Number 13 Lion Lions are deep-chested, well-muscled beasts
that are among the animal kingdom’s elite apex predators.
They’re mainly found on the African continent but a reduced population of the Asiatic lion
subspecies inhabits India’s Gir Forest National Park.
Lions are hyper carnivores that live in groups, called prides, which prolifically practice
cooperative hunting.
They’re led by one or a group of mature males that don’t typically take part in
the group hunts and prefer to go after prey on their own.
Because of its physical prowess and regal mane, the male lion is popularly known as
the king of all beasts.
Exceptional specimens may weigh up to 500 pounds and are strong enough to take down
Cape buffalos.
Coordinated attacks by large prides may target giraffes, rhinos, hippos and even elephants.
Like most big cats, the lion will kill its prey via a suffocating bite to the throat.
There’ve been several instances of these felines becoming man-eaters.
One highly publicized case was that of the Tsavo lions, a pair that killed dozens of
workers on the Kenya-Uganda Railway, in 1898.
Number 12 Leon van Biljon In August of 2019, game keeper Leon van Biljon
was mauled to death while tending to a lion enclosure.
The 70-year-old was dubbed the “Lion Man”, as he kept a number of the big cat species
at his South African reserve.
Van Biljon had entered the enclosure and was trying to fix a broken fence, with his back
turned to one male and two female lions.
One of the felines then approached Van Biljon and bit deep into his neck.
The others started tearing into his body, until there was nothing left of the man but
a mangled mess of bone and flesh.
Number 11 Ligers There are several potential big cat hybrids
that may emerge in captivity.
It’s worth mentioning that in most cases of hybridization, genetic deformities are
known to occur.
The largest and best known are ligers, a cross between a male lion and a tigress that’s
usually larger than both parent species.
This is due to a growth-promoting gene passed on by the lion and the absence of a growth-inhibiting
gene in the tigress.
Comparatively, tigons, the offspring of male tigers and lionesses, tend to be smaller than
either parent.
Doc Antle, who appeared on Netflix’s “Tiger King” documentary, has bred several record-breaking
ligers at his Myrtle Beach reserve.
These enormous felines approach the 1,000-pounds mark, meaning they’re about as heavy as
a grizzly.
One of them, a liger named Hercules, was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest
living cat on the planet.
While standing on his hind legs, the massive Hercules was about 11 feet tall, thus dwarfing
his human handlers.
Number 10 Mike Hodge In May of 2018, footage of a horrifying lion
attack started circulating online.
The incident took place at the Marakele Animal Sanctuary in South Africa.
The reserve’s owner, Mike Hodge, had gotten into the enclosure with Shamba, a massive
male lion.
The big cat charged the 72-year-old and pinned him against a fence.
Hodge was swiftly brought to the ground and Shamba started dragging him away, most likely
to devour him.
The man’s life was saved by a staff member who shot and killed the lion from outside
the enclosure.
Number 9 Cheetah With a top speed of up to 70 miles per hour,
cheetahs are the fastest land animals on Earth.
They’re mainly found in Africa, although one subspecies is confined, in limited numbers,
to central Iran.
Aside from their streamlined bodies, cheetahs are identifiable by their small heads and
canine-like slim faces with black streaks that run from the corners of their eyes.
Cheetahs used to be called “hunting leopards” as they were once tamed and used in big game
hunts.
They can stalk prey from hundreds of feet away and then close the distance incredibly
fast.
A single stride from a galloping cheetah can measure up to 25 feet or about as much as
the longest snake ever discovered.
Should this feline attack, it’s virtually impossible for a human to outrun it, since
its entire anatomy is designed for speed and endurance.
Number 8 Anatomical Marvel The cheetah’s build is substantially different
from that of other felines as its body is adapted for outstanding acceleration.
This animal can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in as little as 3 seconds, which is comparable
to some of the fastest cars in the world.
Its retractable claws are blunt and enhance grip as the animal runs.
The cheetah can swiftly change direction and take sharp turns by using its tail as a rudder.
The cheetah’s limbs are long and its thigh muscles are large.
Another important adaptation is the cheetah’s flexible spine which propels its limbs forward,
much like a spring.
Additionally, the animal possesses excellent vision and its large nasal passages enable
rapid oxygenation, meaning that the cheetah can quickly regain stamina after a long chase.
This combination of physical attributes is what makes this big cat a true anatomical
marvel.
Number 7 Violet D’Mello While visiting a game reserve in South Africa,
British tourist Violet D’Mello was mauled by two cheetahs.
She’d been told that the animals were tame and had entered their enclosure, along with
other visitors, to get a picture.
The felines had first attacked a young girl before turning their attention on D’Mello.
The girl didn’t suffer any severe injuries since park staff were quick to intervene.
D’Mello, however, sustained multiple puncture wounds before the animals were pulled off
her.
All she could think to do, as the attack was unfolding, was to play dead.
