Which Animal Do You Think Poses The Greatest Threat To People?
If you ask someone which critter is the most deadly to humans they’re likely to say sharks. Sharks are often considered one of humans’ deadliest predators, partly because shark attacks like those this week in North Carolina and Florida are so well-publicized.
As Christopher Ingraham at the Washington Post points out, it’s all just a bunch of baloney. Data on animal-caused deaths in the US from 2001 to 2013 show a shark attack should be at the bottom of your list of concerns. The deadliest creatures, based on human deaths per year:
- Bees, hornets, wasps: 58
- Mammals like horses, pigs, and deer: 52
- Dogs: 28
- Cows: 20
- Ants and other bugs: 9
- Spiders: 7
- Poisonous snakes and lizards: 6
- Sharks, alligators, and bears tie with 1 each
Considering that 33,000 people die in car accidents each year, Ingraham notes, you’re probably safe to dip your toes in the ocean.
Did you know that the Chinese are responsible for killing 90% of the world’s sharks?
About Post Author
Professor Mike
More Stories
What in the World Happened to the Ginger Kitten?
The abrupt sound of multiple barks pierced the stillness of the night. It was an unsettling deviation from their customary...
Warning: Be Careful When Walking Your Dog In Alligator Country
Mike McCoy has read up a bit on alligator attacks and he knew what to do if you find yourself in one—and good thing too.
MadMikesAmerica To Remain Open For Business
We are staying open. MMA may not be as active as it once was, but why close this one, with all those articles still available to read, and maybe more to come?
Fox News Guest: Ghoulish Trump Has Blood On His Hands
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) told Fox News on Sunday that former President Donald Trump is guilty of a “ghoulish” attempt to undermine the economy by downplaying the need for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Disgusting Ted Cruz Forgets History of Conservatives Like Elvis Promoting Vaccines
Recently, the beloved Sesame Street character Big Bird went on television and social media to promote COVID-19 vaccines. For anyone who has been conscious for at least a few years, celebrities—especially ones with larger fanbases amongst the youth of the country—promoting public health initiatives is not surprising. It has been going on forever and ever.
Crazy Louie Gohmert: Climate Action Would Force Us To Brush Our Teeth With Bark
[caption id="attachment_187456" align="aligncenter" width="615"] Getty images[/caption] by Aldous J. Pennyfarthing How the hell did Republican Louie Gohmert of Texas ever become...
People win hands down in the killing department. We kill more of each other than the animals can ever hope to kill and they only do it for food to survive. There hasn’t been a whole lot of cannibalism after killing for human food when it’s me against you humans in the mix. I’m sticking with humans are killing more of everything as my final answer Regis.
That’s got to be a very low estimate. the world is, as usual, at war. At my age, I know more dead people than living, or so it feels, but only one was a murder victim (if you don’t count the one who died in the World Trade Center)
But of course the most deadly animal on earth is that same nasty species I reluctantly belong to.
Yes it is…man’s greatest enemy is himself.
Mike, do you remember Pogo from the cartoon. “We have found the enemy and he is us.”
I do remember Pogo Bill, and those words. So true.
Considering that humans murder each other at a rate of ten to eleven thousand each year I still prefer animals to people.
I’ve fallen over several times trying to not step on a snail in my garden. Pure luck I didn’t kill myself. Why aren’t snails on the list??? Dangerous buggers they are….
I recently read Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow which summarized many years of Nobel Prize winning research on how we assess risk. Not very well, is a good summary. The prize was in economics and the concern is for how we predict economic events, but I know I’m not immune. I don’t swim in the ocean, but I ride a motorcycle. Heart disease, stroke, cancer, some kid texting and driving. . . What, me worry?