Beware! Humans are second most deadly creatures in the world

24 Feb, 2018

The world out there is full of deadly creatures, ready to tear you apart if you mess with them, or even if you don’t. Even your cute dog pet can be a cause of your death or maybe your own best friend.

If you think sharks or snakes are the most deadly creatures, you might want to think again, because this is definitely not the case here. Here’s a list of the 15 most deadly animals as depicted from Bill Gates’ blog, reported by Science Alert. However, the figures are rough estimates.

15: Sharks – six deaths a year

Surprisingly, shark attacks are a bit rare. Back in 2015, there were around six shark attacks on humans. A 2017 research showed that there were five shark fatalities globally. Well, Jaws certainly described the right reasons to be afraid of sharks.

14: Wolves – 10 deaths a year

Wolf attacks are very common in the areas where wolves reside. Over the period of two decades, the average fatality rate from wolves is near to 10.

13: Lions – over 22 deaths a year

Lions are also one of the most deadly creatures. Back in 2005, a study showed in Tanzania alone, 563 people were killed because of lions. The average rates goes up to over 22 per year.

12: Elephants – 500 deaths year

Though elephants are considered friendly animals, they are also a cause of death for numerous people. A study from 2014 stated 391 deaths from elephants in India alone, the worldwide average was 500 deaths per year.

11: Hippopotamuses – 500 deaths a year

Being aggressive towards humans, Hippos have been considered one of the most deadly creatures in Africa, leading to roughly 500 deaths overall each year.

10: Tapeworms – 700 deaths a year

Though small in size, these kinds of worms cause an infection ‘cysticerosis’ that kills around 700 people each year.

9: Crocodiles – 1,000 deaths a year

Along with hippos, crocodiles too are considered animals responsible for most human deaths in Africa.

8: Ascaris roundworms – 4,500 deaths a year

These kinds of roundworms cause an infection ‘aschariasis’ that infects small intestines and affects more children as compared to adults.

7: Tsetse flies – 10,000 deaths a year

These flies pass on a disease known as sleeping sickness that initially starts with headaches, joint pain, itchiness, fever, later proceeds so serious neurological problems and eventually resulting in death. However, fortunately the number of deaths by these flies is declining.

6: Assassin bugs: 12,000 deaths a year

These bugs are also known as kissing bugs that bite people on the face and transmit ‘Chagas’ disease, leading to 12,000 deaths annually.

5: Freshwater snails – 20,000+ deaths a year

These snails carry parasitic worms that infect people with a disease ‘schistosomiasis’ that causes abdominal pain and blood in urine or stool.

4: Dogs – 35,000 deaths a year (Gasp!)

Rabies infected dogs can turn out to be one of the deadliest animals; though can be prevented through vaccines, yet it leads to 35,000 deaths annually according to World Health Organization (WHO).

3: Snakes – 100,000 deaths a year

There are various types of deadly snakes out there slithering around, ready to attack their prey.

2: Humans – 437,000 deaths a year (YES!!!)

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported around 437,000 homicides in 2012 that makes humans the second deadly animals and the deadliest mammal to humans. You better watch out!

1: Mosquitoes – 750,000 deaths a year

Mosquitoes might seems small creatures, sucking blood but are responsible for the most number of human deaths by transmitting viruses from one person to another. Mosquito diseases such as Malaria and Dengue fever has proved deadly over the years for thousands of people.

However, these are not the only 15 deadly animals for humans, as there are several other animals too out there waiting to attack us.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018

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