Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Which wild animals are not afraid of humans and are not dangerous?

 I'm really late, but there is a wild animal that is not dangerous and shows no fear of humans:

The shoebill stork.

Here is another picture:

These things? For some, they're a complete nightmare. They're very solitary birds, a meter or more tall. Their stare is nerve-wracking, as are their machine-gun-like calls. They're cruel to their young—they usually favor the firstborn because the firstborn is typically the strongest and healthiest, so the second-born often doesn't make it.

But they aren't afraid of people—and not only that: they're incredibly friendly. No one knows why. Wild shoebills will let a person get as close as three meters to their nest. There are many videos of shoebills "greeting" people with a deep bow and a head shake. In some zoos, you can touch them if you return the gesture, similar to how you would touch a real hippopotamus.

I hope this post will help the world learn a little more about the living dinosaur, the shoebill stork.