The worlds deadliest animals !

I am so sick of hearing, and also perhaps guilty of guessing which 10 animals should be counted as the worlds deadliest...

Whilst trying to work out how deadly the very large black and yellow wasp was that stung me today... I came across an article listing the top 10 deadly animals The articles inclusion of the Australian Crocodile illicited this post. The article stated the crocodile killed 2000 Australians a year, clearly fantasy and although one of the animals I most fear and respect, its inclusion in this list is clearly fantasy


The amount of deaths from Crocodiles in Australia according to the comprehensive study of deaths in Australia 1980-1990 by Stevons and Paxton 1992, was 8, an average of .7 per year, as far as I am aware this has gone down not up. By this standard the 2,000 a year claimed would be a national epidemic on equal with male suicides and other chronic issues

It seems important to distinguish deadliest as in kills the most or deadliest as in is most aggressive, or deadliest as in greatest potential to kill, or deadliest as in perceived as nastiest etc etc etc i.e

The Golden Dart Frog and the Northern Australian Box Jelly fish may win one category as they can cause death simply by accidental contact

The very nature of the Australian Inland Taipan and the Polar bear may win a second category due their sudden and aggressive behaviour

Though the animal that has killed the most humans in history, after humans of course, is most certainly won by Rat flees, for the black plague, and Mosquitoes for Malaria, dengue, Ross river fever etc

Aside from insects the clear killers is almost certainly animals that live in close proximity to humans and therefore simply have more opportunity;
Rabies from Dogs
Flu virus's crossing over from Birds to pigs to humans in dense population areas such as China
Falls from Horses and Donkeys

Which Wild animals kill the most humans is perhaps another category, most probably won by all reports by the Hippo, the Cape Buffalo and the cobra

Which ones scare us most because of their sheer brutality and speed, might be the final grouping, now here Crocodiles and sharks probably win in terms of deaths, whilst perhaps more people are scared of bears, wolves and other nasties.

I would love to see someone produce a real list rather then the common personal fantasies or guesses (like mine! ) that I see on the web

If you know of one please let me know