Man-eaters and killers

[nanoboy]

A thread to remind us of when wild animals got the upper hand, and to state some outlandish claims and world records.

What about the leopard that killed about 200 people (supposedly) in India?

The lions that killed the workers building the railway in Africa?

Ramree Island crocodile frenzy? (Were those salties, by the way?)

Are there any famous polar/grizzlies that regularly killed people?

 

[nanoboy]

Ooh, what about wolves and large snakes? I forgot them!

And what about that Nile croc from Burundi?

 

[Chlidonias]

what about army ants! And scorpions and funnelweb spiders and Brazilian wandering spiders.

 

[nanoboy]

what about army ants! And scorpions and funnelweb spiders and Brazilian wandering spiders.

How could I forget them? Komodo dragons and dingoes too.

Are mosquitoes considered animals? I once told a kid that hippos killed more people each year in Africa than any other animal, and he said "what about mosquitoes?".

 

[callorhinus]

How could I forget them? Komodo dragons and dingoes too.

Are mosquitoes considered animals? I once told a kid that hippos killed more people each year in Africa than any other animal, and he said "what about mosquitoes?".

Mosquitos are animals. And kid was right, malaria carried by mosquitoes is one of the most killing diseases.

Don't forget tsetse and ticks (Ixodes).

 

[nanoboy]

Mosquitos are animals. And kid was right, malaria carried by mosquitoes is one of the most killing diseases.

Don't forget tsetse and ticks (Ixodes).

I wasn't sure if insects are a separate group to animals. So what are bacteria and viruses then?

So, we have added hippos, tsetse, and ticks to the list.

 

[callorhinus]

I wasn't sure if insects are a separate group to animals. So what are bacteria and viruses then?

There are several groups of living organisms, the most large taxons are called "reigns" or "kingdoms". They are: Viruses (which considered as living organisms not by all scientists, or considered conditionally), Bacteria (sometimes including blue-green algae or cyanobacteria), Fungi (including yeasts and mold), Plants and Animals, and two or three reigns of microscopic organisms. This classification is still debated in some parts.

It is quite easy to decide what reign organism belongs to (usually). Animals have some characteristic features, but the most obvious is their motility.

 

[Bwana Simba]

The lions who were reputed to have killed over 100 people during the construction of the Kenya - Uganda railway were known as the Tsavo man-eaters since their territory/the area where the killings occured is now part of the Tsavo National Park. The film "The Ghost & The Darkness" starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas was based on these events......any of you seen it? It would be nice if there was a remake without Michael Douglas' character "Charles Remington" since he wasn't part of the actual story anyway.

The Nile crocodile "Gustave" is reputed to have taken over 300 people, and it is also claimed that he's the largest Nile crocodile alive. His territory is the Rusizi River and the northern shores of Lake Tanganyika.......if he's still alive that is. I only found out about him after I saw the movie "Primeval" about three years ago.

And if you'll think the man-eaters of Tsavo were bad news, then the man-eaters of Njombe definitely outshine them Njombe is one of the regions of my home country Tanzania, and this pride (yes, a pride of 15 man-eating lions) killed as many as 1500 people between 1932 - 1947. They were hunted down by George Rushby who was the senior game ranger during the colonial period. He was responsible for establishing the Ruaha National Park which is the largest national park in Tanzania, even bigger than the Serengeti. Here's a link to an article about man-eating lions that I found :

The Most Ferocious Man-Eating Lions | Science & Nature | Smithsonian Magazine

There's a picture of a billboard/painting at the top of the article, I believe this billboard is one of a few that were erected at the villages in Rufiji where the lion "Osama" went on a killing spree in 2004. The caption on the billboard is in Swahili, and translates as "He was killed on 20/4/2004 by collaboration between game rangers and villagers, and buried on 21/4/2004".

In regards to mosquitoes........yes, they definitely kill more people in Africa than any wild animal. I've had my fair share of malaria, used to get it at least once a year and it's really bad if not treated immediately. The reason that alot of people succumb to it is the lack of medical services, especially in rural areas. I used to live in a city, and mosquitoes were everywhere, so it's definitely a lot worse for people in rural areas which lack electricity and medical services