Connect with us. About us. Obituaries Homes Jobs Classifieds. Careers Advertise Legal Contact. Log in. Account Manage my subscription Activate my subscription Log out. Here are the top five deadliest animals. They just might surprise you. The animals most likely to kill you are things you can find in your backyard and some you might even have as pets. By McKenna Oxenden. Published Dec.
McKenna Oxenden. In Africa alone there are several hundred crocodile attacks on humans per year, between a third to half of which are fatal, depending on the species. Many take place in small communities and are not widely reported. Worldwide, crocodiles are estimated to kill about 1, humans per year, many more than sharks. Alligators, which only occur in the wild in the US and China, are less aggressive than crocodiles but can still be dangerous.
In the US state of Florida, 22 people have been killed by alligators since , the state authorities say. Read more: Why do crocodiles attack humans?
Ungainly as it is, the hippopotamus is the world's deadliest large land mammal, killing an estimated people per year in Africa. Hippos are aggressive creatures, and they have very sharp teeth. And you would not want to get stuck under one; at up to 2,kg they can crush a human to death.
The beautiful creatures with a deadly streak. The slow and deadly dzud in Mongolia. The amazing science behind fatal snake bites. Image source, AFP. Here are some of the world's deadliest animals.
Mosquitoes are estimated to kill about , people every year. Image source, Hunter Reptile Rescue. The Inland Taipan snake is the world's most venomous, but not deadliest. Image source, Reuters. When a particular hippo is believed to have attacked multiple times, fishermen sometimes ask rangers to kill it. As more and more fishermen take to the lake, some have called for the hippos to be culled, to decrease their numbers.
It estimated that there were 1, hippos. Last year, according to Kilo, the Kenya Wildlife Service estimated the number was closer to Hippos are notoriously difficult to count, spending their days underwater in pods, often with only their eyes and ears above the water. Learn more: Poaching for hippo teeth has led to declines in Uganda and Tanzania. Culling is sometimes considered when a habitat can no longer support the number of animals living on it—when the population exceeds the supply of grass needed to feed them, said Hartley.
If the lake continues to swallow more grassland, he says wildlife rangers might consider culling the hippos rather than let dozens starve to death. That would be an international embarrassment for Kenya, a nation known for its wildlife, Hartley says.
Culling would be saying we no longer care about the wildlife. Standing by the lake, Meshack Ogjah limped toward the swampy shore. He pointed to a small area of open water, surrounded by water hyacinth and fallen trees.
He said that one evening at dusk he was working in the dark water when a hippo brushed his left side. He knew the dangers of fishing in a hippo-infested lake. The hippo bit him at least twice. He did not survive.
Still, Ogjah kept fishing. Ogjah was diving into murky water to place a fish trap made of plastic netting when the hippo grazed him. Then I started to swim—but it chased me. He screamed for help, but there was nothing other fishermen could do.
They pierced his right thigh, and his blood colored the water. Ogjah managed to escape. Another fisherman hoisted him onto a motorcycle and drove him to the hospital. Doctors cleaned the wound and sewed it shut. Ogjah was lucky to survive. Even so, he says a part of him is missing. Could you burn all the vehicles just because one had an accident?
The solution, he says, is for humans to learn to live with them—to fish more safely from a boat, rather than wading into a murky lake. Ogjah and Injindi both shake their heads no when asked if they will return to fishing. All rights reserved.
Animals News. Human-hippo conflicts are exploding in this pristine patch of Kenya Floods and the economic fallout from COVID are pitting hungry fishermen against hungry hippos—with deadly results. Hippos soak in Lake Naivasha in part of a nature conservancy called Sanctuary Farm that was once dry land. Heavy rains have caused the lake to rise. Now fishermen and hippos share the swampy shorelines, leading to an increase in hippo attacks, which are often deadly. Hippos are mostly docile but can become aggressive when they feel threatened.
They kill about people a year in Africa, biting them with teeth that can be a foot and a half long. Reporting for this story was supported by a grant from the Overseas Press Club of America. Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants.
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