7 Animals You Won’t Believe People Eat as Exotic Treats

on July 29, 2014 at 5:10 am

Hold your horses folks! Before you get too excited, let us warn you that half the things that are there on our menu may end up surprising you. Who would’ve thought that you could actually nibble on man’s best companion? Read on.

Here are 7 animals you won’t believe people eat, and opportunistically so:

1. Lion

Don’t buy it? We couldn’t believe it either. Turns out eating the exotic meat of African lion is an established thing in the US. Although it’s legally prohibited to hunt and sell lions in the country so as to ‘preserve’ them, it’s perfectly okay to eat them cause that’s legal folks!

A lion meat patty

2. Gorilla

Gorillas are another endangered species found in Africa and the people there like them a bit too much. Native Africans have primordially been eating gorilla and chimpanzee meat.

Raw gorilla meat

3. Elephant

Forest elephants are not only hunted for their precious tusks but also for their meat. They are very much fancied by poachers as they provide a lot of flesh to stock and trade. It has become a doubly threatened species in recent years in the Central African region. We also found that Thailand’s culture craves its reproductive organs in hopes to boost their sexual prowess.

Roasted elephant meat

4. Squirrels

These cute creatures are considered a delicacy in the US and it has been said that the British are trying to reduce their numbers by eating them, as they’ve flooded their towns. Go for it, Google ‘Squirrel recipes’. We found one slow cooked braised squirrel dish, which almost tempted us.

Fried squirrel

5. Dog

Man’s best friend is hunted down and eaten with pleasure in Asian and South Pacific regions. Although it’s well known that they eat dog meat here, the only reason we wanted to include it in our list was that it’s not one of those facts we consider acknowledging, let alone believing in it.

A dish being prepared with dog meat.

6. Kangaroo

Native to Australia, Kangaroo meat has been cherished by the populations out there traditionally. They know it as a good alternative to fatty meats like lamb and pork. Some Australian restaurants even have it on their menu. And although it’s their national emblem and a protected species, it doesn’t stop the country from digging into a honey glazedseared Kangaroo steak.

Kangaroo steak

7. Ostrich

Ostrich and ostrich eggs are both eaten by our fellow humans, mostly in South africa. It’s especially famous in Southern South Africa where ostrich farms are spread about the wide expanse and provide for much of their people’s food habits. Fun fact! Did you know that an ostrich egg is equivalent to 24 regular chicken eggs? True story.