me when I was fishing at a creek (I didn't hear it coming because of the noise of the creek)! It just kept going on past me and didn't even look over at me. It certainly had the ability and opportunity to kill me, but it didn't since most bears are not aggressive when unprovoked.
Pitbulls - I almost got attacked by one once. I was going for a walk down the street one evening when it exploded at me from out of the blue. I scrambled up on a high stone fence post just in time. It went away after about 10 minutes. One also attacked my puppy when I was like 7 years old. My dad kicked it away though. I dislike these dogs and I make a point to steer clear of them. They are unpredictable and dangerous.
Spiders - I have no fear of them. They are an important part of the planet's ecosystem and they will leave you alone if you do the same. A big fat brown one was crawling up my leg when I was fishing a couple weeks ago. I didn't panic; I just calmly brushed it off with a slow, smooth motion. As for the poisonous ones, what can I say? Don't handle spiders that you can't positively identify and don't stick your hands into dark places that you can't see into like woodpiles.
Snakes - Not much fear here either. That is, for the ones on my continent. I frequently handle kings nakes, water snakes, garter snakes, etc and I don't handle the poisonous snakes.
Sharks - Sharks probably scare me the most. When I swim in the open ocean, I never really know what is beneath me :0. Sharks do attack people and some of them die. I've seen small sand sharks and cat sharks in the wild, but never a "real" one. Honestly, I hope I never do unless it's from a sturdy boat. So you're probably asking: "Why do you swim in the open ocean then?". Good question. For the same reason people climb mountains is why. _____________________________________________________
Do you know how to punch? Do you know how to aim your punch and a large target? You do? Good! Punch it in the face.
Do you know what gills look like? Are you brave enough to touch them? You are? Good! Go at 'em with all you've got.
How often do you think that you are going to be able to see the shark coming when you are in the water? Forget the old shark's fin thing. When sharks attack, they come up from underneath and hit their target with their full weight, grab a part (a limb in this case), and shake violently. Or, they follow up behind you and grab a hold of your foot/leg and spin violently to rip it off like a celery stalk.
How often do you think that you are going to be able to see the shark coming when you are in the water? Forget the old shark's fin thing. When sharks attack, they come up from underneath and hit their target with their full weight, grab a part (a limb in this case), and shake violently. Or, they follow up behind you and grab a hold of your foot/leg and spin violently to rip it off like a celery stalk.
Not all sharks attack the same. Great Whites are usually the ones that come up from underneath. This primarily happens to seals and sea lions. The first blow of the shark shooting up from the deep is usually enough to knock out whatever marine mammal it is attacking, and they don't have much means of defense other than getting out of the way. but chances are that the average beach swimmer isn't water deep enough for this to happen. The grab-and-shake thing is more common for people to encounter, regardless of the shark. Typically the shark will let go pretty soon after it figures out that the person it just bit is not its normal food. If it doesn't, that's when you should try and hit it in the nose or poke it in the eye. You don't try and hit it before it hits you, because like you said, you would never see it coming. Even without striking from below, sharks have good enough camouflage that you would not see it until it was too late.
For the record, is there evidence that the "Punch the shark in the nose to stop it" method actually works?
British dude saved by it Everything else im finding more or less says just go for gills or eyes instead..but if you can hit the nose it'll sort of stun it...give ya a bit of time to go for the better parts
They can be raised properly, yes, but at the same time we cannot deny that they are aggressive by nature. They were bred to be so.
Still, they can easily be raised properly. And every dog that was raised badly, pitbull or not, is aggressive and will bite. It's just that a psychotic chihuahua looks less threatening than a mad pitbull.
Pitbulls are not dangerous its how the owner educates it i am agree with @HahiHa about that , and Sharks attack for instinct so they see you like a possible prey , all animals have something to protect them if they are indunced to it
I have a pet ball python and he is the sweetest animal you would ever meet. He has only bit me once and that was when he was very young and didn't know how to use his weaponry. Now five years later I have no fear of him because he is take. I hate it when people see snakes and assume it's going to kill you with a single bite
