Top 10 Most Deadly Animals

Due to a recent study of a certain website i’m able to site this top 10 today.

Some seem to be not harmful but statistics say that there are some animals that are more deadly than meets the eye.

10. Poison Dart Frog

The backs of the poison dart frog ooze a slimy neurotoxin that is meant to keep predators away. Each frog produces enough of the toxin to kill 10 humans, though, strangely, in captivity, the frogs do not secrete this poison. The frogs are brilliantly coloured and live mainly in Central and South America. [Wikipedia Article]

9. Cape Buffalo

Cape buffalos weigh 1.5 tons and, when faced by danger, attack head on with razor sharp horns. They stand up to 1.7 metres high and 2.8 metres long. Humans are virtually its only predator and even lions will avoid crossing their path. Every year the Cape Buffalo is known to maul and kill multiple humans; some believe that it kills more humans in Africa every year than any other creature. [Wikipedia Article]

8. Polar Bear

These massive creatures, native to the Arctic, regularly eat elephant seals and could cut off a human head with one swipe of its paw. The Polar Bear is the most carnivorous of all the Bears and will eat walruses, whales, rheindeer, and even other polar beers. [Wikipeida Article]

7. Elephant

African Elephants, with their sharp tusks, are not as friendly as many believe. They kill over 500 people per year (either by stomping or impaling). The African Elephant generally weighs in at 16 tons. [Wikipedia Article]

6. Saltwater Crocodile

This is the largest of all living reptiles and is found mainly in Northern Australia and Southeast Asia. A healthy adult is typically 4.8 – 7 metres (15.75ft – 21ft) long, weighing up to 1.6 tons. There have been reports of larger. This creature is capable of killing and eating animals up tot he size of a water buffalo. In its most deadly attack (called the Death Roll) the crocodile grabs an animal or human with its mouth and begins to roll. A 1ton stallion is known to have been killed by this method in under 1 minute. In the water, the crocodile can move as fast as a dolphin. [Wikipedia Article]

5. African Lion

The African Lion can reach up to half a ton. Lions are thought to kill up to 70 humans per year in Tanzania. These large animals are eclipsed in size only slightly by the tiger. [Wikipedia Article]

4. Great White Shark

This shark is an exceptionally large shark found in coastal waters in all major oceans. It can reach lengths of up to 6 metres and can weigh up to 5 tons. The Great White Shark is the worlds largest known predatory fish. It is the only surviving species of its genus. In general these creatures do not attack humans, and (while there have been some fatalities) the majority of attacks on humans are believed to be test bites – the Great White Shark are known to test bite other objects in order to determine what they are. More people are killed each year in the US by dogs than Great White Sharks in the last 100 years. [Wikipedia Article]

3. Box Jellyfish

Also known as the wasp jellyfish, this salad-bowl sized jellyfish can have up to 60 tentacles as long as 15 feet. Each tentacle has enough toxin to kill 50 humans. They are found in Australia, the Philippines, and many other tropical areas. Since 1884 at least 5,567 deaths have been attributed to these creatures. [Wikipedia Article]

2. Asian Cobra

While the Asian cobra does not have the deadliest venom, it does make the most of what it has, causing the largest chunk of the 50 thousand deaths by snakebite per year. An average cobra is about 1 metre in length. [Wikipedia Article]

1. The Mosquito

 

Due to malaria carrying  parasites transferred by the mosquito, it is responsible for the deaths of more than two million people per year. In addition, Mosquitos are estimated to transfer diseases to more than 70 million people per year. Even in countries such as the UK, New Zealand, and Japan, where the more temperate climate has reduced mosquito bites to mostly an annoyance, they still cause some deaths every year. [Wikipedia Article]

Trivia of the Day

Did you know, giraffes can go without water longer than a camel.

Did you ever wondered why they say that cats have “nine lives”?

 

Or how they always seem to land on their feet after a fall?

According to a myth in many cultures, cats have nine (or sometimes seven) lives. The myth is attributed to the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life-threatening situations. Also lending credence to this myth is that falling cats often land on their feet because of an inbuilt automatic twisting reaction and are able to twist their bodies around to land feet first, though they can still be injured or killed by a high fall.

The proverbial curiosity doesn’t usually kill cats. The inquisitive feline has a knack of dodging death by a whisker. Cats are intrepid explorers and fearless acrobats. After all, a creature with nine lives can afford to take risks. According to Brewer’s Dictionary Of Phrase & Fable, a cat is said to have nine lives because it is “more tenacious of life than many animals.”

