Sarah: Fear & Loathing

image from here

This is the scariest animal alive. A couple years ago, I ran across a photo of this disgusting thing, also called a pangolin, in National Geographic and I googled it. And I immediately regretted it. I have never had such a powerful physical reaction to an animal before. When I saw it, I became nauseous. I mean, aren't you nauseated by the sight of it's creepiness?

image from here

image from here

When I started researching it, I discovered that it's the cousin to armadillos. Which, I also find gross (not as gross as these bad boys, though). Their scales are rock hard--creating a super strong defense against predators. While I was reading up on pangolins, I thought to myself, "As long as they don't live near me, it doesn't matter." Guess what. They're native to Uganda. What. the. heck.

Ancient people groups made armor out of them.
image from here

image from here

Even now when I see them, I get shaky and kind of start to panic. Denis agrees with me. He told me once that I should get a BIG stick and hit it. Kelsey thinks they're cute. I suspect she only said it because of her love of arguing. One of Kelsey's FAVORITE stories to tell me is how her friend Becky told her how rocks last a super long time. Kelsey decided it would be fun to rile Becky up by arguing that plants last longer. Apparently, it was a heated argument--that should not have happened! Only because Kelsey loves to argue.

Back to the point: pangolins. They are the only animal I fear. Some people fear snakes or spiders--animals that can actually harm you. Not me. I pick the seemingly harmless ant eater.

image from here

They are gross. They are vile. They make me want to cry.  And if you don't feel the same, you will after this video:

Read more about these nasty little creatures, here.