There is a variety of pufferfish species that live throughout the tropics, with a mutual feature of all these species being the ability to blow up and increase in size significantly when in danger, making it impossible for the predator to swallow. Still, there is another common feature among pufferfish – most of them are toxic, with some species being among the most poisonous vertebrates on the planet.
The skin, musclesת and organs of these fish contain tetrodotoxin, a poison that so potent that there’s enough poison in just one fish to kill 30 people. Still, in many countries, such as Japan, Korea, and China, the fish is considered a delicacy called fugu, with strict preparation rules supposedly being able to rid pufferfish flesh of the toxin. In Japan, there are 34-64 cases of fugu poisoning each year, nearly 7% of which are deadly.
7. Cape Buffalo
Cape buffalo live in large groups in sub-Saharan Africa. They are peaceful, grass grazing animals, but they are very protective of their young. These animals are enormous, weighing around a ton, and endangered, but they are still frequently hunted down, and they nearly always fight back when under attack.
When one of the young or an adult buffalo is injured by hunter, the latter will most likely get attacked, with their mighty horns being able to pierce a human with little to no effort. An average of 200 people die every year as a result of an encounter with cape buffalo. The animals are even known to charge on moving vehicle with a speed of 35 km/hour (22 mi/h).
8. Saw-Scaled Viper
Snakes as a whole aren’t the friendliest bunch, but they, too, rarely ever attack without being threatened. Snakes kill around 50,000 people each year, and there are many extremely venomous snakes, with the black mamba and the Inland taipan being examples of snakes possessing extremely potent venom. But it’s not the most venomous snake that’s the most dangerous to humans. In fact, the most notorious killer snake in the world isn’t the most venomous at all.
Saw-Scaled Vipers are among the smallest dangerous snakes on the planet, but they are also among the most aggressive and fast to charge. These small, striped snakes vary in coloration and live in Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, and they are known to attack more people than any other snake species, with around 20% of the attacks being lethal.
9. Deathstalker Scorpion
You know an animal is dangerous when it has the word ‘death’ attached to its name. The deathstalker scorpion, also known as Palestine yellow scorpion and other names, is the most venomous scorpion on Earth. It has a milky, sandy color that’s especially difficult to spot in the desert. The arachnid lives throughout the dry regions of the Middle East and North Africa, and it’s quite common.
The sting of the deathstalker injects the victim with a potent mixture of neurotoxins, enough to kill a child or a person with a weak immune system on the spot. To most adults, however, the sting will not be deadly, but will still be VERY painful. A victim will also be at a high risk of anaphylaxis and life-threatening allergic reactions. The scorpion kills around 1,100 people every year.
10. Ascaris Worm
One of the most dangerous animals to humans lives within the human body, how creepy is that! The parasitic Ascaris roundworms kill around 60.000 people every year, mostly children, causing a health condition known as Ascariasis. These worms inhabit the small intestine, and they’re quite large compared to other roundworms, averaging at 30 cm (11 inches) long.
Worst of all, these roundworms are awfully common, with as much as 10% of the population suffering from the condition, and having Ascariasis often doesn’t produce any symptoms. Ascariasis is dangerous because it can cause intestinal blockages, duct blockages, and nutritional deficiency.
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