The clumsy biped is understandably impressed by the feline arts of stealth, poise and athletic prowess. But why nine? Nine, a trinity of trinities, is a mystical number often invoked in religion and folklore. The cat was once revered in Egypt, and this is probably where its nine lives began. The priesthood in On – known to the Greeks as Heliopolis and now a suburb of Cairo – worshipped Atum-Ra, a sun god who gave life to the gods of air, moisture, earth and sky, who, in turn, produced Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. These gods are collectively known as the Ennead, or the Nine. Atum-Ra, who took the form of a cat for visits to the underworld, embodied nine lives in one creator. A hymn from the fourth century BC says, “O sacred cat! Your mouth is the mouth of the god Atum, the lord of life who has saved you from all taint.”

Do you know why cat’s have nine lives — or did you ever wonder why people say they do? This is the story. A very hungry cat entered a house one day and found a plate of nine fish that were going to be eaten for dinner by the nine starving children who lived there. The cat was feeling a little selfish that day and ate up all of the fish in nine quick bites. With no food on the table, the nine starving children died of hunger the very next day, along with the cat who died from eating WAY too much. When the cat went up to heaven and spoke with God, God was so angry with the cat that he threw him out of heaven and made him fall for nine days all the way back to earth. To this day, the cat still holds the nine lives of the starving children in his belly, which is why he must die nine different times before he will stay dead.

(Good myth, never heard of it.)Source:http://www.ustrek.org/odyssey/semester2/…

Stephen St Claire goes on to note an even more astounding ability of cats to quite literally land on their feet by routinely surviving and completely recovering from falls that would kill most animals (including humans). On the basis of a survey in the late 1980s (based on reports from vets… as opposed to intentionally dropping the cats), 132 cats fell from an average of 5.5 stories but with only about one third requiring emergency treatment, another third non-emergency treatment, and one third no treatment at all. St Claire notes that the highest recorded fall survived by a cat was 45 stories! Apparently, the adage of a cat having nine lives has a scientific, experiential basis.

http://www.halexandria.org/dward765.htm

Although cats do not have nine lives, they do seem to. Cats can fall from tremendous heights and jump seven times their tail length.

http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~bgoebel/Russell/A…

The well-known saying that a cat has nine lives has its origins in witchcraft. A book titled Beware the Cat written by English author William Baldwin during the Dark Ages in 1584 contained the phrase “It is permitted for a witch to take her cat’s body nine times”. Thus the idea that cats have nine lives.

http://pets1st.com/articles/00072legends…
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chica…

SCIENTISTS have discovered that the purring of cats is a “natural healing mechanism” that has helped inspire the myth that they have nine lives. Wounded cats – wild and domestic – purr because it helps their bones and organs to heal and grow stronger, say researchers who have analysed the purring of different feline species. This, they say, explains why cats survive falls from high buildings and why they are said to have “nine lives”. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/mai…

The cat having nine lives represents the unique relation to humans. The legend of Noah and his Ark are well known but there is another legend that is associated with this that many people have never heard. There weren’t any domestic cats when Noah built the Ark, but there were rats and mice on board. They reproduced and soon there were too many vermin. Noah asked the lion for help so the lion sneezed and this is when the first domestic cats appeared to help rid of the vermin.

The clumsy biped is understandably impressed by the feline arts of stealth, poise and athletic prowess. But why nine? Nine, a trinity of trinities, is a mystical number often invoked in religion and folklore. The cat was once revered in Egypt, and this is probably where its nine lives began. The priesthood in On – known to the Greeks as Heliopolis and now a suburb of Cairo – worshipped Atum-Ra, a sun god who gave life to the gods of air, moisture, earth and sky, who, in turn, produced Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. These gods are collectively known as the Ennead, or the Nine. Atum-Ra, who took the form of a cat for visits to the underworld, embodied nine lives in one creator. A hymn from the fourth century BC says, “O sacred cat! Your mouth is the mouth of the god Atum, the lord of life who has saved you from all taint.”

Doggie Facts

Dogs were first domesticated from wolves at least 17,000 years ago, but perhaps as early as 150,000 years ago. Dogs and humans have been living side-by-side for about 15,000 years, so you might think we know each other pretty well. But there’s more to dogs than fetching and playing dead. Here are some little-known facts about man’s best friend.

 

10. Master race

A hybrid dog – bred from two different species, like this labradoodle – can sometimes be stronger than either of its parents. This is called heterosis, or ‘hybrid vigor’.

However, the offspring could also get the traits that make him unfit for survival; this is called ‘inbreeding depression’.

