- The moral of the story is: don’t bite random animals. They might be poisonous.
A lot of people get a bit confused when they hear an animal is “poisonous.” And admittedly, it’s easy to get them mixed with venomous animals.
Here’s a good rule of thumb. If it bites you and you die, it’s venomous; if you bite it and YOU die, it’s poisonous.
A lot of animals use poison as a defense mechanism, if only as one final “f*** you” to predators. So many, in fact, that you may be surprised that certain beasts are packed with poison.
Here are 7 poisonous animals that you probably wouldn’t expect to be poisonous.
1. Quail
The common quail is a small, drab bird whose meat is considered a delicacy all around the world. With it being so commonly eaten — not to mention it’s a bird — how could it be poisonous?
Yet, there’s no way around it. Quails are poisonous. Eating quail meat can cause a condition called coturnism where your muscle cells start breaking down, causing pain, nausea, and vomiting.
Even biologists aren’t sure where the quails’ poison comes from. They likely eat something that contains poison, which then packs into their flesh.
Fun fact, quail poisoning may have been mentioned in the Bible. In the Book of Numbers, the Israelites prepare a feast of quail — only to become ill with a mysterious “severe plague.”
2. Monarch Butterfly
Many people consider monarch butterflies to be the prettiest butterflies. But they can also be lethally poisonous.
Monarch butterflies feed on the nectar of the milkweed. Milkweed is toxic to humans and many other animals, and those toxins gather in the butterflies’ system.
The poison doesn’t harm the butterflies, so they only benefit by getting a means of protection. But if you were to eat enough monarchs, you’d start vomiting, your vision would get blurry, and you might go into cardiac arrest.
We’re not sure why you’d eat the butterflies. But just in case you were considering that, don’t.
3. Pitohui
The pitohui is an exotic, colorful bird living in New Guinea. And like the quail, it’s poisonous.
So much so, in fact, that just touching it is a bad idea. Biologists handling pitohuis have reported that their skin and feathers will quickly begin to burn and numb your skin.
Pitohuis are full of batrachotoxin, the same poison found in the deadly poison dart frogs. Scientists suspect that they pack themselves with poison by eating toxic beetles.
4. Greenland Shark
Sharks are terrifying enough as they are — you really don’t need to add any poison to the mix. But Greenland sharks decided they needed to become poisonous as well.
In their case, though, they need the poison to stay alive. Greenland sharks, which can live to be centuries old, live in the deep icy waters of the Arctic. To deal with freezing temperatures and immense pressure, they secrete a toxic substance called trimethylamine oxide (TMAO).
TMAO functions like an anti-freeze and keeps the shark’s body from freezing. But if you were to eat the shark’s flesh, TMAO would cause effects similar to being extremely drunk.
Yet, the people of Iceland have figured out a way to make Greenland sharks “edible.” They bury the fish and let it ferment over several months to produce hákarl — one of the most disgusting foods in the world.
5. Garter Snake
“What a surprise, a poisonous snake!” you say. Well, that is actually a surprise, since snakes are usually venomous.
Although garter snakes aren’t completely non-venomous, their bites are completely harmless to humans. However, if you tried eating a garter snake, you might find out that it’s also poisonous.
Garter snakes like to eat Pacific newts, which are pretty dang toxic. The newt’s poison packs into the snake’s liver and can stay there for weeks.
Case in point, after eating just one newt, a garter snake becomes so poisonous that it will still kill any bird trying to eat it three weeks later.
6. Spur-winged Goose
Geese are a**holes who won’t hesitate to mess you up. But spur-winged geese take it even further by being toxic.
Like the quail and pitohui, these African geese like to eat poisonous blister beetles. The bugs’ toxins build up in the geese and will come as a nasty surprise to anyone who tries to eat them.
The poison causes blistering and burning in the mouth and throat. It can also lead to extreme dehydration by forcing your cells to empty their fluids.
What a goose. You can’t even get revenge on its belligerent behavior by eating it.
7. Barracuda
Like sharks, barracudas are dangerous and scary in themselves. Yet, it’s just not enough for these marine monsters.
Barracudas’ toxicity is a result of their position at the top of the food chain. They eat fish that eat toxic marine algae that can cause ciguatera poisoning. The poison moves up the food chain, eventually ending up in the barracuda’s tissues.
Despite this, barracudas are a common food source all over the world. As a result, hundreds if not thousands of people fall victim to ciguatera poisoning every year by eating barracuda.
This bizarre poisoning causes gastrointestinal discomfort and weak limbs. But the weirdest symptom is the inability to tell hot from cold, and vice versa.
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