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Dangerous animals

The site asks "could it seriously hurt a person?", not "is it fierce?". "Yes" means it's known to seriously injure or kill people: big predators, heavyweights like hippos and buffalo, venomous animals, and disease carriers like mosquitoes and ticks. "Can be" means it can hurt you, but usually only if it's provoked, cornered or handled.

The note under each animal explains its answer where one is needed. This is a guide for a game, not safety advice.

139 animals, A to Z.

Dangerous: yes 45

• 🐊AlligatorAlligators can and do attack people, often when someone gets close to them or their nests.
• 🐍AnacondaEncounters with people can be dangerous, but anacondas don't regularly hunt humans.
• 🦬BisonAmong the most dangerous animals in North American parks: in Yellowstone, bison injured three times as many people as bears did in 1980–1999.
• 🐆Black pantherA black panther is a leopard or a jaguar, and both have killed people.
• 🕷️Black widowOnly females’ bites are dangerous, and they rarely cause death; the US recorded no black widow deaths from 1983 to 2012.
• 🐍BoomslangA tiny dose of its venom can kill an adult, but it is timid: bites usually happen when people try to handle or catch it.
• 🐻Brown bearIt usually avoids people and rarely attacks on sight, but its temper is unpredictable.
• 🐃BuffaloTrophy hunters prize it for its aggression and power.
• 🐂BullBulls are more muscular and aggressive than cows.
• 🐊CaimanPotentially dangerous to people and pets, though smaller than other crocodilians and so less of a threat.
• 🐾CassowaryWary of people, but if provoked it can cause serious, even fatal, injuries by kicking with its dagger-like inner claw.
• 🐍CobraA king cobra's bite is a medical emergency, but it usually avoids people and attacks when cornered or guarding its eggs.
• 🐍CopperheadVenomous but not aggressive; bites are rarely fatal, and many are "dry", with little or no venom.
• 🐊CrocodileSaltwater and Nile crocodiles kill hundreds of people a year in parts of Southeast Asia and Africa.
• 🐾Electric eelIts shocks reach 860 volts, strong enough to drive off animals as large as horses.
• 🐘ElephantElephants killed 1,500 people in India between 2019 and 2022, often in conflicts over crops and villages.
• 🐻Grizzly bearIt normally avoids people. Mothers defending cubs cause 70% of the deaths grizzlies are responsible for.
• 🦛HippopotamusAggressive and unpredictable, and counted among the most dangerous animals in the world.
• 🧍HumanThe most abundant and widespread primate: an upright-walking ape with little body hair and a large, complex brain that allows technology, culture and language.
• 🐺HyenaSpotted hyenas are usually shy around people, but they do occasionally prey on humans, and attacks are likely under-reported.
• 🐆JaguarAttacks on people are rare, and most happened when a jaguar was cornered or wounded.
• 🪼JellyfishStings from some box jellyfish, such as Chironex fleckeri, are extremely painful and often fatal to people.
• 🦎Komodo dragonAttacks are rare, but Komodo dragons have killed people, both in the wild and in captivity.
• 🐆LeopardSome became man-eaters: the Leopard of Rudraprayag killed more than 125 people.
• 🐾LigerBigger than either parent, and its parents, lions and tigers, both kill people.
• 🦁LionLions usually run from people on foot, but some kill: the man-eaters of Tsavo killed 135 railway workers.
• 🐠LionfishStings cause severe pain and can be fatal, mostly to young children, the elderly or people allergic to the venom; they are rarely fatal to healthy adults.
• 🐍MambaHighly venomous, but a black mamba attacks people only when it is threatened or cornered.
• 🦟MosquitoMosquito-borne diseases infect nearly 700 million people a year and kill over one million.
• 🐸Poison dart frogThe golden poison frog carries enough toxin to kill ten to twenty people, but captive-bred frogs have almost none.
• 🐻‍❄️Polar bearAn estimated 73 polar bear attacks on people between 1870 and 2014 caused 20 deaths.
• 🐡PufferfishEating the wrong parts is often fatal: the liver and sometimes the skin carry tetrodotoxin.
• 🐍RattlesnakeRattlesnakes cause the most snakebites in North America, but they rarely bite unless provoked, and treated bites are seldom fatal.
• 🦏RhinocerosBlack rhinos charge readily at anything they see as a threat, and some charges injure or kill people.
• 🦂ScorpionMost stings don’t need medical treatment, but about 25 species, under 1%, can kill a person. Deaths happen mainly where medical help is hard to reach.
• 🦈SharkOnly four of more than 470 species, the great white, oceanic whitetip, tiger and bull sharks, are behind a significant number of fatal, unprovoked attacks.
• 🐍SidewinderIts venom is weaker than most rattlesnakes', but any rattlesnake bite can be fatal.
• 🐻Sloth bearOne of the most aggressive bears, and attacks are fairly frequent where people live close to it.
• 🐍SnakeMost snakes aren’t venomous, but snakebites kill an estimated 100,000 people a year, according to the WHO.
• 🐾StonefishThe most venomous fish known: stings are extremely painful and can kill if untreated. Hot water and antivenom are the main treatments.
• 🐍TaipanOne inland taipan bite holds enough venom to kill over 100 adults, though the coastal taipan is the bigger danger in practice.
• 🐾TickTicks spread serious diseases, such as Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.
• 🐯TigerMost attacks are defensive, but some tigers hunt people: the Champawat Tiger caused over 430 deaths.
• 🐾TigonAs big as its parents, lions and tigers, and both of those kill people.
• 🐍ViperAll vipers are venomous, but the common adder is not aggressive, and its bites, though very painful, are rarely fatal.

