#10. DEATH STALKER SCORPION
Through a combination of 4 neurotoxins, this scorpion’s venom is known for its low lethal dose,
and for having the fastest sting in the game at 51 inches/second. A single milligram can
kill a child, and even in your prime, there’s no guarantee of survival. A sting will cause
you excruciating pain, nausea, vomiting, and death if symptoms are not treated immediately.
Being smaller than a crayon does not limit this little guy, and it thrives in the harsh
climates of North Africa and the Middle East. While deployed in Iraq in 2006, Air Force Staff
Sergeant Monique Munro-Harris was stung twice on her finger and armpit. Not recognizing the culprit
and disregarding it for its size, she only went to the medical center for slight irritation. Luckily
she did, for just as they put an oxygen mask on her, she blacked out and rapidly deteriorated
towards heart failure. She was unconscious for 14 hours but awoke with no long-term effects.
#9 KISSING BUG Part of the bloodsucking
assassin bug family, kissing bugs get their name because when they attack humans, they go for the
face. These bugs may just be greeting you with a nice kiss on the cheek, but I would reject their
advances if I were you. After gorging on your face in multiple clustered bites, they leave a present:
their poo. If the severe allergic reaction to their poisonous saliva doesn’t get you,
the feces, which is now all over your face, often carry a parasite known to cause Chagas disease.
The initial symptoms are mild, but if not caught quickly enough,
the disease will pass into the chronic phase. After years of carrying the disease,
30-40% of victims will develop organ dysfunction leading to more than 10,000 deaths a year.
No bigger than an inch, this bug is the cause of an endemic affecting 8 million people.
Karolina Paniagua from Hojancha, Mexico was hospitalized in 2015 due to the disease.
She first presented with a fever, headache, and joint pain, but with continuous wrong diagnoses,
she lost mobility in both her legs. Even though her symptoms presented unusually early,
it took doctors 3 months of testing before discovering the culprit.
The treatment was almost as bad as the disease, but she made a full recovery.
#8. TSETSE FLY You might find house flies annoying,
but at least they won’t kill you. Tsetse flies are similar in size, yet they will suck your blood and
leave you with a chronic, deadly disease. They act as a vector for the African trypanosome parasites
that cause sleeping sickness in humans across Africa. Sleeping sickness has 2 stages: stage one
is mild, sometimes presenting no symptoms, whereas stage two becomes far grimmer. Expect confusion,
poor coordination, hallucinations, and continuous mental deterioration
that will prove fatal if not treated. Although human African trypanosomiasis
had not been reported since 2012, a Nigerian woman imported the disease to the UK in 2016.
The 58-year-old patient exhibited severe lethargy, intermittent confusion, tremors,
and unsteadiness. Once they finally discovered the culprit, she was able to receive treatment
and made a full recovery; but she was lucky, often the neurological damage is irreversible.
#7 BRAZILIAN WANDERING SPIDER Not only crowned as having the most toxic
venom by the Guinness book of world records, this animal has the most excruciatingly painful bite
as well. Say hello to the Brazilian wandering spider, which you may know as the banana spider.
Big for a spider with leg spans reaching 4-5 inches, they’re still small enough to easily fit
in the palm of your hand. Known for wandering and hiding in search of its prey instead of weaving a
web, it will menacingly rear up its front legs to show off its fangs if provoked or disturbed.
Men should especially beware—in addition to the multitude of horrifying side effects,
their venom can give you a painful 4-hour erection needing medical attention. Reckon yourself safe
at home outside of Brazil? Think again. In 2015, Michaela Egan bought a bunch of bananas from her
local Tesco in Essex, only to discover a Brazilian wandering spider cocoon on them. The fruit had
been sitting in her kitchen for 4 days before she noticed. Thankfully, neither her, her boyfriend,
or her 2 small children picked up that banana or it might have been their last. And who wants their
last meal to be a banana?! Moving on… #6 STONE FISH
This next animal holds the title for the most venomous fish known to man. Let me introduce the
Stone Fish. At only 12-18 inches, this fish expertly camouflages with its surroundings,
fooling prey, predators, and humans alike. Patiently waiting amongst coral and rock for the
next chance of ambush, they sit primed to brandish their 13 dorsal spines and release their venom.
A sting will cause severe pain, shock, paralysis, necrosis, and sometimes death.
Whitney Jones was stung by one in Queensland, Australia in 2020 and she said she’d give birth 10
times over before experiencing that again. Within a couple of steps of getting out of the water,
she was hit with a wave of pain and collapsed on the beach. Bystanders rushed to her aid as
the lifeguards on duty doused the sting in hot water while waiting for the ambulances,
which arrived on time. Some say look up and enjoy the view, we say look down and enjoy your life!
#5 GEOGRAPHIC CONE SNAIL Prized for centuries for their intricate shells,
hardly anyone would second guess picking up and collecting a cone snail shell. These shells
should stay where they are, not to preserve the wilderness, but because they will kill you. The
most toxic of them all, the geographic cone snail, is about the size of a teacup at 3-6 inches but
has a powerful enough venom to paralyze someone instantly. Littered across the Indo-Pacific, this
is a predatory animal with the ability to hunt and kill its prey and has over 3 dozen human victims.
