If you thought that the world’s deadliest animal is the great white shark or the most venomous snakes found in the deep forests, let me tell you, you thought wrong. The answer to this question depends mostly on your definition of dangerous. And personally, for me the answer would be the animal that kills highest number of humans each year, should be entitled as the world’s deadliest animal. So, which is the deadliest animal in the world today? Shocking, but based on the recent researches and facts, a MOSQUITO is considered to be the world’s deadliest animal today.
According to facts, a shark kills only 10 people in a year, while a huge animal like an elephant kills about 100 humans when in its most livid form. On the contrary, a harmless looking, teeny sized mosquito kills almost about 725,000 people every year, across the world. Deadly, right?
WHAT MAKES MOSQUITOES THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMALS OF ALL?
Despite their Spanish innocuous name that means, “little fly”, mosquitoes are life threatening animals. Although their bites are nothing major and just cause a little itchiness, it is the disease they carry that leads to life threatening diseases in humans. A small mosquito can act as carriers to deadly diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, encephalitis, West Nile, Zika Virus, and more. But, what do you really know about mosquitoes apart from the now known fact that they cause the maximum number of deaths in the world?
Here are 7 interesting facts about this deadly predator that almost everyone should know in today’s time.
MOSQUITOES CAN’T STAND WIND
Weighing only 2.5 milligrams, mosquitoes can’t fly much and easily get blown away by the wind. So, if you want to stay away from mosquitoes, you can aptly keep a fan beside you to blow them away. Also, having a fan next to you helps reduce your body’s heat, odor and sweat, some of the basic factors based on which a mosquito bites you.
MOSQUITOES KILL MORE THAN 1 MILLION DEATHS WORLDWIDE, PER YEAR
Every year, more than 1 million people die due to mosquito-borne diseases which include malaria, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, Zika virus, and many more. The symptoms to these diseases develop between 3 to 14 days and can persist for several weeks. They may cause death or even permanent neurological effects in the patients.
PEOPLE DRINKING BEER ATTRACT MORE MOSQUITOES
According to research, it has been proved that people who drink beer attract mosquitoes more than people who don’t drink beer. The exact reason for this is still unknown. However, it is believed that mosquitoes are attracted to CO2 and find their way towards the source. Other factors such as body odor and heat also play an important role in helping them choose their targets.
THEY ARE TRIPLE THREAT FOR THEIR TARGETS
Mosquitoes have thousands of lenses on their head, known as ommatidia which help them see their targets easily. Apart from this, they also use thermal and olfactory cues to choose their targets. Thus, they are considered as triple threats for their targets.
ONLY THE FEMALE MOSQUITOES BITE
All mosquitoes don’t bite. It is only the female mosquitoes that bite and feed on your blood which further helps them produce and cultivate their eggs.
THERE EXIST MORE THAN 3,500 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF MOSQUITOES
According to researchers, mosquitoes have existed on earth for more than 100 million years. They have evolved with time and continue to co-exist despite the environmental changes. There are almost 3,500 different species of mosquitoes on earth, with 176 species identified in the USA itself.
The anopheles mosquito is responsible for malaria; Culex mosquitoes cause West Nile disease; Aedes and Japanese mosquitoes cause yellow fever, dengue and also encephalitis.