Personally I find the pest species of mice and rats (house mouse, black rat, brown/Norway/sewer rat) very creepy, with their scurrying, their potential for material and ecological damage and for disease, the way they are able to live close to humans and yet usually remain pretty hidden, how well they are able to get into things they want to get into and how hard it can be to keep them out and the way their populations are difficult to control, let alone eradicate. I don't mind domestic rats and mice in a pet, feeder or scientific context, but their wild cousins are a big no-no for me.
For me, and I realise this will be an odd choice, it's orcas. There's just something I find horrifying about them. From the white blotches that look like giant blank eyes, to how you can't see their actual eyes unless you're really close up, to the black skin that looks like plastic, to how gigantic they are, I just find orcas so creepy and uncanny.
I'd personally say Babirusa, even without knowing the true extent of their teeth, seeing an animal with parts of their teeth coming out of their skin is pretty unnerving
I’ve always thought that Virginia Opossums looked very creepy with their rat-like appearance, long snouts, seemingly pupil-less eyes, and almost human-like hands. In my opinion, these characteristics make them creepier to me even more than animals such as the Aye-Aye or bats. I never hated them or were afraid of them or anything like that, but I just think they are unsettling to look at.
There is only one right answer to this question (in my opinion): GOATS. Let’s list the reasons, shall we? The eyes. I know most ungulates have those rectangular pupils, but they stand out more on goats for some reason. They aren’t that bad by themselves, but they make everything else that’s creepy about goats even creepier. Such as… The sounds. Why do goats sound so much like people? And it’s not charming like with corvids or parrots, its just plain unnerving! Their sheer defiance of physics. Seeing an ibex scale a near-vertical dam just for some salt is both impressive and terrifying. I’m fine with climbing ungulates, but that’s a little ridiculous. Their association with evil. Baphomet, Krampus, Goatman, the Jersey Devil, the actual Devil. And let’s not forget cults sacrificing goats, or the fact that the Chimera has a goat head. Mutations. For some reason (maybe it has something to do with domestication), there are a lot of messed-up mutant goats. Two faces, no nose, eight legs, spider goats, four-eyed wild serows. And then there’s the Damascus Goat, which looks like it’s wearing a ski mask for a face. And while they are extinct (thank god), I’d like to give special mention to the Dwarf Cave Goat. It was only a foot tall when fully grown, it was cold-blooded and could stunt its own growth if food was scarce, and they had forward-facing eyes, perfect for better depth perception while climbing so that they don’t fall into the uncanny valley below (even though they clearly have). He is watching you. So yeah, goats are way creepier than they have any right to be.
The devil himself has the head of a goat; and I think that was the inspiration for the legend of 'Goatman'. In some legends, whilst the lord created all other animals, the devil himself created goats. So, I guess, Goats have everything to do with evil and satanism.
For me it's either the Aye-Aye or tarsiers for basically the same reason... big staring eyes, long spindly fingers... just gives me the heebie-jeebies thinking of running into one in the forest at night.
The Aye-Aye is probably the one the majority of people would consider the creepiest mammal (if they've even heard of it) if you asked them, I on the other hand can't get enough of that species. Stick me in a zoo in the Aye-Aye enclosure and I am happy
Everyone here is saying Aye-Ayes or Tarsiers, but I feel like I’m the only person here who thinks Greater Galagos are creepier. Wildlife World Zoo had them in a dark and empty corner of their Small Mammal house, and I was afraid they were gonna suddenly spring out if I got too close. There was also the book Nocturne: Creatures of the Night, which had this lovely picture of one that didn’t help to quell my fears: I think it’s the fact that they don’t have ridiculously huge eyes or weird fingers that’s unnerving.
Speaking of Aye-aye.. I was recently in Finnish museum with my family that happened to have an exhibition on primates and their evolution. It had very nice displays, including displays of taxidermized primates in various actions - eating, moving, calling etc. And there was one exhibit of primates using tools to reach food, when my parent makes note, "That one is cute!" In regard to the Aye-aye taxidermy in the exhibit. Subjectivity..!
I have no trouble saying that the Aye-Aye is cute but then I don't know what condition the one in the museum is.
Oh that's quite unusual in Aye-Aye taxidermy from my experience, usually they don't turn out very well.
I realised that when people were commenting on Aye Aye and Tarsiers and their big bulging eyes and long spindley fingers they could have been talking about Gollem from Lord of the Rings
Definitely humans. We are capable of killing 30,000 species per year. Imagine this: You are a bird which is nesting in a tall tree. It is a really secure area with hardly any predators which are a threat to your nest. One night, you suddenly feel a huge vibration like an earthquake. Then, you hear the horrifying sound of a chainsaw. The next moment, your tree is falling down to the ground, smashing you and your nest. You are barely alive when a huge logging truck rolls over you, flattening you in an instant. Also, as @Kakapo said, we are an almost fully hairless ape with clothes to cover our body. clothes that are sometimes made from dead animals. We wear toxic chemicals on our faces to make ourselves look attractive. We have harnessed the power of nuclear energy only to destroy den sites of different tribes (Aka, cities and countries). We are spending billions of dollars into research for tiny microscopic cells when the whole world is burning up. Humans are just creepy.
I find no objection whatsoever. And I suppose this is a bit subjective... but I do sometimes think that our resortion to the supernatural is something of a coping mechanism... we know what an awful species we are to everyone else, so our belief in something greater assures us that we are the superior, that we don't need to hold ourselves accountable. But all the same I do laud the people who harness supernatural beliefs the other way - that whatever created us sees us as a steward rather than a master; but the vast many of us have utterly failed at being a steward.
