When Tardigrades turn to the dark side: Murder Bears

Tardigrades: Nature’s adorable little cuddle tanks. They’re tough and adorable and one of the coolest critters on the planet. And, most importantly, they’re harmless little herbivores, right?

I mean…look at that little dude! No wonder they’re called ‘Moss Piglets’

Little did we know that some of them were jerks.

Meet Milnesium tardigradum.

In case you were having trouble interpreting what happened there…our little friend stabbed one of his more harmless brethren with his stabby-mouth tube and started sucking the juices out of him while beating away everyone else with his still twitching corpse.

Milny here is one of the tardigrades that puts the ‘bear’ in ‘water bear’. They’ll even rear up on their hind legs before an attack, just like a bear…or a very angry toddler.

So keep this in mind if you ever become a microscopic creature and think you can just sidle up to a water bear and get a ride. Thy’re not all made of hugs.

Some might use you as a floppy mace while sucking you dry.

Don’t worry though, some are still adorable! Sexy even!

#NotAllTardigrades