Dangerous: can be 94

• 🐕African wild dogThe largest wild canine in Africa, with a patchy brown, black and white coat.
• 🐜AnteaterCornered, a giant anteater rears up and slashes with front claws strong enough to kill a jaguar.
• 🐾ApeChimpanzees in particular can be dangerous, even to adult humans, when frightened or aggressive.
• 🐒BaboonOften blamed for attacking people, though people are more likely to attack baboons or move into their territory.
• 🦡BadgerStocky, short-legged omnivores of the weasel and skunk families.
• 🐟BarracudaBites on swimmers are rare and are thought to happen in poor visibility or when a barracuda mistakes shiny jewellery for prey.
• 🦇BatBats carry diseases such as rabies, which makes handling them risky.
• 🐝BeeHoney bees sting to defend the hive, and the more aggressive Africanised bees have caused many deaths.
• 🐻Black bearIt usually avoids people. Fewer than 36 human deaths were caused by black bears in the whole 20th century.
• 🐍Boa constrictorIts bite can be painful, especially from a big snake, but is rarely dangerous to people.
• 🐆BobcatIt keeps out of sight, and attacks on people happen only on rare occasions.
• 🐝BumblebeeFemales can sting repeatedly but generally ignore humans and other animals.
• 🐫CamelIts sheer size means it can hurt people, though with proper handling that is unlikely.
• 🐆CaracalA slender, long-legged wild cat with a reddish-tan coat and long black ear tufts; its name comes from the Turkish for "black ear".
• 🐛CaterpillarSome have venomous hairs: the South American Lonomia caterpillar’s venom can cause fatal bleeding in humans.
• 🐾CentipedeAll centipedes are venomous and can inflict painful stings.
• 🐆CheetahNo wild cheetah is known to have killed a person, but captive cheetahs have mauled people.
• 🐒ChimpanzeeAttacks by wild great apes are rare, but chimpanzees are the most likely to attack, mostly children, near forest edges and farmland.
• 🐆Clouded leopardA medium-sized wild cat of Asian forests, named for the large cloud-like blotches on its grey or ochre coat.
• 🐈CougarAttacks on people are very rare. They usually involve a young or starving cougar, or one that has got used to people.
• 🐮CowIn a herd, cows with young calves are often more dangerous to people than you might expect.
• 🐺CoyoteAttacks on people are uncommon and rarely serious, though coyotes have targeted small children.
• 🦌DeerMostly on the road: in the US, collisions with deer kill about 150 people a year.
• 🐕DingoDingoes usually avoid people but are big enough to be dangerous; most attacks involve people feeding them.
• 🐶DogMost dogs are harmless, but dog bites affect tens of millions of people a year, and children suffer the most serious injuries.
• 🐪DromedaryGenerally non-aggressive, except for males in the rut.
• 🦅EagleLarge birds of prey with huge hooked beaks and powerful talons.
• 🦌ElkThe second-largest deer after the moose, native to North America and Central and East Asia.
• 🐾EmuEmus have legs strong enough to tear down metal fencing and defend their young fiercely, but there are only two documented cases of emus attacking people.
• 🦅FalconAbout 40 species of fast birds of prey with thin, tapered wings, found on every continent except Antarctica.
• 🐾FleaFleas carry disease: the oriental rat flea spreads the bacterium that causes bubonic plague.
• 🐾FossaIn parts of Madagascar it has long been feared as a dangerous animal, known for taking chickens and piglets.