9. Dogs get our diseases

Humans and canines aren’t so different after all, at least regarding what makes us sick. About 6 million dogs arediagnosed with cancer each year, and dogs get canine versions of rare human disorders like the brain-wasting neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis that leads to the inability to walk or control their muscles. While illness is sad for humans and pets alike, sharing diseases benefits both species. Clinical trials are easier to run on pets, giving doctors an animal model of human disease — and Fido a chance for a cure.

8. They can smell our diseases, too

If you have cancer, diabetes, or epilepsy, your dog might be the first to know. Studies have shown that dogs can be trained to sniff out cancers of the lung, breast, skin, bladder and prostate. Researchers suspect the canines are picking up on extraordinarily faint scents given off by the abnormal cells.

Dogs are also being increasingly used as service animals for people with diabetes, whose health can be harmed when their blood sugar peaks or drops. Specially trained dogs can detect the scent of these fluctuations (sweet for high blood sugar, acidic for low) and alert their owners before they even feel symptoms.

Most mysterious of all are scattered reports that dogs can predict an epileptic seizure 45 minutes before it begins. No one knows what the dogs might be picking up on, but theories range from an unknown smell to subtle behavioral changes.

7. See Spot think

Dogs can be as smart as 2-year-old children, according to research presented in 2009 at a meeting of the American Psychological Association. Border collies are the top dogs in the intelligence category, with some in the breed capable of understanding up to 200 words. Poodles, German shepherds, Golden retrievers and Dobermans round out the top five smartest breeds. (The most popular breed in America, the Labrador retriever, comes in at number seven.)

Older breeds like hound dogs, bulldogs and beagles are among the slow learners of the doggie world, the researchers reported. Unlike newer dog breeds, which are designed for companionship and sociability, old breeds were bred to sniff and hunt, perhaps giving them more brawn than brain.

6. Your furball can make you sick

We’ve all heard the canard that dogs’ mouths are cleaner than humans (they’re not), but in reality, dogs can carry pathogens that harm humans. Rabies, a fatal neurological disease, is the most famous (remember Old Yeller?), though vaccines, mandated by law in most states, can stop the spread. In a few cases, dog food has been known to cause food poisoning in humans, thanks to contamination by Salmonella bacteria. Perhaps creepiest of all is a 2003 study published in The Veterinary Record, which found that humans could contract the parasitic roundworm Toxocara canis just be stroking an infected dogs’ fur. The roundworm, which grows in dogs’ intestines, can grow in the back of the eye in humans, causing blindness. They also sometimes take up residence in human livers and lungs.

Roundworm infections in humans are rare, and proper veterinary care can ensure that dogs stay worm-free. Still, British veterinarian and study co-author told New Scientist magazine in 2003, hygiene is important for dog owners. “Wash your hands before meals,” he told the magazine, “and after a good cuddle.”

5. Dogs feel envy

Dogs know when they’re not getting a fair shake. A 2008 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that when dogs saw other dogs getting treats for a trick they’d been performing unrewarded, the unrewarded dogs became agitated, scratching themselves and avoiding the gaze of the rewarded dogs. They also stopped doing the trick much faster than if they were alone and not getting a reward.

The dogs’ version of jealousy wasn’t as sophisticated as a human’s: The animals didn’t seem to mind if other dogs got sausage while they just got bread, and they didn’t care if another dog got food for nothing while they had to do tricks for a snack. But, the researchers wrote, the findings were good evidence that being green with envy isn’t just a primate thing.

4. But not guilt

Those puppy-dog eyes Fido gives you when you scold him over knocking over the garbage can for the umpteenth time aren’t a sign of guilt, researchers say. He’s just responding to your rebuke.

When dog owners thought their dogs had eaten a forbidden treat and reprimanded them, the pooches looked just as “guilty” regardless of whether or not they had actually eaten the treat. In fact, dogs who were wrongly accused of snack-snatching often looked more guilty than dogs who had really eaten the treat. Turns out those soulful eyes don’t reflect any soul-searching, after all.

3. Docile dogs live longer

On the other hand, if your dog stays out of the garbage, it may be in for a longer life. Obedient, docile dog breeds live longer, according to research published in June 2010 in The American Naturalist. The study compared the energy use, personalities, growth rates and life spans of 56 dog breeds. After controlling for factors like body size, the researchers found that bold, aggressive breeds lived fast and died young. They grew faster than obedient, eager-to-please breeds, and also had higher energy needs. The findings suggest that in selectively breeding for personality, humans inadvertently tapped into linked traits like metabolism and longevity.

