# I think I have found the cutest animal ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 3, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265 "2014-07-03T13:12:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/1 "2014-07-03T13:12:42Z")
From a thread on a local message board where someone had one walk in their neighbors house: > **[Wha](https://www.trinituner.com/v4/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=581116)** > > TriniTuner.com is the most subscribed automotive publication and the largest, most active online community in T&T. [http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=silky+anteater&qpvt=silky+anteater&FORM=IGRE](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=silky+anteater&qpvt=silky+anteater&FORM=IGRE) ladies and gentleman I give you the Silky Anteater! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/2 "2014-07-03T13:22:33Z")
I like how one of the first replies in that message board was, as an answer to “what animal is this?”, “Dinner”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/3 "2014-07-03T13:39:38Z")
I was more amused that their response to a wild animal walking into the house was to grab it with bare hands! My counter-nomination: the [momonga](http://www.thefeaturedcreature.com/2010/08/momongas-gotta-catch-em-all.html) or Japanese dwarf flying squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/4 "2014-07-03T14:13:37Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I was more amused that their response to a wild animal walking into the house was to grab it with bare hands! > > My counter-nomination: the [momonga](http://www.thefeaturedcreature.com/2010/08/momongas-gotta-catch-em-all.html) or Japanese dwarf flying squirrel. Rabies free zone, people are very lax! But I don’t know if I could resist either. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/5 "2014-07-03T14:20:59Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I was more amused that their response to a wild animal walking into the house was to grab it with bare hands! > > My counter-nomination: the [momonga](http://www.thefeaturedcreature.com/2010/08/momongas-gotta-catch-em-all.html) or Japanese dwarf flying squirrel. Wow, even their animals look like anime. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/6 "2014-07-03T14:32:36Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > Wow, even their animals look like anime. Exactly! And even in a rabies-free area, I’d still be worried about being bitten - it still hurts, after all. That is awfully cute, though. If it wasn’t afraid about people I suspect I might not be able to resist petting the critter. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/7 "2014-07-03T14:39:21Z")
It would be very hard to get bitten by a silky anteater. 😉 Or any anteater, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/8 "2014-07-03T14:43:24Z")
OK, scratched. 😛 They do have claws. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/9 "2014-07-03T14:46:24Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > It would be very hard to get bitten by a silky anteater. 😉 Or any anteater, after all. True, but then [look at its claws](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=silky+anteater&qpvt=silky+anteater&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=1579B78271CF641C9968D341406500208F44A1B7&selectedIndex=14). ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/10 "2014-07-03T14:49:11Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > True, but then [look at its claws](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=silky+anteater&qpvt=silky+anteater&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=1579B78271CF641C9968D341406500208F44A1B7&selectedIndex=14). Yup, scratched is possible. Also, there is bat-transmitted rabies, Trinidad is not 100% rabies free. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/11 "2014-07-03T18:12:10Z")
Here they’re called _tapacara_, literally “cover your face,” because when threatened they [raise their razor-sharp claws in front of their face.](http://anthropometaphors.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/silky-anteater21.jpeg) In most photos they’re squinting against the light, but when they [have their eyes fully open](http://travelexperta.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/silky2.jpg) they’re even cuter. One had a [bit part i](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IakX6UfCrfc)n the Werner Herzog movie _Aguirre, the Wrath of God._ ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/12 "2014-07-03T18:22:23Z")
Since threads like this always devolve into people trying to out cute-animaling one another anyway (not that that’s a bad thing necessarily), here’s the [pygmy jerboa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJnn-wMPU9w). Oh, and the [desert rainfrog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kr0yD_BPu8). This one must be watched with sound, as the cuteness is in what I believe is its threat response… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/13 "2014-07-03T18:26:06Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Since threads like this always devolve into people trying to out cute-animaling one another anyway (not that that’s a bad thing necessarily), here’s the [pygmy jerboa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJnn-wMPU9w). It’s a head with legs. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/14 "2014-07-03T19:10:29Z")
And its cousin, the [Long Eared Jerboa](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ENkW_V2GjGM) Ears with legs ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/15 "2014-07-03T21:03:19Z")
Came for [axolotl](https://www.google.com/search?q=axolotl&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6sS1U-fVCYWAqgbIioFA&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1680&bih=949), but leaving pleased. ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/16 "2014-07-03T21:46:25Z")
I admit, the silky anteater is pretty cute, but the momonga and the desert rain frog are flat-out irrestible. And irrestible is not a word I would usually apply to frogs. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/17 "2014-07-03T22:31:09Z")
Personally, I like the [tarsier.](http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/import/images/6/7/0/tarsier.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/18 "2014-07-04T01:50:27Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Oh, and the [desert rainfrog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kr0yD_BPu8). This one must be watched with sound, as the cuteness is in what I believe is its threat response… My cats found that noise very interesting… ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/19 "2014-07-04T04:44:04Z")
Awe look at this little cutie, the [Quokka](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uYSb08JJe3w/UQDIDwYX0EI/AAAAAAABvnU/EOOI_u4tCLQ/s640/2.jpg)! ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265/20 "2014-07-04T05:10:20Z")
Fennec. > **[a little fennec fox photo](http://onebigphoto.com/a-little-fennec-fox/)** > > a little fennec fox photo [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-have-found-the-cutest-animal-ever/692265.md?page=2)