It’s a dog eat dog world out there, literally and figuratively.
Humans have drawn much from the animal kingdom- metaphors and idiomatic expressions to grace our languages, food and clothing for survival, and their mere presence to delight our vision and feed our superiority complex.
But make no mistake, animals can be deadly and at times have unleashed their revenge on us to punish our hubris.
If the animal kingdom were to exact revenge on human beings, we’d be dropping like flies.
All animals have the potential to kill but do so in self-defence or when they feel threatened.
Only one animal kills for sport.
10. Bears
Bears are true powerhouses; they run fast, climb trees and are virtually fearless.
They can decapitate a man with the swipe of a paw.
There are only 8 species of bears in the world, and they are all potential killers, and although they don’t normally go out of their way to attack humans, they would not hesitate to charge if they felt threatened.
A bear might not proactively hunt you down, but cross its line and you're the entrée.
Between 5 and 10 people are killed in bear attacks each year.
Does a bear shit in the woods?
Yes, and you’d better hope it’s not on you.
9. Sharks
“Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent.”
Dave Barry
Few animals instill more fear in men than sharks.
There are about 75 reported shark attacks worldwide each year, 10 of which are fatal.
They are the true masters of the sea, roaming all of them in search of prey.
You're statistically more likely to die in a plane crash; still, would you risk swimming with sharks?
The usual culprits are the Great White Shark, the Tiger shark and the Bull shark.
Statistically though, you have more chances of dying in a plane crash or being struck by lightning than being mauled by a shark.
8. Cape Buffalo
Robust and heavy, the Cape buffalo can weigh as much as 1.5 tons and stands at 1.7 meters high by 2.8 meters long.
Next time you consider a safari, remember, the Cape buffalo is often the hunter, not the hunted.
It is responsible for over 200 deaths a year and is appropriately known as the “widowmaker” or “black death”.
They have been reported to kill lions and chase their hunters relentlessly.
7. Australian Box Jellyfish
Considered the most venomous creature on earth, the Box Jellyfish has enough venom on just one tentacle to kill 60 people.
You'd need 59 friends to equally share the life-threatening venom from one tentacle; not exactly a party.
At least 5,567 people have died from this creature’s sting since 1884.
6. Deer
They’re cute and remind you of Bambi, but they can kill. Not in the usual way though.
That deer in your headlights? It's not admiring your car; it's sizing up its next victim.
Deer that attempt to cross highways become transfixed and freeze in place because of headlights, causing fatal accidents.
Deer kill 120 people each year.
5. Hippopotamus
The gentle-looking hippo can weigh as much as 3 tons, run 30 miles an hour, has huge, sharp incisors, and is perfectly at home in the water.
Hippos: chubby and cute on the outside, lean mean killing machines on the inside.
They were thought to be vegetarians but have been known to chew on crocs and antelope.
They kill 2,900 people a year.
4. Crocodiles
“Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you. People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.”
Steve Irwin
Another creature that chills your spine just by looking at it.
Crocs can grow up to 20 feet, blend into their environment, are silent and lightning-quick swimmers, and their jaws exert 3,700 pounds per square inch of bite force.
Their ability to blend into their environment makes them particularly dangerous.
Naturally, they are killers and claim the lives of an estimated 1,000 people a year.
3. Scorpions
Size is no indication of deadliness, as the scorpion can attest to.
Forget eight-legged freaks; the real terror might have fewer legs but more venom.
There are 2,000 different species of scorpion in the world but only 25 are deadly, as 5,000 people find out each year.
2. Snakes
City dwellers have nothing to worry about here, as there is little chance they will ever encounter a poisonous snake.
Snakes: because rural life wasn't challenging enough.
However, snakebites kill a staggering 50,000 people a year, mostly in jungles and rural areas.
The Indian cobra tops the list as one of the deadliest killers.
1. Mosquitoes
“If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.”
Dalai Lama
Good things come in small packages, so they say, but this is not one of them.
Resilient, hardy, pervasive and eternal.
With the exception of man, few creatures cause as many deaths as these winged harbingers of doom; 2.7 million souls succumb to their disease-infested stings each year.
It's not the size of the insect in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the insect, and mosquitoes are winning, hands down.
Malaria, dengue, yellow fever, encephalitis, West Nile virus, the list of diseases spread by these creatures goes on.
Worst still is that man is fighting a losing battle against them, as they develop immunity to every weapon used against them and spring back.
Death is indeed a winged maiden.
Respect the food chain, or else
In a world where humans often consider themselves the apex predators, this list serves as a humbling reminder that we’re not always at the top of the food chain.
From the deceptively cuddly deer to the universally feared shark, nature has its own set of rules—and spoiler alert, we’re not the ones making them.
So the next time you swat at a mosquito or underestimate a hippo, remember: these creatures might just be the universe’s way of keeping our egos in check.
#RealityBites
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