TOP 5 Deadliest Animals in the World

5. Elephant

The elephant, the largest land mammal, lives in Africa and some parts of Asia. Normally viewed as friendly, elephants have sometimes been known to exhibit unpredictable behavior and attack without warning. Occasionally there have been reports of a captive elephant that, after years of affectionate behavior toward a keeper, will suddenly attack the person. An elephant’s legs, trunk, and weight can crush just about anything, and one moment of anger can be lethal.

Wild elephants sometimes enter villages and do damage or crush people, and a person can also be trampled inadvertently by a herd moving past. Around 500 people die by elephants every year.

4. Crocodile

The saltwater crocodile is the largest reptile in the world. The saltwater and Nile crocodiles are the most dangerous, killing hundreds of people a year. The crocodile lives throughout the tropics of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australia in slow-moving rivers and lakes. It eats a wide variety of animals, living and dead. Its eyes, ears, and nostrils are located high on the head, which allows a crocodile to see and hear its prey. It ranges from 5 to 20 feet long.

The saltwater crocodile is powerful and fast, and its jaws can apply 3,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. Crocodiles kill up to 800 people every year.

3. African lion

The African lion has amazing speed, razor sharp claws, and teeth to attack its prey. It hunts in groups and stalks its prey before attacking, running in bursts of up to 50 miles per hour. The females usually do the hunting and stalk zebras, wildebeest, and Cape buffalo. The male rarely joins the hunt, being too busy protecting the pride. This dangerous animal has attacked people on farms and in cars at African Safaris; it has attacked trainers in circuses, zookeepers, and people keeping lions as pets. Lions cause hundreds of fatalities a year.

2. Snake

Many species of snakes are dangerous to humans. More than 450 species are venomous, and 250 are capable of killing a person. Most venomous bites occur in Africa, Asia, and North America.

The Carpet Viper causes most of the snakebite deaths worldwide. Its poison can keep the victim’s blood from coagulating, and the person can bleed to death. The Taipan or fierce snake is the most venomous snake in the world, but there have been no fatalities. Antivenom is available, and the “fierce snake” is actually rather docile and reclusive, and lives in a remote area in Australia where few people encounter it.

1. Mosquito

Mosquitoes make number one on the list of deadliest animal in world. This small blood-sucking insect kills over a million people each year worldwide. It can spread diseases, most notably malaria. It can also spread elephantiasis, yellow fever, and West Nile virus. Mosquitoes are found in abundance in tropical areas and can also survive the winter in countries with lower temperatures such as Canada.

Depending on how you look at the statistics, other animals could have also made this list. Among them are the poison dart frog, the Brazilian wondering spider, the scorpion, and the Komodo dragon.