Her husband, Archie, was taking pictures at the time and didn’t really register Violet
was being mauled since the felines seemed rather playful and not vicious.
The 60-year-old woman suffered a series of bites to her scalp as well as a claw mark
on her left eyelid, but ultimately recovered.
Number 6 Hyena Wildlife expert Gordon Grice once argued that
one of the worst ways to die in the African wilderness was by a hyena attack.
He claimed that, after biting off part of a human victim’s face or some other sensitive
body part, a hyena will “just start eating”.
It would be a long and excruciatingly painful death.
Hyenas have a canine-like build but they’re actually part of the Feliformia suborder,
meaning they’re more closely related to cats.
Out of all the hyena species, the spotted hyena is the largest and most terrifying.
It’s an intelligent pack hunter and successful kills are sometimes celebrated with vocalizations
that sound like maniacal laughter.
Hyena clans may number up to 80 members.
They hunt as well as scavenge and are among Africa’s most dangerous predators.
Aside from thick, strong neck muscles, the spotted hyena owns a notoriously strong bite.
Number 5 Skull Design The hyena possesses one of the most robust
and powerfully-built skulls in the animal kingdom.
It has a pronounced sagittal crest, a strip of bone running lengthwise atop its skull,
which anchors large jaw muscles.
The skull’s special vaulting protects it against considerable forces.
The carnassials are positioned behind its bone-crushing premolars, meaning that the
teeth don’t get blunted while the hyena chews on hard material.
When it comes to bite force this animal is in a league of its own, with a bone-crushing
ability superior to that of brown bears.
They’ve been observed crunching through giraffe leg bones, which are up to 3 inches
in diameter.
A spotted hyena’s also capable of eating and digesting basically every part of its
prey’s bones.
Number 4 Erco Janse van Rensburg Erco Janse van Rensburg’s would’ve likely
been killed in a hyena attack if not for the intervention of his uncle.
The teenager was sleeping in a tent next to his parents’ trailer in South Africa’s
Kruger National Park.
The hyena snuck inside the tent and forcefully bit down on his face.
It then dragged the 15-year-old for nearly one hundred feet.
Van Rensburg maintained consciousness throughout the tormenting attack and subsequently remembered
hearing his skull crack.
His uncle was alerted by the commotion and scared off the hyena.
The teenager was airlifted to a hospital.
He survived, but lost an eye and sustained further disfiguring damage to his face.
Number 3 Leopard When it comes to dangerous felines, several
big game hunters have described leopards as being at the top.
Jim Corbett, who took down several man-eaters, once wrote “there’s something very terrifying
in the angry grunt of a charging leopard”.
He mentions witnessing lines of elephants fleeing in a panic from attacking leopards.
Hunter Kenneth Anderson described man-eating leopards as being far more threatening than
tigers.
Leopards own a particularly deadly set of physical attributes.
They’re outstanding climbers and stealthy stalkers that get as close as within 16 feet
of their prey.
They’ll then quickly pounce and strangle animals by biting into their throats.
Their sense of smell is reportedly more developed than that of a tiger and they can attack while
leaping from trees head-first.
Leopards have phenomenal jaw and neck strength that enables them to drag prey much heavier
than themselves up trees.
One leopard was reported hauling a juvenile giraffe, weighing close to 300 pounds, nearly
19 feet up a tree.
Leopards are distinguishable by their coats, which range from pale yellow to golden and
are covered with black spots grouped in rosettes.
Melanistic leopards are commonly referred to as black panthers.
These felines are mainly found in Africa and on the Indian subcontinent, as well as other
parts of Asia.
Fierce competition with other massive carnivores is responsible for the leopards having evolved
into such cunning and skillful hunters.
Across their entire geographical range, they compete with tigers, lions, hyenas, and several
bear species.
Number 2 Attack in Idore In March of 2018, a video of a leopard going
on a rampage in the Indian city of Idore started circulating online.
The feline had hidden in a house that was under construction only to be discovered by
a worker, early in the morning.
It emerged and rapidly became agitated, terrorizing the Palhar Nagar area.
Some residents tried attacking the feline with sticks while others barricaded themselves
inside their homes.
The leopard injured three residents and forest officials struggled to catch it using a net.
Four tranquilizers shots were fired, two of which found their target and eventually knocked
the big cat unconscious.
It was taken by wildlife authorities and, fortunately, none of the residents had sustained
life-threatening wounds.
Number 1 Leopard of Panar In the 19th century, a single leopard wrought
havoc on the Almora district, of India’s Panar region.
It became one of the most prolific man-eaters in history, perhaps only surpassed by the
Champawat tigress.
The Panar leopard is believed to have claimed at least 400 lives.
Its exact death toll isn’t known, due to the remoteness of his hunting grounds.
Its reign of terror was ended by big game hunter Jim Corbett.
Historically, there have been other cases of man-eating leopards reported throughout
India, some of which had dozens of individual kills.
It would seem that these creatures became man-eaters more readily than any other feline.
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