9 most dangerous mammals to stay away from

1. The Bears

These animals are dangerous due to physical strength, sharp fangs and claws, and potential aggression. Brown and polar bears, as well as grizzlies, can pose a serious threat to people, especially if they believe that their territory or offspring are under attack.

On average, these animals kill two to five people each year. For example, in North America by 2021 there were registered six cases of bear attacks that killed people. And all over the world they commit approximately 44 attacks annually.

However, it is worth noting that most animals avoid contact with humans and prefer to keep their distance. Safety, education and environmental awareness help reduce risks encounters with bears.

2. lions

lions - one of the most dangerous and predatory animals on the planet. Strength, speed, sharp fangs and claws make them very effective hunters. Lions also have a social structure and can act in groups.

By information Nature magazine, from 1990 to 2005, 871 attacks of these animals on people were recorded in Tanzania, of which 563 ended in the death of the victim. A truly horrific case in Kenya in 1898, when two lions killed 135 railroad workers in Tsavo before being shot themselves. And in Tanzania, near the city of Njombe, from 1932 to 1947, about 1,500 people died from attacks by an aggressive pride.

3. hippos

Perhaps you can decide that lions are the main danger in Africa. But do not flatter yourself, hippos will quickly show you who the real king of animals is here. Despite their reputation as lovable, peaceful giants, they kill about 500 people every year. This makes them one of the deadliest land animals on the planet.

hippos attack only on people who enter their territory, so approaching them is a bad idea. Despite its short legs, an enraged beast can easily run up to 32 km/h in short bursts, while humans can usually only run at 10–13 km/h.

In the water, hippos are even more dangerous. They live in sections of rivers that are about 50-100 meters from the coast - in the case of lakes, this number triples. Hippos patrol their territory and attack violators.

Usually they just bite the victim, but they can also trample.

Often hippo attacks are happening out of the water, especially when people are on boats - their animal can be mistaken for a crocodile. Behemoths are hard to see from the surface, so their attack can be missed. They rush to the boat and turn it over, and the man, being in water, has little chance of dealing with such a hefty opponent.

4. elephants

Elephants are the largest of all land animals that exist on the planet today. They have large bodies, trunks, pole-like legs, and huge heads with wide, flat ears. Elephants are most commonly found in savannahs, grasslands, and forests, but they are also found in deserts, swamps, and mountainous regions of tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia. Three modern species of these animals are related to the extinct woolly mammoths and mastodons that existed in prehistoric times.

Elephants can be dangerous, especially during the mating season, when their aggressiveness is greatly increased, a condition called must. They strike with their trunk and tusks, and are also able to trample their prey. Sometimes they can be quite vindictive and deal damage just for the sake of it. entertainment. For example, in Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, groups of young elephants destroyed people's houses.

In some regions of India, males entered villages at night, destroying dwellings and killing everyone they met. From 2000 to 2004 in Jharkhand, 300 people died at their hands... that is, trunks, legs and tusks. And in Assam, from 2001 to 2006, 239 people became victims. Over the past three years in India, elephants killed 1 500 people.

Some people in this country considerthat elephants are able to become addicted to alcohol, and they purposefully eat fermented fruits, and then become violent. Scientists have not come to a consensus on this issue. Somebody believesthat the craving for drunkenness is a myth, because you can’t get enough of any fermented fruit on such a carcass. Other experts write that the ability of elephants to metabolize ethyl alcohol different from human, and therefore, they may well get tipsy even from a small dose.

Be that as it may, trampled people usually do not care if the person who did this to them was drunk or sober as a glass. Therefore, be careful with elephants, especially with males during the rut.

5. Tigers

The tiger plays a special role in Asian cultures - it is associated with strength and power. That is why there are different parts and organs of tigers enjoy special popularity. They are used to make talismans and are also added as ingredients to tonics and medicines, despite the lack of scientific evidence of their effectiveness.

Wherein tigers are among the most dangerous predators on Earth. They have impressive strength, flexibility, and speed, making them killing machines. These huge cats also have a highly developed hunting instinct and can use camouflage to sneak up on their prey without being seen. Naturally, such an animal is dangerous to humans.

In India, tigers sometimes attack zoo visitors who enter zoo enclosures or reach through fences. In addition, cases of tiger attacks on people in the wild are not uncommon, especially in the Sundarbans region, a region of forests and swamps located on the border of India and Bangladesh. According to some data, tigers there killed up to 50 people annually. True, their population has declined recently, but they are still dangerous for both people and livestock.

6. Moose

In a fight, moose can be no less, if not more dangerous, than the same bears. adult animal reaches about two meters at the withers and weighs up to 600 kilograms. If it hits a person with horns or hooves, it won't seem enough.

Moose are quite aggressive during the breeding season or when protecting their offspring. At this time, they become sensitive to violations of personal space.

Elk attacks on humans, however, are very rare. They usually avoid human contact. However, only in the USA these animals manage kill 440 people in a year, injure about 59,000 victims, and cause more than $10 billion in economic damage.

And the reason is not that ungulates purposefully kill people. They are corny run out on the road and provoke car accidents - up to two million collisions annually, according to the US National Park Service. This makes them one of the most dangerous mammals in the world.

7. Horses

French zoologist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, once named domestication horses one of the most significant achievements of mankind. These animals occupied a place of honor next to their owners both in the burial mounds of the Scythian kings and in the tombs of the pharaohs.

Many ancient cultures attached great importance to the ownership of horses. After all, this is logical: whoever can afford to ride a horse, that lord, knight and generally well done. In general, the animal is respected and useful.

But, despite the good reputation and universal love, horses every year become cause about 100 deaths in the United States alone. Most often, people die from head injuries while riding, when the horse throws them off. By data researchers from Stanford University, these animals are among the most potentially dangerous creatures along with dogs, wasps... and cows.

Of course, the reason is not in the nature of the horses themselves - they are quite peaceful creatures. The fact is that people meet with them often, and therefore, the likelihood of an accident is higher.

8. Dogs

The dog has been a faithful companion and protector of man for 12,000 years. Now there are hundreds of breeds that you can’t even tell that they have wolf ancestors.

Dogs are treated differently in different parts of the world. For some, this is the best friend, for some it is transport, and in some regions these animals are eaten. And with all this, the dog is one of the main sources danger for a person. Only in the USA these animals annually bite about 4.5 million people, resulting in the hospitalization of 6,000 to 13,000 victims. About 30-50 victims are gnawed to death. And all over the world dogs manage kill 25,000 people annually.

The reason why dogs are more dangerous than lions is obvious: the latter do not live side by side with humans in all the cities of the world.

However, the main threat posed by dogs is not their teeth themselves, but rabies and other diseases transmitted through saliva. In Europe, Australia and Asia, 99% of infections are associated with dog bites.

9. People

Humans are primates that share anatomical similarities and genetic ties to other great apes. Many of them can be very sweet, friendly and well-mannered.

Nevertheless, these creatures quite successfully lead as the most dangerous mammals. They manage kill between 400,000 and 475,000 people a year. Although humans are generally weaker than their relatives such as gorillas and chimpanzees and cannot fight or bite in the same way. effectively, they are more deadly due to their cunning and the ability to use a wide variety of weapons.

The only living creature that by a wide margin overtakes man in the field of killing people - mosquito. This bloodsucker destroys up to 725,000 victims a year, infecting them with a variety of diseases like malaria.

But since the mosquito is not a mammal, it does not deserve a separate item on our list.