How often has your mother reprimanded you for being clumsy? Well, most children must have heard innumerable times that they are clumsy, and how often have you blamed gravity for it!
Well, human beings are not just the only clumsy creatures on the planet. There are several other creatures in the animal kingdom known to be clumsy.
When all our cousins gathered at our place to celebrate this holiday season, it undoubtedly led to several clumsy situations that raised quite a few eyebrows from our mothers and aunts.
So a cousin amongst us who is also a wildlife photographer decided to talk to us about animals that are considered to be clumsy. It was indeed an eye-opener. Some of these animals are as follows:
Animals that are clumsy:
- Penguins
- Ducks
- Bears
- Ferrets
- Pandas
- Baby Elephants
- Koalas
- Sloths
- Bearded Dragons
List of most clumsy animals:
1. Penguins
Penguins are known to be majestic creatures and beautiful birds. Most animal lovers will tell you that few birds in the animal kingdom can rival penguins for their gentleness.
But if you have ever observed how a penguin walks, you will realize that it is quite a clumsy bird.
All penguins, be it the ones found in the Equator or the Galapagos penguins or the Emperor penguin, walk by putting all the weight on their legs.
This makes their walk quite clumsy. You will find that the penguin is quite uncomfortable while walking on land.
They are excellent swimmers but quite clumsy when walking on land.
2. Ducks
Ducks, especially ducklings, are pretty clumsy, getting them into difficult situations.
Poultry farmers mention that ducks and ducklings are excellent swimmers, but when it comes to walking on land, they can be pretty clumsy.
Their movement has a hobbling effect, especially when it comes to ducklings.
You will often find ducklings with their heads stuck into tight spots resulting from their clumsiness.
In addition, you might often find ducks hobbling about the property, getting scratched by the fences, and other similar objects commonly found on a farm.
Poultry farmers often mention that the clumsiness of ducks often results in the birds getting severely injured.
3. Bears
The body of a bear is quite large, and compared to that, the limbs of a bear might seem small.
In other words, if you closely observe a bear, you will see that a bear has short thick limbs with a heavily built body and large head giving it a stocky appearance.
This often leads us to believe that a bear is a clumsy creature. Moreover, the common notion is that several species hibernate for the better part of winter, which also gives us the idea that bears are lazy.
But contrary to popular opinion, bears are not quite clumsy. On the contrary, they are pretty swift when necessary.
For example, when bears walk, they might come across as clumsy as their gait is quite ungainly, but in reality, they can move quite swiftly, especially when hunting prey.
4. Ferrets
The primary reason for the clumsiness of ferrets is their poor vision.
Ferrets do not have a good depth of vision, which means these creatures cannot see very far into the distance. This lack of depth of perception makes ferrets clumsy.
Also, ferrets do not have good peripheral vision and rely on their sense of smell and hearing when they hunt for food.
So the wild ferrets will depend on all of their other senses to hunt.
But if you have a pet ferret, you will find that it is pretty clumsy when it comes to moving up or down the stairs, and it will use its sense of hearing when it has to avoid an object.
So the overall movement of ferrets can be quite clumsy.
5. Baby elephants
Baby elephants are adorable, and they are pretty clumsy. When raised in captivity, baby elephants are often the center of attraction because of their clumsiness.
You will find that they are constantly falling and fumbling because of their clumsiness. But they are always undeterred!
Even though they fumble and fall, they will again get up and follow their mother with their ungainly and adorably clumsy gait.
Baby elephants can walk quite comfortably within two days after birth and join their herd. But even then, their gain remains quite clumsy.
However, they remain pretty confident in their clumsy gait and follow their mother everywhere.
6. Koalas
Koalas are unique marsupials native to Australia. This unique creature is only found on trees, and their closest relatives are the wombats.
These foragers are excellent climbers, and even though they do not have tails, you will find that koalas can climb trees swiftly.
But it is on the ground that koalas become slow and clumsy. Koalas become uncomfortable and out of their comfort zone when placed on the ground.
Koalas have sharp claws that help them get a good grip on the bark of the trees like eucalyptus.
Being arboreal creatures, koalas do not have to contact land, but when they do have to walk on land, you will find that movement of the koala is quite clumsy.
7. Pandas
Pandas are one of the most adorable creatures of the animal kingdom. Some animal lovers also feel that they are one of the most graceful creatures.
But you must have seen pandas tumbling and going head over heels quite often. This gives the appearance that pandas can be pretty clumsy.
The appearance of pandas is such that it emanates a sense of clumsiness primarily because of their body shape.
Pandas have relatively short limbs and have a pretty plump appearance. But although the Giant Panda belongs to the bear family, the pandas are primarily herbivorous creatures and will mostly eat bamboo.
Pandas are quite skilled climbers and excellent swimmers. So even if they often fall over, they are pretty playful and not just clumsy.
8. Sloths
Sloths are unique creatures that are identified by their slow movement. They are often considered lazy, but in reality, their slow movement contributes to their slow metabolic rate.
Sloths are arboreal creatures that you will see hanging upside down from the branches of trees in the tropical forests of South America and Central America.
Sloths are often considered clumsy because of their labored movement on land. Being arboreal creatures, they tend to avoid walking on land.
But if they are forced to walk on land for some reason, you will find their movement is clumsy, and they find it quite challenging to move.
Linnaeus’s two-toed sloths are incredibly clumsy when moving on land.
9. Bearded dragons
Bearded dragons are reptiles, and their movements are either slow or swift.
This means if they do not feel threatened, they will stay in the position for quite some time, but if they feel threatened by the presence of a giant predator, they will swiftly leave the place.
But if your pet bearded dragon shows signs of clumsiness, it can mean several things. For example, suppose it displays signs of swaying and wobbling.
In that case, it can result from calcium deficiency or the deficiency of Vitamin D.
Sometimes your pet might sway to the side to acknowledge your presence if it gets to know you quite well.
However, if you have observed repeated clumsiness in the movement of your pet bearded dragon, then chances are that you need to change its diet.
