Dangerous Animals

Hippos are considered to be extremely aggressive and are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their highly aggressive and unpredictable nature. They frequently charge and attack boats. Small boats can easily be capsized by hippos and passengers can be injured or killed by the animals, or drown in the water. Hippos also often raid farm crops if the opportunity arises, and humans may come into conflict with them on these occasions. ...
These encounters can be fatal to either humans or hippos. Less

Tigers cause more human deaths through direct attack than any other wild mammal. Wild tigers that have had no prior contact with humans actively avoid interactions with them. Tigers may attack after being injured while they themselves are hunted or accidentally, as when a human surprises a tiger or inadvertently comes between a mother and her young, or as in a case in rural India when a postman startled a tiger, used to seeing him on foot, by ...
riding a bicycle. Occasionally tigers come to view people as prey. Such attacks are most common in areas where population growth, logging, and farming have put pressure on tiger habitats and reduced their wild prey. Most man-eating tigers are old, missing teeth, and unable to capture their preferred prey. Less

These large herbivores are among the most dangerous animals encountered by visitors to the various North American national parks and may readily attack humans if provoked. They appear slow because of their lethargic movements, but can easily outrun humans; bison are able to run as fast as 65 to 70 km/h (40 to 45 mph) for 8 km (5 mi). They may approach people for curiosity, and close encounters including touching the animals can be dangerous, and ...
gunshots do not startle them. Less

Despite that elephants have a reputation for being wise and intelligent animals, they can exhibit bouts of aggressive behavior and engage in destructive actions against humans. In parts of India, groups of adolescent elephants regularly enter villages at night, destroying homes and killing people. According to the statistics, elephants killed around 300 people between 2000 and 2004 in Jharkhand while in Assam, 239 people were reportedly killed ...
between 2001 and 2006. Less

The African buffalo is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous animals on the African continent. It is known as "the Black Death" or "the widowmaker". African buffaloes are sometimes reported to kill more people in Africa than any other animal, although the same claim is also made of hippopotamuses and crocodiles. According to some estimates it gores, tramples, and kills over 200 people every year. African buffaloes are also notorious among ...
big-game hunters as very dangerous animals as wounded buffaloes may ambush and attack pursuers. Less

The Nile crocodile is one of the most dangerous species of crocodile. It is responsible for hundreds of human deaths every year, which is more than all other crocodilian species combined. It lives in close proximity to human populations through most of its range, so this combined with its large size renders a higher risk of attack. Crocodiles as small as 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) are capable of overpowering and successfully preying on small apes, ...
children, and smaller adult humans, but a majority of fatal attacks on humans are by crocodiles reportedly exceeding 3 m (9 ft 10 in) in length. The number of attacks by Nile crocodiles per year is 275 to 745, of which 63% are fatal. Other wild animals responsible for more annual human mortalities either attack humans in self-defense are only venomous snakes. Less

The Indian cobra is one of the big four snakes of South Asia which are responsible for the majority of human deaths by snakebite in Asia. In Bangladesh, it is responsible for most snake bite cases. The Indian cobra's venom mainly contains powerful toxins that paralyze muscles, and severe bites lead to respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. Less

The Common krait is another member of the "Big Four" species that inflict the most snakebites on humans in India and Bangladesh. Kraits are nocturnal creatures and incidents occur mainly at night. If threatened they may become quite aggressive. Often during the rainy season, these snakes come out of their hiding places and find shelters inside dry houses. If bitten by a krait while sleeping, a victim may not even realize as having been bitten, ...
as the bite feels like that of an ant or mosquito. Less

Saltwater crocodiles have a long history of attacking humans who unknowingly venture into their territory. Along with the Nile crocodiles, they have the strongest tendencies to treat humans as prey. Despite their reputations, many wild saltwater crocodiles are normally quite wary of humans and will go out of their way to submerge and swim away from them, even large adult males, if previously subject to harassment or persecution. Some attacks on ...
humans appear to be territorial rather than predatory in nature because crocodiles over two years of age often attack anything that comes into their area (including boats). Although humans can usually escape alive from such encounters, it is highly recommended to completely avoid their habitat whenever possible, as they are exceedingly aggressive when encroached upon. Less

