Top Ten Most Stereotyped and Misunderstood Animals

Some animals get a better reputation than others by either their appearance or because of how they're portrayed in fiction. These are some of the most stereotyped and misunderstood animals in the planet.
The Top Ten
1 Bats

People think that all bats will attack you and drink your blood, or turn into vampires and stuff. Firstly, the vampire stuff is crap, secondly, only VAMPIRE BATS will drink blood from CATTLE, and they don't even threaten the lives of the cattle. And other bats eat fruit and bugs and I personally love fruit bats and little brown bats, yes a real speices with an 'original' name.

They're seen as evil monsters when they're actually not and they mostly eat fruit and bugs, so therefore they're actually helpful.

If u don't like bats I don't get you they eat bugs fruut and vamps saliva is life saving

Bats are cuter than humans

2 Hyenas Hyenas or hyaenas are any feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae /haɪˈɛnᵻdiː/. With only four extant species, it is the fifth-smallest biological family in the Carnivora, and one of the smallest in the class Mammalia.

To the person who hates hyenas because they are "ugly", how shallow can you get? Have you read Wonder? And while you were reading that, you were hating the kids who abused August, right? Well, right now, you're doing the exact same thing. Only now it's not to a single kid, but to an entire species.

While I do share a love for the Lion King, I must say that the movie is the reason for the hyenas bad reputation. I do not think that hyenas are bad, in fact, they are part of the "circle of life". If people do their research, they will find that hyenas are not bad animals

Both The Lion King and The Lion Guard are to blame for the spotted hyena's bad rap. I know TLG has a good hyena in the form of Jasiri, but Jasiri is a striped hyena, unlike the evil hyenas in the show who are spotted, so unfortunately, she's not enough to save the whole hyena species from having a bad reputation.

I love hyenas! They are one of the prettiest animals on earth, in my opinion, and I'm not just saying that because I pity them! They are actually stunning creatures.

3 Black Cats

V below, well some people have had bad experiences with cats, usually being attacked or bitten by a cat can leave someone disliking cat. Not everyone has had a good experience with cats, but I do agree with you, some cats are wonderful pets.

More black cats than almost any other cat is killed a year just because people think they are bad luck. Black cats are just like any other cat, and the sooner people realize that, the better it will be for black cats.

I know, right? It is probably Disney's fault because I do remember reading somewhere that Walt Disney hated cats and was more fond of dogs and mice.

Black cats aren't bad luck or evil spirits. They are beautiful animals who have a bad myth surrounding them. Own black cats!

4 Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorpha (or Selachii) and are the sister group to the rays. However, the term "shark" has also been (incorrectly) used to refer to extinct members of the subclass Elasmobranchii, which are technically outside the Selachimorpha clade. Notable examples of improper classification include Cladoselache, and various other members of the Chondrichthyes class like the holocephalid eugenedontidans.

We kill thousands to millions of sharks every year, for their fins or just trophy hunting in general. Yet only tens of humans are ATTACKED by sharks, only a few of those die, but most attacks/bites only result in heavy bleeding. Jaws and a lot of shark flicks give these misunderstood predators a reputation that is absurdly exaggerated, and probably half of the human population despises these creatures. Getting killed by toilets, dogs, cows, vending machines or maybe even getting struck by lightning are more likely to happen than being killed by a shark!

People see them as cruel, dangerous killers who would eat anything when the fact that sharks are only interested in eating fish or squid, and if it does bite a human it only does it because sharks have poor eyesight so it might mistaken a human for a fish, and the bite only results in heavy bleeding. Sharks are not even the most dangerous animal or thing in the planet. Believe it or not, you are more likely to be killed by a toilet than a shark.

I was tempted to vote bats but sharks are more misunderstood in my opinion. As a ocean lover ( I watch octonauts all day as a kid and it made me love the ocean ) I know a thing or two about sharks. Fun fact: your more likely to die from things as "harmless" as vending machines, than to die from a shark. Sharks don't actually attack humans as much as people thing. Heck, people have died from puffer fish a lot, yet their of the hook for killers. But sharks? nope. -_-

People see sharks as dangerous, vicious creatures. Sure, they are a bit vicious, but sharks kill less people a year, than people kill sharks

5 Snakes Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears.

I was bit by a cottonmouth snake before and yet I still have a huge respect for these reptiles. I know that if bothered, they will bite, but only to protect themselves. Snakes can do much more good than bad if people just come to realize that.

Not sure why reptiles are always seen as evil when not all of them are evil, just dangerous. Snakes can help control rodent populations, and you're more likely to get bitten by a dog than a snake.

Though a majority of the population absolutely DESPISES these creatures, I adore these noodles with faces.

6 African Golden Wolf

It's long believed to be a jackal until recent research suggests that it's closer related to a wolf than a jackal. Which is going to be confusing for some.

Not a jackal. A wolf

7 Spiders

They're often seen as creepy or freaky, when, like bats, they're good at eating harmful insects and not all of them are dangerous.

They're actually more afraid of us than we are of them.

He was a pretty terrible spider-man 4/10

We would all die without spiders.

8 Vultures

They help clean the ecosystem by scavenging dead prey and serve as the animal kingdom's janitors yet they're mistaken as mean animals by most people.

9 Amur Leopard Found in the Russian Far East and parts of China, this leopard subspecies is critically endangered with only a few dozen individuals remaining in the wild. It is known for its distinctive spotted coat, which is paler than that of other leopards. It is a solitary animal, mainly preying on deer and small mammals.

