As the UAE fights off the palm-eating beetle, Arabian Business examines the world’s deadliest animals.
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IN PICS: Top 10 deadliest animals
9. Cape buffalo – When faced with a predator, these charge head on. The real danger comes when a herd of thousands stampedes in your direction. (Getty Images)
8. Polar bear – They might look cuddly at the zoo, but in the wild they eat elephant seals for breakfast. Get between one and its cub and it could easily rip off your head. (Getty Images)
7. Elephant – These kill more than 500 people a year worldwide. African elephants generally weigh in around 16,000 pounds – all the better to stomp you with – not to mention their sharp tusks. (Getty Images)
6. Crocodile – These prehistoric-looking monsters can lay still in the water, waiting for passers by. Then, in the blink of an eye, they’ll lunge at prey, pulling it under water to drown and dismember. (Getty Images)
5. African lion – Huge teeth, fast as lightning and unfussy about what they eat. These kings of the jungle are near perfect hunters. (Getty Images)
4. Great White shark – With about 3,000 teeth in its head, this predator of the ocean deserves a place in the top five. Made famous by the hit Steven Spielberg movie Jaws. (Google Images)
3. Australian box jellyfish – Don’t let appearances deceive you, this is one dangerous animal. Also known as the sea wasp, this jellyfish can have up to 60 tentacles each 15 feet long. Each tentacle has 5,000 stinging cells and enough toxin to kill 60 humans. (Getty Images)
2. Asian cobra – Not the most venomous snake in the world but it is the champ when it comes to using it to best effect. Of the 50,000 deaths by snakebite a year, Asian cobras are responsible for the largest proportion. (Getty Images)
1. Mosquito – Proving size isn’t everything, this little critter is officially the world’s deadliest. Some mosquitoes carry and transfer malaria and are responsible for the deaths of more than two million people a year. (Getty Images)
