We've all see adorable kitties, cute puppies, fluffy hamsters, and charming birds; but there are lots of rare and unusual animals out there who can steal your heart that you've never herd of. Here are five adorable animals that you may have never herd of.
1. Chevrotain
Commonly refereed to as the deer mouse this this little creature rarely grows about the size of a large house cat. Found in the forests of Africa and in several Asiatic nations from India to the Philippines; it tends to prefer staying near rivers and when scared it will hide in the water. Subsisting on a vegetarian diet, we're sure if you ever see this adorable nocturnal creature in real life it'll melt your heart.
2. Piping Plover
These adorable feathery little guys; slightly smaller than a sparrow; are actually native to north America, but unless you've been to wetlands or the Atlantic coast you've probably never seen one. They hop around on the beach looking for worms to eat. In 2016 Disney Pixar released a film short called “Piper” that featured a Piping Plover chick as the star that was the lead in for it's feature film “Finding Dory”.
3. Rock Hyrax (Dassie)
The Dassie is a small mountain dwelling mammal found in South Africa; the locals actually consider it an unofficial mascot of Capetown as it is easily spotted on Table Mountain, a popular tourist attraction in south Africa. They are very social creatures gathering in small communities usually lead by a single dominant male, they will even approach tourists, accepting food form them and in one instance I personally witnessed, bravely taking food right off their plates as they eat. Be careful though, even though they are cute and fun to watch they do have sharp teeth and with full grown adults being a bit larger than a house cat it means when they bite it can hurt.
4. Red Panda
This adorable guy is a native of China. More closely related to the Modern Raccoon than any bear, it is an excellent tree climber and prefers to spend its days hiding in the branches of the fir trees that dot the Chinese mountain ranges where it's habitat is located. Growing up to the size of a very large dog, it feeds almost exclusively on bamboo which makes up about 98% of its diet though it will eat fruits or bugs if it finds them. Sadly it's number are dwindling as it's habitats is being threatened and poachers hunt it extensively.
5. Sand Cat (Felis Margarita)
This adorable little guy is actually very difficult to study. For one since they bury all their poop it's basically impossible to know what they eat in the wild, though we know they are carniverous, so its a safe bet that small rodents and birds probably make up the largest portion of their diet. Their earthy colored fur also lets them blend in easily to their naturally sandy desert environments and they also have learned to close their eyes when a light is focused on them making it hard to spot them at all even when lit. We do know they are native to North Africa, the Middle East and parts of East Asia and they are natural solitary creatures. If you ever do see one consider yourself luck that you got to put eyeballs on one of natures cutest and stealthiest predators.
There are many more beautiful creatures out in the world, but many of them (like several of today's animals) are, while cute and seemingly approachable, still wild animals; as such, they can bite and or scratch you, and sometimes carry disease that can be transferred to human. Admire these creatures when you encounter them in the wild, but do so from a safe distance.