They're an endangered species. Hopefully, they will be saved.

They are critically endangered as there are only like 100 left.

10 Wolves The wolf (Canis lupus), also known as the gray or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. Over thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, with gray wolves comprising the wild subspecies. As the largest extant member of the Canidae family, the wolf is distinguished from other Canis species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, a shorter torso, and a longer tail... read more

Wolves are cool, they really shouldn't be stereotyped as big and bad just because they are always the "bad guy" in fairy tales! If you don't bother them, they won't bother you. Even if they eat livestock that is the farmer/livestock raiser's fault for not getting better fences, security, and building ranches/farms where wolves' natural habitats are. They need to eat, too, and no animal deserves to be stereotyped as bad.

Wolves mostly leave people alone. Farmers have killed wolves because coyotes kill their farm animals and the wolf comes and eats, than the farmer thinks the wolf killed the animal.So much people kill wolves just because they see them or get scared. Wolves in Northwestern America or just North America usually leave people alone. And if you don't bother them they won't attack you.

Ugh, I hate it when people gush over wolves and say that they're the best animals ever. I don't hate wolves, I just hate their rabid fans (they do have sane fans though).

The Contenders
11 Bee

They help the environment

12 Rats Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus.

People bully them, kill them, abuse them, torture them, hate them, hurt them. They are one of the most horribly mistreated animals ever. They suffer so much abuse and hate. They suffer too much pain and horror. People need to see this. They may be widepread, but they are still abused and hurt all the time. People treat them horribly. All because of their fleas! It's not their fault! Micro-dogs are one of the best pets you can get! Their tails are just tails, get over it! Dear (almost) every rat lover:

You will have an amazing life, and deserve everything good. You have a heart, you have a soul. You understand.
Thank you.

-Talon the rat Alpha

Rats and humans are the only animals known to laugh (for the right reasons. Not like monkeys who do something that sounds like laughing but for an entirely different reason.) And yet, there is no law against performing experiments on rats, no matter how painful. Say you wanted to cut off a rat's head and see how long it took them to die. And performed that same experiment hundreds of times, killing hundreds of living animals. No law against it.

Rats are just as loyal pets as dogs are. They didn't spread the plague, it was gerbil fleas. While I'll admit the wild ones are kinda gross and creepy, the domestic ones are the BEST

They're often seen as the 'evil' counterpart to mice, but is actually an intelligent mammal that has been used in laboratories and might be one of the few species capable of empathy.

13 Pigs

People think of pigs as dirty, dumb, greedy creatures when in reality they are very clean, rather smart and won't eat as much as people think.

14 Cobra
15 Deer Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the fallow deer and the chital, and the Capreolinae, including the elk, reindeer, the Western roe deer, and the Eurasian elk.

Often seen as 'cute' but can be quite dangerous, especially if they become aggressive during battles for dominance.

16 Dogs

They are misunderstood from the aggression they show. Yet most people don't understand that this is what they have been bred to do. They have been bred to be guard dogs so that is why they show aggression.

People never know how dangerous they can be. A dog went loose in school, a dog can be a way to kidnap, dogs can spread rabies when people let them screw in the woods, etc.

They may look small and harmless, but in fact, are very aggressive dogs who bite constantly.

17 Pit Bulls

This probably should be number one. Many people think of them as the most dangerous and aggressive dog breed, but they’re bad dogs if they have bad owners. It also doesn't help that pit bulls are the most common breed in dog fights, which are illegal in most countries and considered one of the most serious forms of animal abuse.

Well, just like all animals, can be unpredictable. Not all pit bulls are ruthless, mindless, savage killing machines, but some are aggressive and violent.

It’s the way you treat them that matters. If you are mean to the dog, you are going to have a mean dog. But if you treat the dog kindly then you will have the sweetest dog that you will ever have.

Many people think that Pit bulls are feirce, ruthless animals.That is not true because they behave the way they are brought up!

18 Foxes

I love foxes! Screw farmers that kill them! I hope fox hunters die a horrible death!

19 Dolphins

Dolphins save humans from shark attacks.

20 Skunks
21 White Tiger

Sigfried and Roy used them in their show at the Mirage in Vegas in the 90s and they NEVER had a problem with them until Roy got attacked by one of them in 2006, permanently ending the show.

The attack happened in 2003, not 2006.

22 Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League as a member club of the American Football Conference North division.

People always see crows, ravens and other corvids as "pure evil" just because of their appearance, when the fact that they are very intelligent birds.

I love ravens

23 Magpies

Why are corvids seen as evil? Corvids (magpies, Ravens, jackdaws, crows etc) are just like the small songbirds everyone loves. They're so misunderstood.

One species of magpie: the Australian magpie, is considered the most aggressive bird in the world.

Magpies have a bad rap for being pests and stealing shiny things, but actually they're nice.

24 Hippopotami

Hippos are often portrayed as friendly or dim-witted animals in fiction, but in reality they're the most dangerous land animal. They kill more people in Africa than any other animal, and can run faster than you think, so you have no hope for escape if one decides to turn on you.

Yes, thank you for putting hippos on here, hippos are actually very unpredictable and aggressive.

25 Jackals The jackal is a small omnivorous mammal of the genus Canis, which also includes the wolf and dog. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many small canids, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed jackal and side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of south-central Eurasia.

Mistaken as cowardly scavengers when they actually are brave when hunting their prey or feeding on a carcass.

They can rip an animal to shreds! Also they will attack prey much larger than them! Not so cowardly now huh!

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