While we humans are now the dominant species on the planet, Mother Nature
likes to remind us of who is really in charge, and that’s done by having us cross
paths with dangerous animals that can, and do, kill us. So go ahead and hit that
subscribe button before one of these tiny killers gets you first.
15. The Poison-Dart Frog Poison Dart Frogs get their names from their
extremely toxic skin. This owes from the insects they eat, which includes many
species of venomous ants and mites. Because of this, touching the frog’s skin
or having its secretions enter one’s bloodstream could lead to serious illness.
One species of frog, for example, has a toxin in its skin called Pumiliotoxin 251D,
which can lead to, among other things, convulsions, cardiac arrest and death. Of
course, many of the Native tribes living in the same place as these frogs have come
up with an ingenious tool to hunt down prey and attack others. They’ve been
known to coat their darts with these animals’ toxic secretions, hence the name
‘poison DART frog’. 14. The Stonefish
The Stonefish is one of the ultimate trolls of the natural world. It’s a master of
camouflage, and from a distance, looks like an ordinary rock one would find
underwater. But this ambush predator also boasts another title: World’s Most
Venomous Fish. If stepped on (which can actually happen easily, as this fish can
survive for 24 hours on land), the Stonefish releases toxic spikes located on its
back. While only one person has ever died from a stonefish sting, the actual sting
is said to be extremely painful. Some people have been known to pour boiling
water onto the wound to try and dull the pain. So, to answer the age-old question,
‘when is a rock, not a rock?’ It’s when that rock is actually a stonefish that could
kill you if you step on it. 13. The Deathstalker Scorpion
The Deathstalker is, on average, 2.3 inches long, but that doesn’t take away from
its lethal power. This tiny scorpion is one of the most dangerous arachnids in the
world, capable of killing children and elderly persons very easily. It’s so
dangerous, in fact, that even if you’re a healthy person, every sting from this
animal is considered a medical emergency. This is because this scorpion’s sting is
so powerful that it’s resistant to most antivenoms, so one needs an exceptionally
strong dose to help someone that gets stung. As if that wasn’t bad enough, this
tiny beast’s sting can lead to horrifying symptoms, including anaphylaxis,
pancreatitis, and pulmonary edema (fluid in your lungs). Because of this, one
should always wear heavy shoes when walking in sandy areas.
12. The Blue-Ringed Octopus Despite being the size of a golf ball, the
Blue-ringed Octopus packs a powerful punch. It’s one of several animals whose
body contains the infamous tetrodotoxin, the same as found in the pufferfish. This
toxin can kill an adult human very easily, and one blue-ringed octopus has enough venom
to kill up to 26 adults within minutes. But that isn’t the worst part.
The toxin found inside this tiny octopus leads to almost instant paralysis of the entire
body. It’s one of the most horrifying situations imaginable. Picture yourself being
completely aware of your body and surroundings, but also being completely unable
to call for help, move, and in some situations, breathe. This is, in fact, worse
than drowning. At least when drowning you can fight the urge to breathe and try
to find air. With this animal’s bite, your only option is to hope help or death comes
quickly. 11. The Brown Recluse Spider
These tiny spiders are found throughout the midwestern United States, from Texas
in the south to Illinois in the north. Though they try to avoid people whenever
possible (hence their name), when they do bite, it can cause serious problems and
could kill children with ease. Their bites contain several dangerous chemical
compounds that can cause severe damage. Not only does this spider’s bite cause
typical reactions (vomiting, nausea, muscle and joint pain), but it can also cause
necrosis, better known as skin and cell death. So for those of you living in that
stretch of land in the U.S., you’d best check as many dry places as possible to
make sure you don’t cross paths with these spiders. We’d recommend you check
all boots, gloves, woodpiles, dressers, clothes, bedsheets, picture frames,
toilets…basically everywhere. If you can, try and grow a third eye in the back of
your head so that they don’t crawl up the back of your chair while you read this.
10. The Bullet Ant Though the venom found in this species of
ant isn’t strong enough to kill you, if you’re unfortunate enough to get stung,
you’ll wish it was. Bullet Ants get their name from their unbelievably-painful sting.
Entomologist Justin O. Schmidt
created a pain index that sought to determine which insects have the most painful
sting. He concluded that the Bullet Ant’s sting has a rating of 4+ on a scale of 1-4.
Schmidt described the Bullet Ant’s sting as “like walking over flaming charcoal with
a three-inch nail embedded in your heel”, and noted the pain from a single sting
can last anywhere from 5-24 hours. If you wanted any more reasons to believe
that ants are our biggest enemies, look no further than this.
9. The Cone Snail For those out there that love scuba diving
and enjoy picking up shells, this one’s for you. These snails are extremely venomous
and attack prey/predators with a razor-sharp harpoon that can pierce human
skin and most kinds of scuba suits. Their venom is highly toxic and can lead to
multiple problems developing at the same time. Victims can experience symptoms
like diarrhea, vomiting, dysphagia, cyanosis, and possibly seizures, respiratory
failure, and cardiovascular collapse. All of this from a single, tiny snail with
a beautiful-looking shell. But that isn’t the
worst part: you’re guaranteed to suffer through these symptoms and possibly
more because there is no antivenom or cure for cone snail venom. Your only
chance at survival depends on how smart the people around you are, and how
much you believe in miracles. 8. Siafu/Driver Ants
This is what a real-life juggernaut looks like. Driver ants are literally an
unstoppable force when on the march. These insects rarely make a permanent
home, preferring to march in search of food. And when they march, they take
down anything and everything in their way, including possibly humans. These
ants, especially the soldiers, have extremely powerful jaws that bite down so hard
that they’re almost impossible to remove. Local African tribes have even been
known to use these soldiers’ heads as emergency sutures when dealing with
wounds, because they have such a strong hold. That said, this army of ants is still
capable of devouring enormous animals without much difficulty. There are reports
of driver ants attacking and devouring animals as big as horses, which shouldn’t
be surprising when there can be up to 50,000,000 ants in one army.
