What is the most dangerous animal in the world?

Forget sharks, and forget tigers: There are some far more fearsome beasts out there. What are the most dangerous animals in the world, and which one truly takes the cake?

Mosquitoes transmit incredibly dangerous and deadly diseases.
Mosquitoes transmit incredibly dangerous and deadly diseases.  © 123rf / Poravute

A small prick or a tiny little bite can have some pretty serious consequences. An animal attack is some people's biggest fear.

But is it the tiniest mosquito, the creepiest spider, or the biggest jungle cat that takes home the title of most dangerous animal in the world?

This animal record will truly blow your mind, as TAG24 looks into the most dangerous animal in the world.

"First Feline" Willow the cat to star in children's book by Jill Biden
Cats "First Feline" Willow the cat to star in children's book by Jill Biden

Better pop on that safety helmet and buckle up: these animals might have you shaking in your boots!

Most dangerous animal in the world

For most of us, mosquitoes are nothing but a pesky nuisance. Those tiny little bites can get more itchy than a wool sweater, and that buzzing can sound like a helicopter landing when you're trying to sleep.

What we don't usually worry about, though, is death.

It may surprise you to find out, then, that the humble mosquito is actually, in terms of yearly human deaths, the most dangerous animal in the world.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, mosquitoes infect between 725,000 and 1,000,000 humans every year with illnesses. The most dangerous of these diseases is malaria, but mosquitoes are also known to carry other deadly diseases like dengue fever and yellow fever.

Try not to worry, though: Malaria, the most common and one of the deadliest mosquito-born diseases, is only transmitted by female mosquitoes of the Anopheles genus. While these mosquitoes live in many areas of the world, they generally only carry malaria in countries that have a tropical climate.

Most dangerous land animal

Unsurprisingly, humans are actually the most dangerous land animal in the world.

We kill more humans than any other mammal each and every year, with more than 475,000 homicides recorded each and every year, according to CNET.

In other words, you may not need to get worried about animals, but about humanity instead.

Most dangerous fish

According to Guinness World Records, the deadliest fish is the Pufferfish, due to their intense toxicity. The Tetraodon of the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific, in particular, is the most dangerous. Its poison can be extremely deadly when ingested via its spikes.

Most dangerous bird

The most dangerous bird is the Cassowary and, unsurprisingly, it comes from that great southern land Down Under. All three species of the Cassowary live in North-Eastern Queensland in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

They are extremely large birds that become deadly when wounded, threatened, or cornered. With a large spike on their foot, these birds will jump into the air and kick you. It's this attack that claims lives, and it's this attack that secured its spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Most dangerous insect or spider

We have already covered the most dangerous insect, the mosquito, but let's wrap up with the most dangerous spider in the world: the Sydney Funnel-Web Spider.

This bad boy is quite large, dwelling under logs or in foliage. Up until recently, a bite from this nasty beast was a death sentence, with just 0.2mg of their venom dealing a lethal blow.

Be wary of this nasty animal, widely agreed upon as one of the world's most venomous, whenever you are gardening or walking in Australia. Don't go into the garden without shoes, and don't go reaching under random logs.

Even if you don't get a nasty bite, you still may end up with a crawly viral video situation that leads to a home invasion.

You don't want to see a crocodile in the wild, they are incredibly dangerous.
You don't want to see a crocodile in the wild, they are incredibly dangerous.  © 123RF / Byrdyak

Most dangerous animals ranked

Here are the top ten most dangerous animals in the world, ranked from most dangerous to least (of the Most Dangerous bunch).

Here are the ten most dangerous animals:

1. Mosquitoes
2. Humans (from homicides)
3. Snakes
4. Dogs
5. Freshwater Snails
6. Assassin Bugs
7. Tsetse Flies
8. Ascaris Roundworms
9. Crocodiles
10. Tapeworms

To note: This list was sourced from Statista, based on the number of human deaths caused by each animal, on average, per year.

The mosquito isn't the most dangerous animal everywhere

Of course, the most dangerous animal in the world by number of deaths doesn't necessarily equate to the most dangerous animal in a particular place. In the non-Malaria infected world, mosquitoes are actually not too harmful, for example.

In Australia, crocodiles may be the most dangerous, whereas in the United States you may need to be more wary of bears or snakes. It depends on where you live, so be vigilant!

Cover photo: 123rf / Poravute

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