Bombardier Beetle

The bombardier beetle is an orange beetle with a dark coloured wings. It may be small in size, but it protects itself fiercely from predators. The beetle’s unique way of fending off predators is spraying hot acid from its rear end. This toxic chemical is incredibly effective when it comes to deterring animals from eating the bombardier beetle.

Electric eel

The name of the electric eel suggests its self-defence mechanism perfectly. This elongated fish is able to generate an electric shock through the nerves of its skin in order to shock creatures that come in unwanted contact with them. The shocks an electric eel can generate can be up to 600 volts!

Blue-ringed octopus

The blue-ringed octopus is smaller in size than the average octopus – but it has a special defence that most octopuses don’t have. When threatened, it can secrete its own neurotoxin. This substance can paralyze predators that come after it, and in certain instances even kill them. The octopus’ bright colours help to express its toxic nature as well.

Sea cucumber

The sea cucumber seems so benign that the fact it has any self-defence mechanisms may seem odd at first. It actually has one of the most bizarre of all. When a predator attempts to eat a sea cucumber, it can expel its internal organs. The idea is that this gives the predators something else to go after which secretes a stronger smell, thus leaving the sea cucumber itself unharmed.

Horned lizard

If you are squeamish when it comes to hearing about blood, you may want to sit this one out. When the horned lizard feels threatened, it is able to squirt a stream of blood out of its eye. This is in order to deter the predator from attacking and to confuse it. Though this seems an odd way to go about it, it does still actually work in the horned lizard’s favour!

Hooded seal

The hooded seal is usually a pretty normal looking seal, though it does have some excess skin on its head. This excess skin is incredibly important when it comes to defending itself from rivals and predators. The seal inflates a large balloon of skin in order to intimidate and confuse its predators. The big red balloon on its face is admittedly pretty odd looking!

Giant centipede

The giant centipede already looks pretty intimidating, so the fact it has predators may already seem a bit of a wonder. However, it is still a bug at the end of the day and it knows how to defend itself. This centipede is venomous and the sharp upturned claws on its leg joints help protect it at anything that might try and snap it up in large jaws.

Sea hare

The sea hare is a certain species of sea slug which has a special ability that helps in protecting it from predators. When the sea hare is being threatened or attacked, it produces a cloud of purple ink into the sea around it, obscuring the area to any predators. This confuses predators and allows the sea hare to make a quick getaway unscathed.

Hagfish

The hagfish is an eel-shaped fish with a skull but no spine or other bones. The hagfish also produces slime on its skin. When the hagfish is in danger, it is able to produce copious amounts of extremely fibrous slime which, when combined with the water can clog orifices. It does this to clog the gills of predators which then suffocates them, leaving the hagfish free to swim away.

Slow loris

While many of the animals on this list are water dwelling, the slow loris is a small primate. Unlike many other species of primate, the slow loris actually has a toxic bite. This toxicity does not come from their mouth, but is excreted from mixing their sweat with their saliva. While the slow loris partially uses this toxin to settle issues within their own species, it also acts as a counter to predators seeking to attack it.