Hedgehogs aren’t super unique, but they sure are cute. Here are some animals that are super cute, but also very interesting. Think of these animals when you want to litter!

Kinkajous live in the tropical forests of Central and South America. They spend most of there time up in the trees! Fun fact, they can turn their feet backwards to run more easily in either direction along the features of trees. Their tail is also very “handy.” It is essentially a fifth arm that can grip things very easily, kind of like a monkey. It is called a prehensile tail. Don’t they just look super cuddly!

This cute little fella grows up in a very small region of China in its mountainous forests. They grow up to be more of a dark mustard/orange color with bluer looking faces. Just like most animal “packs,” these monkeys are raised with a male patriarch and numerous females. It gets its unique name due to its unique nose! Hopefully that wasn’t too obvious.

These cuties are in the marsupial family and are usually found in the tropical regions of New Guinea. There are also 12 different species of tree kangaroos, with some species found in Australia. Depending on the species of tree kangas they can top out at 22 pounds! That’s like a small dog! They mostly eat leaves and fruits, but will also eat grains, flowers, eggs, young birds, and even bark.

These adorable creatures are known as the lesser pandas. They are red cat-bear type animals. They are slightly larger than the average house cat. Like their cousins, they are also found in Asia in parts like the eastern Himalayas. They also eat bamboo. Generally, red pandas live a solitary life, meaning they live by themselves, but when young they form attachments to their mothers due to the fact that they grow slowly.

These are probably my favorite animals on the list. They are nocturnal animals found in Southeast Asia. Surprisingly, this animal is very venomous. It lifts its arms to create this venom and when it bites its victims the venom enters the victims that way and can kill them. It is also considered a primate, which is the monkey family.

Just don’t tickle them!

This beauty is a wild cat native to Africa. They eat smallish prey like rodents, birds, reptiles, frogs, and insects. To catch these animals, they leap high into the air and pounce on their victim. I was watching Planet Earth and was able to see this in action. They are very beautiful and have graceful features. They also have very sensitive ears that are able to detect the slightest sound.

This pretty kitty looks like the Serval, but it has a rounder face and is smaller in size. They are native to Central and South America. They can even be found in the United States. The are nocturnal animals that use sight and hearing to hunt their prey, which consists of rabbits, rodents, iguanas, fish, and frogs. I saw one at a zoo once, and they are such beautiful animals.

These little rascals are members of the raccoon family. But unlike the raccoon, they sleep during the night and do their hunting in the daylight. They are mostly found in South America. They are also omnivorous animals, meaning they eat fruits, invertebrates, and other small animals. There are also four different species of the coati mundi.

The Capybara is the largest rodent in the world. It is similar in size to a Saint Bernard. They are native to South America. They are semi-aquatic, which means that they like to swim! They spent a lot of their time near lakes and ponds.They are very tasty prey, so they have learned to submerge in the water for five minutes to escape predators.

These interesting looking creatures are Pangolins. The scale looking things they have on their backs are large, protective scales that cover their skin. The are the only mammals that have this sort of feature — makes them look like a dinosaur. Like anteaters, they eat ants and termites using a long, sticky tongue. And like armadillos, they can roll up in a ball with threatened. They are also nocturnal animals that feed during the night.

This cool looking thing is actually a sea slug. It is a very small creature. It is known as this because it is a mollusk with a soft body. It reminds me of that joke Marlin is trying to tell in the beginning of Finding Nemo: “this mollusk walks in…” LOL. It stings like a jellyfish, but it uses its own tissues as a defense mechanism.

These scaly creatures are found in the forests of Nigeria to Western Kenya and other areas in Tanzania and Angola. It is an arboreal animal, meaning that it lives in the trees and can be seen as many different colors. There are many different subspecies of bush vipers. It is also a very venomous viper. How’s that for alliteration!?

**If someone calls a snake poisonous, that is incorrect. Venom is injected into the prey, whereas poison is when a human, for example, bites or touches the thing to get the effect. Venom bites you and you bite poison. Hope that clears it up a bit.

Please be aware that these animals are not your friends. Even though they are cute and you might want to have one, DON’T! They belong in the wild! And we must do everything in our power to keep it that way!