Number 12 Mute Swans
Swans are commonly depicted as graceful and innocent, but the Disney version of this animal
is far from its behavior in the wild. Mute swans are incredibly aggressive while defending
their nest, mates or offspring. They regularly attack people who enter their territory even
if they’re in small watercrafts such canoes or kayaks. A swan will first hiss loudly at
a perceived threat before physically charging it. This creature is among the heaviest flying
birds and may be hard to fend off, particularly if you’re in the water. While rare, there
have been instances of mute swans relentlessly attacking humans and causing them to drown.
Moreover, their wings are very powerful. A well-placed strike with the wing bone can
break a child’s or an elderly person’s leg.
Number 11 Honey Badger The honey badger will take on any opponent,
as evident from its listing in the Guinness Book of Records as the “world’s most fearless
animal”. Found in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, this mustelid
has few natural predators. Even though it only weighs up to 40 pounds, it’s outstandingly
mean and aggressive. If cornered, a honey badger will fight to the death against animals
much larger than itself, such as lions, leopards or hyenas. The honey badger’s warrior drive
is supported by a body built for combat. It has small eyes and ears, thus significantly
reducing the amount of damage it may sustain in battle. Its nigh-impenetrable skin is thick
around the neck and remarkably loose, enabling the animal to freely twist and turn within
it. They can basically turn on their attackers while still held in their jaws. A honey badger’s
skin is almost invulnerable to spears or arrows and can withstand several machete strikes.
Even snake bites that would melt human flesh do little to the honey badger’s armor. The
African subspecies is actually known to kill and eat the highly-dangerous black mamba.
Number 10 Tarantula Hawk Tarantula hawks are among the most terrifying
creatures in the animal kingdom. Their common name is rather misleading as they’re neither
arachnids nor predatory birds. They’re actually wasps specialized at hunting tarantulas. Their
method of doing so is rather gruesome. Initially, a female wasp will swoop down and deliver
a paralyzing sting. It then drags the spider to its burrow and lays a single egg on its
abdomen. Once it hatches, the larva starts burrowing through the spider’s abdomen and
begins feeding on its insides. The larva avoids vital organs for as long as possible so that
its food source stays alive. It then pupates and an adult wasp will ultimately burst out
of the spider’s abdomen. The effect of a tarantula hawk’s sting has been described
as mind-numbingly painful. The worst of it lasts about 5 minutes, on average, but the
sensation is reportedly nightmarish. Victims have argued that screaming is the only thing
you can do as there’s no way of mentally escaping the pain.
Number 9 Crowned Eagle While not the largest predatory bird in Africa,
the crowned eagle is often cited as being the most powerful eagle on the continent.
That’s judging from the weight of its prey, which averages about 44 pounds despite the
eagle itself only weighing an average of 8 pounds. Its talons are unusually large and
its legs exert such force that it can crush the skull of its victims. The crowned eagle
is possibly the only predatory bird in the world to actively hunt human children. Several
reports seem to support this hypothesis. In one case, a 7-year-old child was gouged in
the throat and eyes, while in another the skull of a child was found in a crowned eagle
nest. This ruthless predatory bird might have even partially shaped human evolution. The
skull of an Australopithecus africanus child was discovered in South Africa and the cause
of death was determined to have been skull punctures. The crowned eagle thus became the
most likely suspect in the killing of what is speculated as a human ancestor. Scientists
have theorized that the early, smaller hominids might have evolved to larger sizes and bigger
brains as an adaptation to avoiding the eagle’s predation.
Number 8 Black Mambas The black mamba can grow to be 15 feet long,
or about as much as Volkswagen Beetle. It can strike with blinding speed and launch
more than a third of its body off the ground. The black mamba is highly aggressive and has
no toleration for humans approaching it closer than 100 feet. It’s the most feared snake
in Africa and owns a vicious venomous punch that’s among the deadliest of all snakes.
