List of deadliest animals to humans

This is a list of the deadliest animals to humans worldwide, measured by the number of humans killed per year. Different lists have varying criteria and definitions, so lists from different sources disagree and can be contentious. This article contains a compilation of lists from several reliable sources.

Comparative list

The number for humans include those who are victims of murder only. Adding in the some 1.25 million who die from road traffic accidents every year, along with suicide, an additional 800,000 per year, would bring humans to the top of the list, without considering other human causes, such as war, other accidents, drug abuse, smoking, alcohol, abortions, and human-mediated disease.

Source: CNET[1] Source: Business Insider[2] Source: BBC News[3]
Animal Humans killed

per year

 Animal Humans killed

per year

 Animal Humans killed

per year

1 Mosquitoes 1,000,000[upper-alpha 1] Mosquitoes 750,000 Mosquitoes 725,000
2 Humans (murder only) 475,000 Humans 437,000 Snakes 50,000
3 Snakes 50,000 Snakes 100,000 Dogs 25,000
4 Dogs 25,000 Dogs 35,000 Tsetse flies 10,000
5 Tsetse flies 10,000 Freshwater snails >20,000 Crocodiles 1,000
6 Assassin bugs 10,000 Assassin bugs 12,000 Hippopotamuses 500
7 Freshwater snails 10,000 Tsetse flies 10,000

Combined list
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Deadliest animals to humans
Animal Humans killed per year
Mosquitoes
1,000,000
Humans
475,000
Snakes
50,000
Dogs
25,000
  1. Mosquitoes kill an average of 1,000,000 humans per year mostly from bites[4]
  2. Humans kill an average of 475,000 humans per year[4]
  3. Snakes kill an average of 50,000 humans per year from snakebite[4]
  4. Dogs kill an average of 25,000 humans per year from dog bites causing rabies[4]
  5. Tsetse flies kill an average of 10,000 humans per year from African trypanosomiasis
  6. Assassin bugs kill an average of 10,000 humans per year from Chagas disease
  7. Freshwater snails kill an average of 10,000 humans per year from schistosomiasis
  8. Scorpions kill an average of 3,250 humans per year from venom
  9. Ascaris roundworms kill an average of 2,500 humans per year from malnutrition, tissue problems, and bowel obstruction
  10. Tapeworms kill an average of 2,000 humans per year from infection
  11. Crocodiles kill an average of 1,000 humans per year from crocodile attack[upper-alpha 2]
gollark: Do you *need* punctuation, really?
gollark: i.e. are you trying to change... political... attitudes by doing a thing.
gollark: I mostly define behaviour as political or not by intent.
gollark: This is basically what pain is for, yes.
gollark: This is not hugely convincing.

References

Notes
  1. Mosquitoes do not kill humans directly. Rather, they are a vector that transmits mosquito-borne diseases.
  2. Another source goes in a different direction, and lists the 15 deadliest animals by species (deadliest first) as: hippopotamus, saltwater crocodile, polar bear, Indian cobra. lion, box jellyfish, elephant, blue-ringed octopus, African buffalo, Komodo dragon, black mamba, fat-tailed scorpion, poison dart frog ("An interesting fact about these frogs is that they are only poisonous in the wild, once they are held in captivity; they are no longer a threat. Scientists believe that these frogs gain their poison from a specific arthropod and other insects that they eat in the wild."), leopard, great white shark.[5] Another list comes up with the top 25, only some of which share commonality.[6]

Citations
  1. Learish, Jessica (October 15, 2016). "The 24 deadliest animals on Earth, ranked". CNET. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  2. Ramsey, Lydia (September 4, 2016). "These are the world's deadliest animals". Business Insider. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  3. "What are the world's deadliest animals?". BBC News. June 15, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  4. Nuwer, Rachel. Dogs-kill-more-humans-human-murderers-do-180951272/ "Prairie Dogs Kill More Humans Than Human Murderers Do" Check |url= value (help). Smithsonian Magazine.
  5. MacNevin, Lindsay. "Inspiration: The Most Dangerous Animals of the World and Where to Find Them". EscapeHere. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  6. List25 Team. "The 25 Most Dangerous Animals In The World". Retrieved March 27, 2019.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.