The fear of wolves exists in many human societies, however, these animals rarely attack humans. This is because wolves are relatively few, live away from people, and have developed a fear of humans because of their experiences with hunters, ranchers, and shepherds. How wolves react to humans depends largely on their prior experience with people: wolves lacking any negative experience of humans, or who are food-conditioned, may show little fear ...
of people. Predatory attacks may also be preceded by a long period of habituation, in which wolves gradually lose their fear of humans. Such attacks typically occur only locally and do not stop until the wolves involved are eliminated. Predatory attacks can occur at any time of the year, with a peak between June and August, when the chances of people entering forested areas (for livestock grazing or berry and mushroom picking) increase. Indian wolves have a history of preying on children; this phenomenon is called "child-lifting". Children may be taken by wolves primarily in the spring and summer periods during the evening hours, and often within human settlements. Less

Several bear species are dangerous to humans, especially in areas where they have become used to people; elsewhere, they generally avoid humans. Injuries caused by these animals are rare but are widely reported. Bears may attack humans when they are being startled, in defense of their young or food, or even for predatory reasons. One of the most aggressive extant bears is the Sloth bear. Due to large human populations often closely surrounding ...
reserves that hold Sloth bears, aggressive attacks are relatively frequent; however, in some places, attacks usually happen when bears encounter people accidentally. Going on raw numbers, this is the species of bear that most regularly attacks humans. They likely view humans as potential predators. Their long claws, which are ideally adapted for digging at termite mounds, make adults less capable of climbing trees to escape danger. Therefore, Sloth bears have seemingly evolved to deal with threats by behaving aggressively. Less

The dugite can be found only in Australia. It is considered quite dangerous and its venom is potentially one of the most lethal in the world. These snakes are shy creatures and typically hide beneath logs or rocks. When disturbed, they prefer to retreat but if cornered, they will defend themselves. The risks of encounters with dugites increase when they are most active during the mating season which occurs through October and November. Less

This is the smallest member of the big four snakes that are responsible for causing the most snakebite cases and deaths due to their inconspicuous and extremely aggressive nature. The characteristic pose of the Indian saw-scaled viper, a double coil with a figure of eight, with the head poised in the center, permits it to lash out like a released spring. This snake produces on average about 18 mg of dry venom by weight and may inject as much as ...
12 mg, whereas the lethal dose for an adult is estimated to be only 5 mg. Less

Among hyenas, only the Spotted and Striped hyenas have been known to become man-eaters. In ordinary circumstances, Striped hyenas are extremely timid around humans, though they may show bold behaviors towards people at night. Spotted hyenas are widely feared in Malawi, where they attack people at night, particularly during the hot season when people sleep outside. In Africa, Spotted hyenas may also steal human kills, or enter campsites to drag ...
off the young and weak people. Less

Due to its large size, long fangs, and high venom toxicity, the Nose-horned viper has a reputation as the most dangerous of the European vipers. However, not all individuals of this species are aggressive and usually won’t bite without considerable provocation. If surprised, wild Nose-horned vipers may react in a number of different ways. Some will remain motionless and hiss loudly, some hiss and then flee, but others will attempt to bite ...
immediately. Bites of these snakes cause pain, swelling and discoloration, dizziness, and tingling. Less

Leopards are very territorial animals. They are typically shy and alert when crossing roadways and encountering oncoming vehicles, but when sensing a danger these big wild cats can attack people or other animals. Leopards are usually active from dusk till dawn and rest for most of the day in shaded areas or over tree branches. In western African forests, they may be active during the daylight hours and hunt during twilight, when their prey ...
animals are active. Less

Another member of the Big Four snakes in India, Russel’s viper is mostly found in open, grassy, or bushy areas and in highly urbanized areas and settlements in the countryside. As a result, people working outside in these areas are most at risk of being bitten. These snakes are primarily nocturnal but during cool weather, they become more active during the day. They are usually sluggish in nature unless pushed beyond a certain limit, after which ...
they can become very aggressive. When threatened, they form a series of S-loops, raise the first third of the body, and produce a loud hiss. When ready to strike from this position, they can exert so much force lifting most of their body off the ground, and may react violently to being picked up. The quantity of venom produced by individual specimens of these species is 130-250 mg, 150-250 mg, and 21-268 mg. For most humans, a lethal dose is about 40-70 mg, well within the amount that can be delivered in one bite. Less

The Black mamba is the most feared snake in Africa because of its size, aggression, venom toxicity, and speed of onset of symptoms following envenomation. The peak period for attacks is their breeding season from September to February, during which Black mambas are most irritable. Black mambas typically bite repeatedly and let go, so there can be multiple puncture wounds. Despite their reputation, these snakes attack humans only if they are ...
threatened or cornered and they are classified as snakes of medical importance by the World Health Organization. Less