First off, the “besides other humans” part assumes humans are the best, when we are far and away the worst animals on the planet. With that said, I’ll actually make my list.
I have long been an animal lover. Ever since I was a kid I found peace in almost all animals, and outside of mosquitoes, flies, wasps, and cicadas, I love all animals. I have my entire top three as pets, so clearly there is a hierarchy in my ranking, but make no mistake about it, animals are one of the few things I find true happiness in, and all of this planet’s creatures are beautiful and deserve love and respect.
01) Snakes: everything about these creatures is absolutely fascinating. They might just be the most interesting vertebrates on the planet. My personal favorite snake is the Indian Cobra, which would make that specific species my very favorite animal. I’ve always wanted to work with snakes beyond having a California King as a pet, and I’m hoping I can take some classes to work towards a degree in Herpetology so I can potentially work with what is in my opinion, the coolest animals ever.
02) Cats: while snakes are my favorite animal, the best pets are cats. My spirit animal for those who believe in that stuff, I’ve been waving the feline flag in the “cat vs dog” debate for my whole life, and my connection to cats might have to do with the fact that I was born into a house with them, and I’ve never not had at least one. While I love all animals, cats are the one creature that I feel incomplete without, as evidenced by the five currently living in my house.
03) Spiders: probably the biggest surprise on the list, the most feared animal in the world has been one of my favorites since I’m a toddler. Because of this, I have taken on a role among my loved ones as THE bug guy, called upon whenever any creepy crawler makes a cameo appearance. This role is especially important for spiders, as many people around me are absolutely terrified of them, while I calmly and gently let them out, refusing to kill them as they eat a lot of bugs that can actually hurt us like mosquitoes and flies. I also have two pet tarantulas, rounding out my collection of top three animals.
04) Scorpions: you guys are gonna probably start to notice a theme with this list, as I tend to like animals that other people seem to have a problem with. Part of it may be my contrarian nature, but I think it has to do with me growing up interested in science, and learning more about these creatures made me see how misunderstood they are. Scorpions are similar to spiders in the way people react to them, but just like spiders, they’re super interesting and cool once you actually take the time to learn about them.
05) Lizards: reptiles are my favorite class of animals, with snakes and lizards doing most of the heavy lifting for reasons why I love them so much. Lizards are definitely the most diverse group of reptiles, and this diversity is what makes them so cool. Some of my favorites are the frilled lizard, the green iguana, the Gila monster, and the Komodo dragon.
06) Sharks and Rays: I lumped these together because they’re in the same family of fish with their cartilage skeletons. Learning about the basics of one is learning the basics of the other, but they definitely have a lot of differences as well. My favorites are the hammerhead shark and manta ray, two absolute giants of the sea.
07) Bats: right now bats have a bad reputation due to them being the original carriers of the Covid-19 virus, but as the world’s only flying mammal, they’re among the most unique animals in the world. I especially love flying foxes, giant dinural fruit bats that look like puppies with wings.
08) Raptors: I’m talking about birds of prey here and not the dinosaurs, as I’m not including any extinct animals. I’ve always said that if I could pick any superpower, it would be flight, so it makes sense that some animals that can fly would make my list. I tend to lean more towards carnivores as well, as their physiology is just so much more interesting than herbivores. Falcons, eagles, and hawks are my favorites of the bunch, with some real power and unique features that make them dangerous predators.
09) Squids: this entry is for one specific species, the giant squid. The ultimate sea monster, it has been the subject of many sea stories, and it’s the inspiration for monsters like the Kraken and Cthulhu. Octopus are cool as well, but there’s something about a 60 foot deep sea monster that hardly anyone has ever seen is badass.
10) Dragonflies: the best aviators in the world, their ability to turn on a dime mid air while flying at upwards of 35mph is incredible. They pick off other flying insects like it’s nothing, having complete command of the airspace they inhabit, with only birds being a threat to them.
Topic: What Are Your Top Ten Favorite Animals, and Why? (Besides other humans) (Read 5906 times)