2. Dogs are the most diverse-looking mammals around

From the droopy Bassett hound to the sleek-and-slim Weimaraner, dogs show an amazing diversity in body shape. A study published in The American Naturalist in 2010 found that the differences between dog breeds’ skullsare as pronounced as the differences between completely separate mammal species. A Collie skull, for example, is as different from a Pekingese skull as a cat’s skull is from a walrus’s.

All of this diversity makes dogs a great species for studying how genes work, allowing researchers to link genes to certain traits — like what makes Shar-Peis wrinkly and dachshunds so stubby.

1. Lassie, religious icon or social glue?

In ancient times, people saw dogs as more than useful animals; dogs also had a spiritual role. The three-headed hound called Cerberus guarded the underworld in Greek myth, while the ancient Egyptian embalmers took Anubis, the jackel-headed god, as their patron. In Mayan folklore, dogs were believed to lead the dead to the afterlife. In Nepal, the autumn festival of Tihar sets aside a day to honor dogs with flower garlands and food.

Nowadays, dogs are more likely to be seen as pets than religious figures, but people are still crazy about canines. According to a 2009-2010 survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 39 percent of American households have at least one dog for a total of over 77 million pet dogs hunkered down in American homes. In one recent survey, 80 percent of dog owners reported interacting with their dogs for more than two hours a day. Many reported viewing their pets as their children.

Man’s best friend may even net you more human friends. A 2000 study published in journal of The British Psychological Society found that walking with a dog at least tripled the number of social interactions a person had. Unfashionable pet owners take heart: The dogs elicited positive social contact even when the animal looked fierce or the owner dressed in shabby clothes.

When you leave your pets at home..

First of all, they celebrate their freedom …

Via: lolcats.icanhascheezburger.com

Then they start to get worried that you’re never coming back.

Via: sanitaryum.com

Where ARE you?????

Via: flickr.com

They’ll want to know as soon as you get home, so they’ll turn on a light for you …

Via: reddit.com

… open the blinds …

Via: bunnyfood

… and post a lookout.

Via: bunnyfood

While they’re waiting for you, they will need to have a light snack.

Via: imgur.com

Then it’s time for chores! There’s lots of work to do! The den needs to be redecorated …

Via: fun-gallery.com

Via: lifewithdogs.tv

… and the living room …

Via: fun-gallery.com

… and the hallways …

Via: cityrag.com

Via: gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com

… and the bedrooms …

Via: icanhascheezburger.com

Via: icanhascheezburger.com

… and, yes, the bathrooms.

Via: animal-space.net

There is A LOT of work to be done on the bathrooms.

Via: wikiweird.org

Via: gnagna478.skyrock.com

They will need to work together to get the bathrooms finished in time.

OK, that was exhausting. Time for another snack …

Via: cityrag.com

A little bit of light reading …

Via: shitmypetsruined.com

And maybe a “nap.”

Via: bunnyfood

Then it’s back to work. They need to water the plants!

Via: democraticunderground.com

Take out the trash!

And pack their bags. Because there is a small chance that they might be in trouble when you get home.

Via: xmb.stuffucanuse.com

In fact, it might be a good idea to think of an explanation.

Via: bunnyfood

Via: cutestuff.co

Because they don’t want to end up facing justice.

Via: ology.com

It’s only because they love you? Welcome home! PLEASE DON’T EVER LEAVE AGAIN.

Why the history of dogs is still a mystery

Our ignorance about canine history can be blamed, ironically, on our own love for dogs. Scientists recently tried tracing dogs’ genetic lines—and culling out details of their early domestication—but lost track in the 19th century, when Victorians established today’s standard breeds. The 15,000 years that came before that are a “big blurred mess,” says a British researcher. “We love them so much, we’ve completely obliterated their early history and made it more difficult to understand their origins.”

Some modern breeds, like Aghan hounds and Salukis, do have deeper genetic roots, but only go back a couple thousand years—not nearly enough to reach the first domesticated dogs. Researchers did conclude, however, that these “ancient breeds” look different simply because they avoided being hybridized in the mid-19th century. Still on our list of doggie questions: where and how many times they were domesticated, and how many wolf populations contributed to the modern canine.

Trio Trivia for the Day

A woodpecker can peck with a force as high as 1,200 g’s with each impact – equivalent to a human striking head against a wall at a speed of 25km (16mi) an hour each time.

The world’s smallest rodent is Pygmy Jerboa – measuring only a couple of inches in length – and can run as fast as a horse.

Rafflesia Arnoldii is the largest flower in world, and can grow as big as an umbrella.