When you travel to wild places, you involuntarily wonder what animals can pose a danger to you. Sharks or venomous snakes are not always the most deadly, but often small and seemingly harmless inhabitants of our planet. Forewarned means armed. Perhaps you didn’t know about some of them.

10th place. Kaffir buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

One of the largest bulls on the planet, which is found, as the name indicates, in African countries. Adult males weigh up to 1000 kg and are notable for the fact that they moo loudly in case of danger, calling for help from the whole herd. They surround the offender and pursue him to the last, despite the injuries. A wounded buffalo always attacks the offender. He knows how to hide, bypass hunters and get on his own trail. From the attacks of this buffalo, the largest number of deaths among hunters on the continent has been recorded.

9th place. Conus geographus (Conus geographus) Mollusc

A small inhabitant of the ocean floor with a beautiful white-brown shell may seem harmless. It is often picked up by tourists who want to take a closer look at an exotic mollusk. However, just a drop of its poison can kill 20 people. The most interesting thing is that there is no antidote for its bite – that’s why it is called a snail-cigarette: after the poison enters the blood, a person has time to smoke one cigarette before death.

8th place. Cubomedusa (Cubozoa)

Do you remember Conan Doyle’s story “The Lion’s Mane”, where the victim was killed by the cyanea jellyfish? In fact, cyanea is not fatal to humans. What can not be said about cubomeduses.

This class, which includes about 20 species, also kills with poison. Since 1954, more than 5,500 deaths from their bite have been recorded. One of the main dangers is that they are quite difficult to distinguish in the water because of the transparent body. Each such jellyfish can have up to 15 tentacles, which can reach up to 3 meters in length. The tentacles have stinging cells that release venom. And although there is an antidote to it, many of the victims simply did not have time to ask for help and died of shock and cardiac arrest while in the water.

7th place. Botulinum (Clostridium botulinum)

This modest bacterium leads to botulism – severe intoxication characterized by damage to the nervous system. An extremely toxic microorganism: according to some studies, a teaspoon is enough to poison the entire population of America. A physician who studied and described this microorganism compared its effect with snake venom. And the name was given from the Latin botulus, “sausage”, because the first fatal cases of poisoning were recorded at the end of the 18th century after eating smoked black pudding. Bacterial spores are found in the soil and enter the human intestine most often through unprocessed canned food. Since it is an anaerobe, they cannot reproduce in the presence of oxygen. It is not difficult to prevent unpleasant acquaintance with Clostridium botulinum, it is important to eat clean canned foods that have undergone sufficient (at least 15 minutes) heat treatment.

6. Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis)

I have already written about the most dangerous snakes. And although the venom of the black mamba is not the strongest, in one bite it is released as much as enough to kill at least 10 people. Another trump card of the snake is the extreme speed – up to 35 km / h. Often they attack first and pursue the victim, inflicting up to 12 bites per second. After the poison enters the bloodstream, a person has from 15 minutes to 3 hours before death.

5th place. Blue-ringed octopuses (Hapalochlaena)

This genus includes several species found in the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean. A small creature the size of a golf ball has the strongest poison – according to some reports, enough to kill 26 adults. When an octopus feels in danger, its iridescent blue spots darken. Unlike the gastropod and cubomedusa mentioned above, its bite is painless for humans and therefore even more dangerous. The poison causes the respiratory organs to stop and the person affected by the bite can be saved only by transferring him to artificial respiration for several hours until the poison is metabolized by the body, because there is no antidote for the bite of the blue-ringed octopus.

4th place. Hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius)

Despite their kind of good–natured bumpkins, hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa. Most people die from collisions with them. At night they go out to feed, and often become involved in road accidents, besides, males have territorial habits and attack those who invade their territory with lightning speed. The mass of these giants exceeds two tons, and they can reach speeds of up to 40 km/h. Add to this a mouth with huge fangs, opening at 120 degrees, and you will understand how scary it is to meet such a killer.

3. Crested crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)

The largest terrestrial or coastal predator reaches 7 meters in length and can weigh about 2 tons. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region (India, Vietnam, northern Australia). This reptile is known for its aggressiveness (during the breeding season, males often arrange deadly fights with each other, there are cases of their attacks on sharks) and good ability to swim in both fresh and salt water. The force with which a crested crocodile clenches its jaws is approximately 16,000 Newtons, which is about 20 times more than the maximum force with which a person can bite into a piece of steak, and 4 times more than that of hyenas and lions, which makes him a record holder in this discipline.

2nd place. Mosquitoes (Culicidae)

Incredibly dangerous insects pose a threat to humans because of the large number of deadly diseases that they carry. Malaria, encephalitis, yellow fever, West Nile fever virus, elephant disease and other unpleasant consequences of their bite claim the lives of about 725 thousand people annually.

1st place. Humans (Homo Sapiens)

Indeed, man is man’s most dangerous enemy. People have been killing each other for hundreds of thousands of years. In the 20th century alone, at least 108 million people died during the war. And even now, living in a fairly safe time, we continue to exterminate each other through civil strife and violence. For other animals, man is also dangerous – we exterminate entire species and destroy the natural habitat for our needs. However, we have an advantage over the other nine animals on this list – the mind to avoid unpleasant encounters that can cost us our lives