FEROCIOUS ANIMALS
Eight animals considered most dangerous: what are they and how many people do they kill?
There are many species in nature that are truly dangerous, but some are distinguished by their strength, predatory abilities and their natural reflex to attack to protect themselves or to hunt.
Animals that are truly dangerous can be found all over the world: there is no place on the planet that is without dangerous species to keep away from.
What are eight of the most dangerous animals and which animals kill the most humans each year? Let's find out together: (source: discoverwildlife.com)
What are the most dangerous animals in the world and how many people do they kill each year?
There are many species in nature that are truly dangerous, but some are distinguished by their strength, predatory abilities and their natural reflex to attack to protect themselves or to hunt. Animals that are truly dangerous can be found all over the world: there is no place on the planet that is without dangerous species to keep away from. What are eight of the most dangerous animals and which animals kill the most humans each year? Let's find out together: (source: discoverwildlife.com)
The hippopotamus (about 500 dead people per year)
Causing around 500 deaths a year (compared to only 22 for lions), hippos are deadly land mammals. This is because they are very aggressive and territorial and have a habit of charging boats and capsizing them.
Di Charles J. Sharp - Opera propria, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography.co.uk, CC BY-SA 4.0, h
The elephant (about 500 dead people per year)
Groups of elephants are known to raid farms and villages and gorge or trample any human being who gets in their way. It only takes one blow from an elephant to kill, resulting in about 500 deaths a year. This happens mainly because of habitat loss and encroachment on farmland in the areas where they live.
Di Obtained from Molly Ebersold of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm - http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways
The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), about 1,000 per year
Crocodiles as a group are quite lethal, killing about 1,000 people per year, but they generally do not aim to hunt humans and the killings are opportunistic. In the event that a sea crocodile has chosen a human as prey, survival is unlikely.
Di by Ester Inbar, available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ST., Attribution, https://
Scorpio, about 2,600 deaths per year
There are 25 species of scorpions that can be fatal to humans. Stings often occur when scorpions are accidentally stepped on barefoot or when they hide in people's shoes. The scorpion uses the venom as a defence mechanism against being crushed rather than as an attack. About 2,600 deaths a year are caused by scorpion stings.
CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=285662
Reduvids (Reduviidae), about 10,000 people died per year
Another insect that spreads disease and death through its bite is the insect of the family Reduviidae, also called 'the assassin insect'. Some species of this insect from Central and South America are responsible for spreading Chagas disease, another tropical parasitic disease that kills about 10,000 people a year worldwide. The species that do this are also often called 'kissing insects', as they tend to bite people's faces while they sleep.
Di Barbod Safaei - http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000 0000 0412 0636, CC0, htt
The saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) - 138,000 death people per year
The viper holds the record as the deadliest snake in terms of mortality. Snakes in general top the list of deadly creatures as snake bites are responsible for as many as 138,000 deaths per year. Its aggressive nature, combined with its potent venom and presence in densely populated areas, make the scaly viper a snake to be feared.
Di Original author: US Department of Agriculture; then denoised rescaled, enhanced with adaptive den
Mosquitoes (family Culicidae), about 725,000/1,000,000 deaths per year
Very small animals with a very large impact, mosquitoes hold by far the record, being responsible for between 725,000 and 1,000,000 deaths per year. They do not kill directly, they are instead very frequent 'disease vectors'. This means that in the course of their feeding on human and animal blood, they accidentally transmit infectious pathogens, carrying bacteria, viruses and parasites from person to person.
Humans (Homo sapiens)
It sounds cliché, but (apart from mosquitoes) the deadliest animal is ourselves! Murders account for some 431,000 human deaths per year, making us by far the deadliest mammals. And that is not to mention the destructive impact of our activities on the natural world, resulting in climate change, which is already estimated to cause over 150,000 deaths per year. The WHO estimates that between 2030 and 2050 climate change will cause around 250,000 more deaths per year due to malnutrition and disease.
Animal Curiosities
21/06/2024
The world is beautiful because it is diverse, is a phrase we have heard a thousand times, and this is true not only for human beings, but also for animals.
On our planet, the variety of fauna is far greater than that of human beings, who are basically almost all the same. On the other hand, in the most remote parts of the Earth, but not only there, there are absolutely unique species of animals, so much so that they even enter Guinness World Record. Birds, fish, mammals, so many characteristics that make them absolutely recognizable, and also very rare.
Animal lovers, keep us company and discover all the most bizarre beasts on the planet.