With a harpoon-like tooth, they can penetrate gloves and even wetsuits if handled without care.
Heaven forbid you ever step on one barefoot, like 25-year-old boat crew member Henry Moore
did off Whitsunday Island, Australia in 2015. Immediately pain started to creep up his leg,
his calf, and his back as it soon took over his body within a mere 40 minutes. Any delay would
have proved fatal as his respiratory system started shutting down, but he was airlifted to
safety and recovered in hospital soon after. #4 AFRICANIZED HONEY BEE
So, you might already be aware of the concerning depletion of honeybees globally
caused by human overconsumption, but did you know that the only thing even more destructive
than that was our previous attempt to try and fix it? Buckle up buttercup because if you thought the
human race mishandled the coronavirus, you are about to lose faith in humanity all over again.
In 1956, in an attempt to increase honey production,
African Honey Bees were imported to Brazil to cross-breed them into a super
honey-making subspecies. A year later a subspecies was ultimately created when 26
African queen bees escaped, cross-bred themselves with European species, and formed numerous feral,
highly defensive populations that quickly migrated throughout South and North America.
In April 2021, a Texan man was killed by a swarm in his backyard while he mowed the lawn; the
vibrations from the lawnmower alone were enough to rile up the colony. He died from cardiac arrest
due to the sheer number of stings he received. He is one of over 1000 reported victims.
Known as “killer bees” they are 10x more reactive than honeybees and will sting a victim 10x more;
they swarm in massive groups and will follow someone for up to 400 yards. That’s the equivalent
of 4 football fields by the way, but it might go by quickly if you’re running for your life.
#3 BLUE RING OCTOPUS Like all the most rewarding experiences in life,
finding one of these beautifully rare animals packs serious risk. Found in shallow oceanic
pools from Japan to Australia, this species of octopus carries enough venom to kill 26 humans
in just a couple of minutes. 1000x stronger than cyanide, the venom blocks nerve signals causing
several disorientating symptoms and can prove fatal through heart, and respiratory failure.
Many victims remain conscious and alert, yet must lie there unable to move,
completely at the mercy of whatever is to come. Clocking in at 5-8 inches and donning beautiful
bright blue rings, they can be deceivingly tempting for coastal explorers. So was the
case with Kaylin Phillips who reached TikTok fame in 2021 after her Bali trip when she unknowingly
tried to feed one an orange and played with it for 20 minutes. Not only did she not realize it could
kill her with one bite, but also that oranges are definitely not a staple in a sea creatures’ diet.
Her video has over 8 million views, but would you take the risk with our next animal for your
15 minutes of fame? I doubt it… #2 GOLDEN POISON DART FROG
If you weren’t aware already, stay away from brightly colored animals regardless of how cute.
At the size of a paper clip, the golden poison dart frog is coated in a batrachotoxin
that, like the blue-ringed octopus, blocks nerve signals that can result in the paralysis
of any number of muscles – like for example your lungs or your heart.
So incredibly potent, the equivalent of 2-3 grains of salt can be fatal to humans if ingested.
Amazingly the golden dart frog gains this defensive shield through the food it eats,
and those raised in complete captivity don’t become poisonous.
So, get your video camera out, TikTok fame is just around the corner. Or is it? They can continue
to secrete toxins for years after capture. Journalist Lucy Cooke got the chance to hold one,
gloved, and described the experience like “holding a loaded gun”. A conservationist,
her goal is to educate remote communities on how to save their potentially murderous
neighbor. Sorry to lead you astray, but these badass creatures were historically
used to help Indigenous human populations by providing poison for their hunting dart guns.
#1 MOSQUITO Spanish for “little fly”, mosquitos are a vector
of a host of devastating diseases. They are widely accepted as the most dangerous animal in the world
causing 725,000 deaths a year— and at less than 0.5 inches in size.
Of the viruses and parasites carried by them, malaria is by far the worst causing over 600,000
deaths a year. The malaria parasite can actually change a mosquitos’ sense of smell,
making human scent far more attractive and transmission rates far higher.
Found everywhere in the world except Antarctica, you can’t escape these beasts.
The only preventative measures are to wear loose, light-colored clothing that covers as much skin as
possible. Of course, you can take anti-malaria drugs like Tim Notee did in 2013. In one week
he believed he was God’s second son and began creating his own religion; he shaved his whole
body and stopped taking his allergy medication or wearing his contacts. Sickened by this, he ended
up at the hospital with crippling joint pain and ceaseless hallucinations. He was eventually forced
to return to The Netherlands and he was admitted to a psych ward. 2 years later he weaned himself
off of antipsychotic medications, but says the experience left lasting effects. No duh.
Thanks for watching! Now would you rather race a
swarm of Africanized honey bees across a football field or kiss a golden poison dart frog for TikTok
fame? Let us know in the comment section below!