The Amateur Zoologist Presents: The World's Most Overrated Animals

It’s no secret that people love animals. However, some of them have better reputations than others, which aren't always deserved. So, I wanted to dig into some of the most overrated animals on the planet.

Dolphins

This one is going to ruffle some feathers, which is ironic considering dolphins do not have any. Dolphins earned their way to this distinction, I didn’t just put them on here to get some page views (although, I’m not above doing that). Dolphins are renowned for their intelligence. My question is how smart can something be if it needs oxygen to live, but decides that the best place for it to live is underwater?

Additionally, their “intelligence” manifests in the form of blowing bubbles to catch fish.

Look out! Make way for Stephen Hawking!

What’s holding them back is a lack of hands. Until they figure out a way to get into the hand game, they're nothing more than fairly smart mammals who cosplay as fish.

Turtle/Tortoises

I hope I don’t offend the turtle and tortoise communities by lumping the two of these reptilians together (they’re two very proud groups). These fellas have nothing going for them aside from the fact that they can live for a long time.

If all you did all day was stare into space and chew on grass, there’s a pretty good chance that you’d be pretty close to knocking on the door of 150 years old.

The shell gets them some points, but the non-confrontational way in which they use their shell cancels things out.

In conclusion, a turtle is basically a Frisbee with legs, and a tortoise is just a big turtle.

Pandas

Pandas prove that as far as gaining a positive perception from humans, cuteness goes a long way. That’s where it ends though for the panda. They’re incredibly boring animals. They sit around and crush a few pounds of bamboo a day.

They’re the only animal on earth that made themselves endangered. They practically refuse to mate, which hurts the population and makes a litter of panda youngins an international news story. Any other animal has to be hunted to control its population and keep things from getting out of hand. Meanwhile the panda seems to be fine with its own inevitable demise.

They’re the emo kids of the animal kingdom.

So, which animals do you think have had it too good for too long? Leave a comment, and let the spirited debates begin!