• 🐸FrogMost are harmless to touch, but frog skin secretions range from distasteful to toxic, and brightly coloured species warn predators they’re poisonous.
• 🪿GooseGeese are highly aggressive and noisy when they feel threatened, and ganders stand between a threat and their family.
• 🐾GopherUsually flees, but if cornered it may attack cats and people and can inflict serious bites.
• 🦍GorillaSilverbacks posture and charge when threatened, and groups of young males are the most aggressive.
• 🐝HornetSingle stings are rarely fatal except to allergic people, but multiple Asian giant hornet stings kill 30–50 people a year in Japan.
• 🐴HorseA frightened horse's first instinct is to run; if it can't, it bites, kicks, strikes out or rears.
• 🐾HorseflyBites can hurt for a day or more, and females can spread blood-borne diseases between animals.
• 🐺JackalIn one Indian forest district, 220 jackal attacks on people were reported in 1998–2005, none of them fatal.
• 🦘KangarooUnprovoked attacks on people are very rare.
• 🐆LynxIt doesn't usually attack people unless it is injured, trapped or ill.
• 🐒MacaqueMacaques bite and injure people in raids for food, and carry herpes B, rare in people but potentially fatal.
• 🐒MandrillA large monkey of west-central African rainforests and one of the most colourful mammals, with red and blue skin on its face and rump.
• 🐾Mantis shrimpNicknamed "thumb splitter": it can inflict painful wounds if handled carelessly.
• 🐟MarlinLarge ocean predators with a spear-like bill and a long, rigid dorsal fin.
• 🦎Monitor lizardBites from monitors cause rapid swelling, bleeding problems and shooting pain, likely from mild venom.
• 🐵MonkeyMonkeys used to tourists can become pests that attack people, and primates can pass dangerous diseases to humans.
• 🫎MooseMoose aren’t usually aggressive, but when provoked or frightened they attack more people than bears and wolves combined, usually with only minor injuries.
• 🐾Moray eelMostly to eat: some large morays carry the toxin that causes ciguatera poisoning.
• 🐾MuskoxUsually not aggressive, but it has killed people who came too close, including in Norway in 1964 and Alaska in 2022.
• 🦎NewtMany newts have toxic skin. The rough-skinned newt of the Pacific Northwest carries enough tetrodotoxin to kill an adult human.
• 🐆OcelotA medium-sized spotted wild cat of the Americas and the largest member of its genus.
• 🐙OctopusAll octopuses are venomous, but only the blue-ringed octopuses are known to be deadly to people.
• 🦧OrangutanGreat apes that live almost entirely in trees, now found only on Borneo and Sumatra.
• 🐋OrcaNo fatal attack by a wild orca has ever been recorded, but captive orcas have injured and killed their handlers in marine parks.
• 🐾OryxFour species of large, pale antelopes with dark markings on the face and legs and long, nearly straight horns.
• 🦤OstrichIf cornered, an ostrich can attack with a powerful kick.
• 🐼PandaUsually docile, but giant pandas have attacked people on rare occasions.
• 🐷PigMainly wild boar and feral pigs: attacks are rare but can be serious, with 665 recorded victims from 1825 to 2012.
• 🐟PiranhaDespite the media image, piranhas usually aren’t a serious risk to people, though attacks do happen.
• 🦆PlatypusMales have a spur on each hind foot that delivers venom, strong enough to cause severe pain and swelling in people.
• 🦔PorcupineIts barbed quills pierce skin, stay in and hurt more coming out.
• 🐍PythonPythons aren’t venomous, and only the reticulated python is known to sometimes eat people. Larger species need caution as pets.
