Deadliest Animal in Each Continent
The 7 continents that make up Earth are vast and diverse in wildlife, culture, and climate.
The biggest threat you are to come across in Africa is very different to the largest threat in North America or Australia.
In today’s post, we’re going to share with you what we believe to be the deadliest creature of each continent and why.
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Here are the deadliest animals of each continent:
North America
Starting first with North America, the deadliest creature is surprisingly the deer! It may seem like these docile, non-aggressive mammals may seem to be of little to no threat to you, and in fact that the opposite is true as a result of over-hunting.
However, deer cause accidents not in how they relate to humans but in how they relate to human travel.
Deer have a bad tendency to jump in front of moving cars, causing vehicle collisions and sometimes direct death or injury as a result of its body breaking through the windshield and crushing the drivers.
Driving in forested areas with a high presence of deer can be dangerous not just because of reckless drivers around the corner, but because a deer might jump in front of you!
South America
With the Amazon rainforest and other large national parks still not completely explored by humans, there are tons of creepy critters hiding just waiting to be discovered.
South America has tons of dangerous snake species, with snake bites being a massive problem.
There are a reported 70,000 snake bite cases every single year, but this number is likely severely under-reported as a result of many people not seeking medical attention or medical institutions failing to count these snake bite cases.
The nation of Brazil alone has 26,000 - 29,000 reported snake bite cases every year, with at least .42% of these cases being fatal (this amounts to between 100-200 deaths per year from snake bites in Brazil alone).
Africa
Africa also is filled with large, untamed beasts, and fierce predators that you would not wish to come face to face with.
Large predators such as the lion or cheetah could turn a happy day of sight-seeing into your last day before you even realize what’s happening.
What may surprise you though is that hippopotamuses are the mammals to take the cake for Africa.
Hippos are 2x deadlier than lions, and actually the deadliest mammal on Earth right after humans, when speaking strictly in terms of direct attack.
Indirect Fatalities in South America & Africa
While we have named snakes & hippos to be among the deadliest creatures in South America & Africa respectively, it should be noted that technically the deadliest creature is “mosquitoes” for both continents.
Mosquitoes help to spread deadly diseases through blood transmission. Diseases such as malaria cause millions of cases every year, as well as an unbelievably high death toll in the hundreds of thousands every single year.
The same is likely true of Asia as well, with mosquitoes helping to spread deadly diseases.
Asia
Besides mosquitoes, Asia also has a wide range of deadly creatures including snakes, sharks, elephants (when aggressive), and Giant Asian Hornets.
However, one particular creature known as the “Komodo Dragon” takes the cake as one of the most likely to kill you if you come into contact with it.
These creatures are fierce, strong, and aggressive. If you are lucky to walk away from a fight alive, even a small bite is likely to lead to severe infection that must be treated immediately if you are to survive as a result of the toxic proteins secreted from their mouths.
We must admit that in recent history komodo dragons have been far from the deadliest creature in terms of annual deaths, however it is one of the more dangerous and Asia-unique animals that you could come into contact with.
Europe
With a large portion of Europe being turned into cities and human paradises, there is little room for large, national parks and wildlife like the rest of the world.
Hundreds of years has forced the deadlier creatures onto the outskirts or into extinction, however a few beasts still remain.
Bears, while restricted to the Northern regions only, are some of the deadliest animals in Europe.
In fact, there is even a Norwegian settlement that has such extreme danger from polar bears that it is required to carry a gun with you for protection if you live there!
Besides polar bears, brown bears can also be found across Europe and have equally the ability to kill, though are generally less likely to attack than polar bears.
Regardless of what kind of bear you are facing, fighting is almost always futile as these creatures are more enormous than you, but also faster in the case that you try to run away!
Australia
Home to the Kangaroo, all kinds of spiders, and other unique wildlife, Australia is in many ways a “wild west” with creatures that can’t be found anywhere else in the entire world!
In fact, Australia even fought a war against emus... And lost. We’ll make a video on that later, so make sure you’re subscribed and follow our YouTube channel to hear this grand tale.
Australia was a hard one to research, mainly because there are so many different stereotypes and preconceived notions people had about the deadliest creature in Australia.
From what we could find, jellyfish - specifically the Box Jellyfish - are the most deadly if you were to encounter one, with a sting causing cardiac arrest within minutes leading to death.
Bees and stinging insects are also high on this list, as Australia has many of them.
According to an official report, dogs, cows, and horses were among the deadliest animals in terms of actual annual deaths, as a result of attacks, accidents, falling, and vehicle accidents.
Antarctica
If you ever make it to Antarctica, it’s unlikely that you’ll be afraid of any of the wildlife. The frigid temperatures and hostile climate will be your first biggest concern.
It is this same extreme cold that prevents many large, deadly creatures from even living in Antarctica!
In terms of direct risk to humans, leopard seals are likely your biggest threat in Antarctica.
Like bears, your fists would do little against these large animals. A marine biologist was also killed by a leopard seal in 2003!
Orcas, among the largest creatures on Earth, could also be considered one of the most dangerous, however they rarely mess with humans.
Wildlife Near You
There are all kinds of wild animals and pests that can lead to injury, death, and home damage if they are to get inside of your home or in contact with you.
We at Wildlife x Team International specialize in safe & responsible removal of wildlife and pests in your home.
If you think you have a wildlife or pest infestation problem, contact us before the issue gets worse or dangerous.
Give us a call at 855-WILDLIFE or visit www.wildlifexteam.com for more information.
Thanks!
-Wildlife x Team International