Envenomation symptoms begin with a slight tingling at the site of the bite. Without
treatment, death is nothing more than a sweet release at the end of 7 to 15 excruciating
hours. Number 7 Wolverine
The wolverine is the honey badger’s equally-resilient cousin from the north. It’s found in colder
climates, in Alaska, Canada, Russia and Europe’s Nordic countries. Even though they’re the
largest land mustelids, these muscular carnivores look more like small bears. The largest males
rarely weigh above 70 pounds, which is about as much as an athletic Labrador. Yet, the
wolverine’s strength and ferocity is legendary. Its physical prowess has actually inspired
one of the world’s most popular comic book characters. The wolverine is ruthless and
will go after prey as large as moose, elk or even bison. There’s even a report of
a wolverine taking down a polar bear after clinging to its neck and relentlessly biting
at it. This creature, like other mustelids, possesses a molar that’s rotated 90 degrees
towards the inside of its mouth. It’s a feature that enables the wolverine to rip
into meat even if it’s frozen solid. Nicknamed the “glutton” this ruthless beast will
eat virtually anything, including carrion as well as porcupine, lynx, coyote, wolves
or foxes. Number 6 Sea Otters
While they aren’t a threat to humans and generally regarded as adorable, sea otters
display some truly troubling behavior. From an anthropomorphic perspective, the males
of the species are the most brutal psychopaths in the animal kingdom. They’re known to
forcefully copulate with juvenile seals until the latter die as a result. The male otter
will hold the seal’s head under water until it drowns, in the same position as if it were
mating with a female. There have been over a dozen documented reports of sea otters attacking
baby seals in this manner. In some situations, they’ll even continue to copulate with the
carcass. A Canadian dog owner reported one particularly gruesome incident. A sea otter
reportedly kept pushing a log in the direction of its three dogs, daring one of the animals
to get on. It didn’t work at first. Then, one day, the owner saw that one of his pets
had drowned in the water. He then spotted the otter as it was still copulating with
its carcass. The cause of this behavior has been speculated as being competition and the
hierarchical pressure to mate. Number 5 Asian Giant Hornet
This creature, much like its common name would suggest, is the largest member of the hornet
family. Aside from being intensely painful, the sting of an Asian giant hornet can cause
skin bleeding and tissue death. Envenomation can lead to anaphylactic shock and multiple
organ failure. In 2013 alone, in Shaanxi, China, these creatures were responsible for
41 deaths and over 1,600 injuries. Because of their superior size and ferocity, Asian
giant hornets are the bane of honey bee colonies that share their natural habitat. Once they
break into the hive, a single hornet can kill up to 40 bees per minute, using its massive
mandibles to swiftly decapitate them. The hornets are much larger and heavily armored
so bee stings don’t affect them. They’ll use the bee larvae, pupae and adults as food
for their own larvae. Number 4 Asian Black Bear
In most of the territories they occupy, bears are the largest and meanest creatures around.
It’s rare that they face predation and competition from other species. Yet, for the Asian black
bear the situation is rather different. These creatures often share a homeland with tigers.
While ferocious enough in their own right, the black bears don’t really match up well
with the big cats. There have been reports of tigers actively preying on them. Renowned
hunter Jim Corbett described one such confrontation. The Asian black bear was the biggest specimen
he’d ever seen and it managed to fend off what was described as a regularly-sized tiger.
However, in the battle, the bear had its scalp and half its nose torn off. Competition with
the ferocious felines has caused the Asian black bear to develop quite a mean streak.
In consequence, they’re more aggressive towards humans than Eurasian brown bears or
the black bears of North America. The second person in history to receive a face transplant,
Li Guoxing, was actually the victim of an Asian black bear attack.
Number 3 Wild Boar Even domestic pigs might injure their owners
in a frantic reaction but wild boars display an entirely different brand of aggression.
During their rutting season, from November to January, they’ll attack people on forest
paths or agricultural lands adjacent to forests. The initial tusks-first charge may be followed
by a series of attacks, until the victim is completely incapacitated. Most animals would
be settled for taking down their threat, but not wild boars. They’ll keep charging until
you’re dead or unconscious. It’s no recent occurrence, either. Boar attacks on humans
have been documented since the Stone Age. The earliest form of said documentation is
actually a cave painting in Bhimbetaka, India. Today's topic was requested by TheKizzyfish.
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comments section below. Number 2 Cape Buffalo
In its native Africa, the Cape buffalo is known as “The Widowmaker” or “The Black
Death”. It’s a highly aggressive animal believed to kill and gore more than 200 people
every year. Exceptionally large males can weigh up to 2,200 pounds, nearly twice as
much as a grizzly bear. A Cape buffalo has a continuous bone shield atop its head, known
as a boss, and horns that smoothly curve upwards. They’re outstanding weapons that supplement
a charge which tops out at 35 miles per hour. The charging buffalo can launch a human being
several feet into the air. Trophy hunters consider them to be among the greatest challenges.
Even if they’ve been wounded, these robust beasts are known to turn and ambush their
pursuers. There are reports of Cape buffalos that carried on fighting even after being
shot clean through the heart.
Number 1 Crocodile Untouched by evolution for millions of years,
crocodiles are natural killing machines and own the most powerful bite in the animal kingdom.
They’re responsible for roughly 1,000 human deaths each year and possibly many more that
go unreported. Nile crocodiles and saltwater crocodiles are arguably the most dangerous.
To the vast majority of animals, humans are either a threat or a curiosity but rarely
are we regarded as prey. When it comes to crocodiles, the situation is different. These
beasts see us as food and the largest species won’t hesitate to attack. One Nile crocodile,
dubbed Gustave, became a notorious and highly-prolific man eater in Africa. From the banks of the
Ruzizi River to the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika, this animal is rumored to have
claimed more than 300 human lives. Gustave was reportedly killed, as of 2019, but there
are many locals who believe he still lurks in the water.
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