Nature can be beautiful, majestic, even inspiring—but let’s not pretend it doesn’t also veer into full-blown horror movie territory.
Some animals do things that are so bizarre, so uncomfortably strategic, or just downright creepy, it makes you question everything you thought you liked about wildlife. These aren’t just quirky survival tactics—these are behaviours that feel like they belong in a “do not trust” folder. Here are just a few examples of animal behaviour that go way beyond weird and land squarely in the unsettling column.
1. Dolphins bullying porpoises for fun
Dolphins have a reputation for being playful and intelligent, but they’re not always the sweet ocean friends we like to imagine. In some regions, bottlenose dolphins have been observed violently attacking and even killing porpoises—despite having no reason to. They don’t eat them, they’re not competing for food, and there’s no obvious trigger.
Researchers think it may be a form of aggression or dominance play, which makes it all the more disturbing. When smart animals behave violently for no survival reason, it starts to feel a little too close to human-style cruelty.
2. Wasps turning cockroaches into zombies
The jewel wasp has a truly twisted method for feeding its young. It stings a cockroach directly in the brain, disabling its ability to move on its own, but not killing it. Then the wasp leads the zombified roach into a burrow, lays an egg on its abdomen, and seals it in alive. As the larva hatches, it feeds on the still-living cockroach from the inside out. This isn’t just brutal—it’s calculated and eerie. Nature may be efficient, but this feels like something out of a horror screenplay.
3. Cats toying with prey before killing it
If you’ve ever owned a cat, you’ve probably seen this one in action. They’ll catch a mouse or insect and spend an uncomfortable amount of time batting it around, letting it try to escape, and dragging it back—before delivering the final bite. Some say it’s a way to tire out prey, or a form of practice. But the slow, deliberate way cats do it makes it hard not to see a streak of cold, detached sadism in the whole affair. It’s not personal… but it sure feels personal.
4. Crows remembering faces (and holding grudges)
Crows are famously smart, but here’s where it gets creepy: they can remember individual human faces for years—especially if that person wronged them. People who have disturbed or threatened crows have been followed, scolded, and mobbed by entire groups long after the fact. Even worse? They can teach their friends and offspring who to avoid. It’s basically a feathered surveillance network. If you’re on a crow’s bad side, you may never live it down.
5. Hyenas laughing while ripping things apart
The “laugh” of a hyena is actually a vocalisation of stress or excitement—and it usually happens during fights or feeding frenzies. The problem is that it sounds like unhinged, maniacal giggling… while they’re actively tearing into flesh. There’s something nightmarishly surreal about hearing that sound while watching a pack of them dismember a carcass. It’s not joy. It just sounds like it. Which somehow makes it worse.
7. Parasitic barnacles that take over crabs
Sacculina, a type of parasitic barnacle, doesn’t just live on crabs—it hijacks them. Once inside, it essentially rewires the crab’s body and behaviour, suppressing its reproductive system and making it act like a devoted parent… to the parasite’s larvae. It goes so far that even male crabs will start performing female parenting behaviours. It’s not just invasion—it’s body and mind control. And the crab, now fully compromised, doesn’t even know it’s lost itself.
8. Ants forming bridges out of their own bodies
Army ants are terrifyingly organised. When they encounter a gap or obstacle during one of their nomadic hunts, they’ll link their bodies together to create a living bridge. Other ants will walk across this fleshy structure like it’s no big deal. From a teamwork perspective, it’s impressive. But watching it happen feels wrong—like the insect version of human centipede engineering. It’s functional, but deeply eerie.
9. Komodo dragons poisoning their prey and waiting
Komodo dragons don’t chase their food down—they bite it once, infect it with bacteria or venom from their saliva, and then stalk it until it dies days later. The prey wanders off, sick and weakening, while the dragon just follows behind, patient and inevitable. There’s something sinister about the whole strategy. It’s not just hunting—it’s calculated poisoning and long-game surveillance. It’s nature with a disturbingly slow-burning fuse.
10. Female spiders eating their mates
In some spider species, mating ends with the male being eaten—sometimes even during the act itself. The most famous case is the black widow, but it happens in other species too, especially when food is scarce. From a survival perspective, it ensures that the female gets the energy needed to support her eggs. But watching it happen (or just reading the play-by-play) is brutal. It’s sex, followed by sudden death. A love story, nature-style.
11. Octopuses escaping their tanks at night
There are documented cases of octopuses slipping out of their enclosures, slithering across the floor, sneaking into neighbouring tanks, stealing food—or even eating tankmates—and then returning to their own like nothing happened. The intelligence is impressive. But the idea of a silent, squishy creature conducting a heist in the dead of night is more than a little unsettling. You can lock the tank. It doesn’t matter. The octopus already knows how to get out.
12. Frogs absorbing their own eggs through their skin
Meet the Surinam toad, whose back is covered in pockets. After mating, the female’s skin swells and absorbs the fertilised eggs. Those eggs hatch and develop under the skin, until fully formed baby frogs erupt from her back, like something out of a horror film. It’s efficient, sure. But watching dozens of frogs punch their way out of mum’s skin pores will haunt your dreams. No warning. No exit sign. Just full-blown nightmare mode.
13. Snakes playing dead—with over-the-top drama
The hognose snake doesn’t just play dead—it puts on a whole performance. It flips over, sticks out its tongue, goes limp, and even emits a foul smell to really sell the idea that it’s absolutely not worth eating. What takes it into uncanny territory is how far it commits to the bit. If you flip it right-side up, it’ll dramatically roll itself back over. It’s either incredible theatre… or deeply unsettling survival instinct. Possibly both.