• 🦝RaccoonIt can carry rabies, and a roundworm found in about 60% of adults can cause fatal brain damage in people.
• 🐟SailfishUsually no threat, but sailfish have attacked in self-defence: one stabbed a woman with its bill when her party tried to catch it.
• 🦎SalamanderSome species’ skin contains the powerful poison tetrodotoxin, advertised by bright warning colours.
• 🐾SawfishDocile and generally harmless, but a captured sawfish defending itself can cause serious injuries with its saw.
• 🦭Sea lionAttacks are rare, but it can be very unsafe to get within about 2.5 metres.
• 🐾Sea urchinTheir sharp spines protect them, and in some species the spines are venomous.
• 🦭SealMainly the leopard seal: attacks are rare, but one killed a biologist snorkelling in Antarctica in 2003.
• 🐆ServalA slender, medium-sized African wild cat with a small head, big ears and a golden coat spotted and striped with black.
• 🐾Slow lorisIts bite is toxic, which is rare among mammals. It gets the toxin by licking a gland on its arm, and saliva activates it.
• 🐆Snow leopardOnly three attacks on people have ever been reported, and none was fatal.
• 🐻Spectacled bearOnly one human death has ever been reported, and that bear was being hunted and had already been shot.
• 🐋Sperm whaleNot to swimmers, but sperm whales famously rammed and sank the whaling ships Essex and Ann Alexander.
• 🕷️SpiderMost bites are no worse than a bee sting, but a few spiders are dangerous, such as widow spiders, recluses and the Australian funnel-webs.
• 🦑SquidThe Humboldt squid is big enough to endanger divers, and its beak can cause serious cuts.
• 🐾StingrayA sting is very painful but rarely fatal. Steve Irwin’s death in 2006 was only the second recorded in Australian waters since 1945.
• 🐻Sun bearIt doesn't usually attack people unless provoked, injured or with cubs.
• 🦢SwanMute swans can be very aggressive defending their nests, hissing and then striking with bony spurs on their wings and biting.
• 🐟SwordfishNo unprovoked attacks are known, but a harpooned swordfish can run its sword through a small boat.
• 🕷️TarantulaBites from New World tarantulas usually cause only local pain, but allergic reactions can be serious, and the hairs can damage eyes.
• 🐾Tasmanian devilIt can bite and scratch out of fear when held.
• 🐸ToadGlands behind the head hold a poison the toad releases when stressed. Some, like the cane toad, are much more toxic than others.
• 🦇Vampire batThe common vampire bat sometimes feeds on sleeping people, and it carries rabies.
• 🐗WarthogWarthogs use their razor-sharp lower tusks in fights and to defend themselves against predators.
• 🐝WaspMany wasps can sting, and colonies defend their nests. People are stung most in late summer, when workers look for sugary food.
• 🐗Wild boarAttacks on people are rare but can be serious, causing deep puncture wounds.
• 🐈WildcatThe European wildcat: bigger and stouter than a house cat, with longer striped fur, a dark stripe along the back and a bushy, black-tipped tail.
• 🐾WildebeestTwo species of antelope from eastern and southern Africa, also called gnus: the blue wildebeest and the black wildebeest.
• 🐺WolfAttacks on people are rare, and most recorded ones involved wolves with rabies.
• 🐾WolverineIt has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of all proportion to its size.
• 🦓ZebraZebras bite and kick hard, and can turn aggressive, especially when defending their young.

How each answer is decided: How we answer. Every animal, in one list: All animals.