By now, we all know that nature is a horrific hellscape of Darwinian terrors. But while we like to think all of that gruesomeness happens somewhere far away in the deepest wilderness, there are actually plenty of gross and terrible horrors occurring right in your very backyard. And sometimes it's committed by the adorable critters you'd least expect.

5 Squirrels Are Bloodthirsty Killers

While cartoons may have you believe that squirrels live solely off of acorns and the morning dew they gather in cute little hats made from said acorns, these rodents are just as omnivorous as their less-fluffy cousins. So given half a chance, a squirrel will jump on the opportunity to savor all the salty and fatty goodness that only a fresh kill can provide. Like this pigeon, conveniently ripped open by a passing car for easy access to the tastiest giblets:

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And if there isn't any fresh roadkill around, squirrels don't mind doing the killing themselves. They're not very good hunters, though, so they prefer to wait until birds leave their nests, climb up in there, and eat the chicks alive.

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It gets darker. Squirrels will also gladly gobble up their own evolutionary relatives, nibbling on dead (or dying) mice like they're cracking into a particularly hairy nut. In fact, some species of squirrels are straight-up cannibals. Which species of squirrel are those? Pretty much all of them.