Deadliest Animals Quiz

Question: Which animal kills the most humans annually?

Answer: Spreading diseases like malaria, yellow fever, and dengue, mosquitoes are responsible for an estimated 725,000 human deaths a year—vastly more than any other nonhuman animal kills.

Question: According to scientists, an attack on a person by which of these animals is most likely to kill the person?

Answer: Hippos are vegetarian and only attack people who encroach on their territory. This animal can weigh up to four tons, can reach speeds of nearly 20 miles per hour on land, and can wield tusklike lower canine teeth measuring more than one and a half feet long.

Question: The stings of which creature kill hundreds of swimmers each year?

Answer: Jellyfish sting hundreds of thousands of swimmers each year. Some of these people go into shock and drown.

Question: Rabies, which kills about 59,000 people a year, is transmitted almost entirely by which animal?

Answer: Dogs are responsible for 99 percent of rabies cases in humans, which makes “man’s best friend” one of Earth’s deadliest animals.

Question: A delicacy in Japan, which fish has killed diners with its powerful toxin?

Answer: Many species of puffers, or blowfish, contain a neurotoxin a thousand times more powerful than cyanide, but the parts of the fish that hold the poison are removed while preparing the Japanese dish fugu. Still, between 2006 and 2015, 10 people died after eating the dish, which many of the victims had prepared themselves.

Question: From 1979 to 2019, attacks by which animal killed the most people in the United States and Canada?

Answer: Brown bears killed 69 people over that 50-year span. Wolves, on the other hand, caused only four fatalities over the same period.

Question: Which of these animals has the strongest recorded jaw strength?

Answer: The jaws of saltwater crocodiles can produce nearly 3,700 pounds of force. By comparison, the jaws of hyenas and tigers can produce about 1,000 pounds of force, whereas a person biting into a steak can produce only about 70.

Question: To help prevent deadly encounters between elephants and humans, farmers rely on which method to ward off the elephants?

Answer: To avert potentially deadly run-ins with crop-stealing elephants, farmers use “chili bombs”—devices composed of extremely potent chili powder mixed into elephant dung and set ablaze. Elephants, which have sensitive trunks, hate the smell and stay away.

Question: Accused of devouring more than 130 people, the “man-eaters of Tsavo” were a pair of what?

Answer: The pair made headlines in 1898 by eating railway workers building a bridge over the Tsavo River in what is now Kenya. Later analysis of their bones and hair suggests that those lions ate “only” 35 people.

Question: Helping to make deadly animals a little less deadly, antivenom is made by doing what?

Answer: Still using a process developed in the 1890s, antivenom manufacturers expose such animals as horses or goats to a small amount of venom, which causes their immune system to produce antibodies. Blood from the animals is then collected, concentrated, and purified into antivenom.

Question: Which shark is often considered more dangerous to people than the great white, because it can swim in fresh water?

Answer: Bull sharks can retain salt while in fresh water, which allows them to swim up rivers where people might not expect a shark attack. According to experts, bull sharks constitute one of “the big three” shark species most dangerous to humans, alongside great whites and tiger sharks. On average, however, only 80 shark attacks on humans occurred per year in 2010–19, and only 6.8 percent of those attacks were fatal.

Question: The bite of which animal is roughly equivalent to a bee sting?

Answer: The bite of a tarantula, despite the spider’s large size, causes about as much pain in humans as a bee sting, and it is not considered dangerous—unless it causes an allergic reaction. The venom of black widows, recluse spiders, and bark scorpions is much more potent and can be fatal, especially to children.

Question: Which of these African animals is nicknamed “Black Death”?

Answer: Known to be ill-tempered and unpredictable, the Cape buffalo can reach a speed of 37 miles per hour and is armed with curved horns for goring. This massive animal is reported to be one of the biggest killers of hunters in Africa.

Question: One of the deadliest snakes in the world, the inland taipan is renowned for what?

Answer: Native to central Australia, the inland taipan is not usually aggressive, but its venom is widely considered the most toxic of any terrestrial snake. In fact, the venom in one bite could kill a hundred people or a quarter of a million field mice.

Question: Responsible for spreading a deadly disease, which creature is among the world’s most lethal?

Answer: Freshwater snails can carry parasitic worms that cause a disease called schistosomiasis. After growing and multiplying, the worms emerge from the snails and swim about in water. If they encounter people, they can burrow though the skin and enter blood vessels, by which they can spread to, and damage, various organs. More than 200 million people are infected each year, causing tens of thousands of deaths. These worms are very rarely found in the United States and generally do not pose a risk to the country’s fresh water.