Thread: animals you find cute/interesting/beautiful that most people find Gross/ugly/scary

This hermit crab in a glass shell.

Bears, Sharks, Octopuses, and Komodo Dragons.

I'm both fascinated and repulsed by moths xD

I hate every kind of spider besides tarantulas...I find tarantulas kinda cute for some reason. :P Probs cos they don't scuttle like other spiders do.

Oh man... I love cicadas, spiders, wasps, bees, crickets, and basically all of the other insects/arachnids that everyone tends to dislike. Also, I thought I should point out that I have no problem with holding the before-mentioned "bugs." Yes, I hold bees and wasps when I get the opportunity.

Reptiles in general. No, I don't find them cute, and I most definitely will not be hugging them or whatever, but they interest me immensely and I would like to study them. They are such amazing creatures, and they do not disgust me as they do other people.

^Same, but I actually do like them. I will also be using snakes as a burglar deterrent in the far future.

A lot of reptiles and aquatic creatures.

Especially certain types of sharks (like hammerheads and bonnetheads - which are basically mini-hammerheads - and whale sharks, which are harmless but people still don't find them "cute" exactly), whales (the most massive creatures on earth and still adorable), and octopuses.

I also really like snakes, at least the non-venomous ones and at least from afar.

With the octopus in particular I feel like the more I learn about them the more amazing and also adorable they seem. They are really intelligent! For example, they have the ability to open jars and they've been known to steal stuff like cameras from divers. And they are crafty (not-so-)little guys. My favorite story was how at the aquarium nearest me (National Aquarium in Baltimore), the staff noticed that the fish in the tank next to the octopus were disappearing, more and more each day. They installed a camera and figured out that the octopus was climbing out of his tank at night and stealing fish from the neighboring tank. And of course there's Paul the Octopus, probably the start of my octopus obsession.

Also, I normally hate spiders (like, I'm a legit arachnophobe) but I love this one, I mean HOW CAN YOU NOT ITS BUTT IS SMILING AT YOU:

Also, Madagascar hissing cockroaches:

Lastly, one summer when I was at camp, I returned from dinner one evening to find an inchworm all curled up in my pajama pants. Like, legitimately curled up and asleep. It was so cute. I eventually had to put the pants on so when I was in the bathroom I set it free and watched it inch away.

I really like vultures too. Yes, vultures - the ominous birds that eat dead creatures. People think they're dangerous, but they don't attack living things - which is contrary to when they are depicted as enemies in video games.

They're magnificent birds, and seeing them in flight is breathtaking. I especially like the Egyptian Vulture, which can be found in my birth country, due to its white feathers and the fact that it can break open ostrich eggs with tools. I actually have a stuffed one from Wild Republic:

http://c15023169.r69.cf2.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bird-13.png

The Egyptian Vulture was worshipped as a goddess by the ancient Egyptians. That goddess was called Nekhbet.

You might also like the Palm-nut Vulture, which is a very unusual bird: http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/E7/E7F3C201-ACDA-44DC-90BB-EEB19E1E23A6/Presentation.Large/Palm-nut-vulture-feeding-upside-down.jpg

Komodo dragons.