7. Widow Spiders Widow Spiders are found all over the world,
and are known for their incredibly potent venom. They get their names for a habit
that’s believed to be more common among this species than any other spider.
The larger females, the ones
with the signature red markings, black bodies and deadly venom, are known to eat
their male mates after courting, thus earning them the name ‘black widow’.
Despite being very small (measuring 13mm in length at most), Widow Spider
venom is still potentially fatal to humans. The bites can lead to a wide range of
symptoms, ranging from swelling and intense localized pain, to severe sweating,
wild changes in blood pressure and pulse and deformity of red blood cells. Thus,
it’s best to take as much care as possible when checking in places near to the
ground, especially in shoes or next to small structures like shelves and frames.
Widow spiders like to make their nests there and could bite if disturbed.
6. Africanized Bees Many people are terrified of bees and other
flying insects because of their tendency to swarm and buzz around, waiting
for the perfect opportunity to sting. Sadly, for those people, things only get worse
with Africanized Bees. These are the result of a cross-breeding experiment
in South America that led to an ultra- aggressive bee species that has already killed
over 1,000 people and countless more animals. What makes these bees different
from ‘regular bees’ is their increased defensiveness. Africanized bees
are more likely to swarm when threatened, are likely to do so in higher
numbers than normal bees, and are fiercely territorial. Some reports indicated
Africanized bees chasing people up to 400 meters before turning away. Worse, they
have also been known to wait for people trying to escape them by jumping into
water to resurface for air before stinging them even more.
5. Brazilian Wandering Spiders/Banana Spiders If you live in South America, you might be
familiar with this horrifying creature. Not only is it a notoriously-aggressive species
that tends to wander into human homes (hence its name), but it also boats another
title: World’s Most Venomous Spider. These small spiders have a leg span of about
6 inches at most, but their fangs are still large enough to pierce human skin when
agitated. When bitten, these spiders’ bites can cause loss of muscle control and
serious breathing problems and asphyxiation. It can also lead to disruptions
in serotonin levels, which could cause severe pain. Finally, this spider’s bite
is much worse if you’re a man because it can cause priapism. This condition causes
painful erections that can last for hours and could even lead to impotence. So be careful
when you buy bananas imported from Brazil; these awful creatures have been
known to hang around banana plantations.
4. The Mosquito Mosquitoes are probably the most annoying
animals on the planet, constantly biting people whenever they venture outside
during warm months. But being the bane of cottage-goers and outdoor-lovers everywhere
isn’t why it’s on this list. The mosquito’s here because it kills more people
than any other animal on the planet. The mosquito is a known carrier of several
diseases and viruses that are fatal to humans, most of which they spread by constantly
injecting their needle-like mouths into human skin. Among the various
life-threatening illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes include: malaria, dengue fever,
yellow fever, West Nile Virus, the Zika virus, Elephantiasis, among other things.
Malaria alone kills about 1 million people per year, and infects many more, making
these insects the biggest natural threat to humans on the planet.
3. The Irukandji Jellyfish This is the smallest creature on this list,
measuring only 1 cubic centimeter in size. But this near-microscopic beast is also one
of the most terrifying on the entire planet due to the sheer danger of its venom.
Not only does it cause the usual symptoms of a jellyfish sting – nausea,
vomiting, severe abdominal pain and hypertension, just to name a few – but the
Irukandji Jellyfish also has a psychological effect on sting victims. This
effect, known as Irukandji Syndrome, causes the sting victims to suffer ‘a feeling
of impending doom’. In other words people stung by these animals become so convinced
that they’re going to die that they try to convince doctors to kill them
to put them out of their misery. A jellyfish with the power to convince people they’re
going to die…what has the world come to?
2. The Asian Giant Hornet If you think ordinary wasps are bad, you should
turn away now, because now we’re getting into real nightmare territory.
The Asian Giant Hornet (known locally as the Yak-killer hornet because of its powerful
sting) averages around 45mm (or just shy of 2 inches) in length. This is enormous
for a flying insect of any kind, but that’s not the end of it. You see, this
beast has a horrifying sting. It’s stinger alone
is 6mm long, and when one wasp stings, it sends out a pheromone for others to
come and sting the same target. As if that weren’t bad enough, the sting contains
chemicals that can cause skin necrosis in humans. Simply put, this hornet’s sting
can dissolve human tissue and make skin rot. Forget swatting them away; if you
see these stings approaching, grab a flamethrower. 1. The Sea Wasp/Box Jellyfish
The sea wasp is the single-most venomous creature in the world. It can be found
off the coast of Australia (a.k.a. the land where every animal exists solely to f**k
with humans) and can kill an adult within five minutes. And we’re not just talking
about an average person or someone with a weakened immune system; we mean
a healthy, active adult. For example, imagine yourself as a scuba diver off the
Australian coast. You’re deep underwater, when you suddenly feel as if someone
had branded you with a hot iron. You turn, and see the feint outline of a jellyfish
swimming away from your exposed bare feet. Panicked, you do your best to swim
back to your nearby boat as quickly as possible. But less than five minutes later,
you feel your heart give out and you suffer cardiac arrest in the water before
anyone can even help you. That is what can happen if you get stung by this
nearly-invisible monster of the sea.