8 Animals that kill more people each year than sharks do

Sharks get a bad rap sometimes. They are seen as mean, man-hunting machines. The truth is, they are usually pretty chilled. Out of all the shark species in the water, only about three are responsible for attacks. Of those attacks, very few are fatal.

Australia have the most fatal shark attacks, with 277 deaths since 1900. The United States is second with 161 and South Africa third with 104. Overall, sharks kill around six people each year and although encounters occur more often, like Mick Fanning’s incident during the J-Bay Open, they are often not fat. In fact, sharks are not man-hunting predators and often attacks occur because sharks are curious beings.

In an interview with National Geographic, shark expert R. Aidan Martin, explains:

Great whites are curious and investigative animals. When great whites bite something unfamiliar to them, whether a person or a crab pot, they’re looking for tactile evidence about what it is.

Their teeth work like humans’ hands.

A great white uses its teeth the way humans use their hands. In a living shark, every tooth has ten to fifteen degrees of flex. When the animal opens its mouth, the tooth bed is pulled back. Combine that with the flexibility of each tooth, and you realize a great white can use its jaws like a pair of forceps. They’re very adept at grabbing things that snag their curiosity.

Sharks swim around biting a lot of things, but they often mean no harm. Maybe that’s why these two brothers decided to save a hammerhead shark’s life instead of letting it die?

There are many other animals which are far more likely to kill you than sharks are and we’ve picked a few below.

 

Jellyfish

Forget being afraid of being chomped by a shark, if you’re in the water you should be far more afraid of jellyfish. These floating, translucent blobs kill around 100 people per year. While most jellyfish stings are harmless (if a little bit painful), some have venomous poison. The sting leads to paralysis which often leads to drowning and death.

 

Hippos

Despite their seemingly docile appearance, hippos kill close to 3000 people each year. These roly poly critters are very aggressive and territorial, especially when around their young.

 

 

 

 

Mosquitos

Not only are they annoying, they can also be deadly. Malaria carrying mosquitos are responsible for over 600 000 deaths annually.

Tsetse Flies

The Tsetse fly carries African Sleeping sickness, a disease which is fatal when it’s not treated. Lymph glands swell up and then progresses to the blood and eventually the brain. Because many people bitten by these flies live in rural parts far away from medical assistance, their bites often go untreated and result in thousands of deaths each year.

Bees

People get stung by bees all the time. But for those who are allergic, a sting could be fatal. Allergic reactions to bees kill around 53 people per year.

Ants

Around 280 species of ants can be responsible for killing humans. These little critters kill around 30 people each year. Because the colonies are huge (up to 20 million in some cases), once ants attack, they can be deadly. Victims sometimes fall asleep near anthills and die because of anaphylactic shock from countless ant bites and venom.

Cows

Although cows are mostly content with chilling and grazing grass, they can get startled and a kick to head can kill you. Cows kill around 40 people each year.

Leopards

In India and Nepal, encounters with leopards occur more often than anywhere else in the world. In 2015, six people have already been killed by leopards in India.