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Six-Inch Long Centipede Cuddles With Hatchlings In Skin-Crawling Footage

Do you find this creepy or cute?

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It’s heartwarming to see videos of momma animals cuddling with their cute newborn babies. Most of the time, such an adorable sight would easily make our day bright. But will you still find it cute if the mom and baby — or in this case, babies — belong to the creepy-crawly species?

A Filipino real-estate agent managed to capture a video of a six-inch centipede embracing its 80 hatchlings. The video has since garnered millions of views and somehow confused netizens as to how they should feel about it.

Cute?

Or a stuff of nightmares?

Most people keep dogs and cats as pets. Others are into exotic animals but 22-year-old John Heidel Raquel has a penchant for centipedes that he made one as his friendly companion.

Raquel found the centipede in the wild and decided to take it in and care for it.

He spent time observing the creature since it gave birth last month.

We understand this is a big nope for many people but Raquel sees it as a touching mom and offspring moment.

“On one hand it looks very unique like an alien being but on the other hand, it’s touching because of how well this mother cares for and protects her young. The maternal care of centipedes is really amazing. She spends a whole month keeping watch over her babies without eating.”

Isn’t that touching? Some centipedes leave their eggs to develop on their own while other species choose to take care of them. The mommy centipede in the video is seen curling like a ball, cuddling and protecting its babies until they’ve molted about once or twice.

Centipedes do this protective strategy on their offspring to keep them safe from predators like toads and mice. Interestingly, mothers can also choose to eat their eggs if threatened than let other predators kill them.

Even if Raquel seems to love this mother arthropod, he knows well how venomous this creature can get. Bites from centipedes that belong to species similar to Raquel’s pet can be fatal in the Philippines.

“It’s definitely not advisable to touch centipedes, they’re born killers. There have been cases where they have killed humans and even cows. I’m just amazed to see how popular this has gone. I think it’s creepy, but people can see the love behind it.”

Watch the video below.

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How did you feel about the video? Share your thoughts down below.

Others

New Study Warns Against Extinction of Orangutans

The population of Bornean orangutans halved in just 16 years.

Jean Jacobs

Orangutans are one of man's closest relatives in the animal kingdom. They are the only great ape species in Asia, and they share 97% of human DNA. They have the ability to reason and to think, as well as to develop their own cultures. But a recently published study warns against the orangutan's extinction - and it could all be due to human activity.

The new study, titled "Global Demand for Natural Resources Eliminated More Than 100,000 Bornean Orangutans" and published in Current Biology, found that human activities like logging, mining, hunting, and deforestation, among others, have slashed the population of Bornean orangutans into half in just 16 years. That's from 1999 to 2015.

Orangutans are endangered species that must be protected.

Others

‘World’s Loneliest Bird’ Found Dead Next to Concrete Bird He Wooed for Years

RIP, Nigel the gannet.

Jean Jacobs

For years, the 'world's loneliest bird' persevered to woo his rather stone-cold love interest. Nigel, a gannet, showed up on Mana Island in New Zealand in 2015, where he met the apple of his eye. The only problem was that his potential mate was made of concrete.

Some 20 years ago, conservationists in New Zealand planted 80 fake gannet birds on the island as part of their efforts to attract real gannets. Nigel was the only one to show up after many years, and he was the first gannet to make Mana his home in 40 years.

Every day since his arrival on the island, Nigel wooed his potential partner.

Others

Rare Walking Fish With Hands Discovered Off Tasmanian Coast

The red handfish is not a good swimmer, so it walks on the seabed.

Angel Betts

Every now and then, rare and weird creatures from across the globe make grand appearances. Scientists discover rare species one after another. Now, a team of divers has discovered a small population of fish that "walk" along the seabed off Australia's south coast in Tasmania.

What's weird is that this rare fish population has finger-like fins that help them walk across the surface of the ocean. Dubbed as the Red Handfish (Thymichthys politus), this is one of the rarest fish species in the world.