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What is the most dangerous animal in North America?

by YPB Team

Sheer size, venom, ambush instinct and plain bad luck on a dark road all count as dangerous here. Pick the one you would least want to meet.

  1. Gray Wolf — ranked #11
    Gray Wolf
    The continent's apex canine predator, feared out of all proportion to the two confirmed fatal attacks on record in North America.
  2. Grizzly Bear — ranked #22
    Grizzly Bear
    A 600-pound brown bear that charges at 35 mph and accounts for most fatal bear encounters in Alaska and the Rockies.
  3. American Black Bear — ranked #33
    American Black Bear
    The most common bear on the continent, and the one people meet in campgrounds and suburbs far more often than any other.
  4. Polar Bear — ranked #44
    Polar Bear
    The largest land carnivore on Earth and the only bear that will actively stalk a human as prey.
  5. American Alligator — ranked #55
    American Alligator
    A 13-foot ambush predator across the southeastern wetlands, responsible for a steady trickle of attacks in Florida.
  6. Mountain Lion — ranked #66
    Mountain Lion
    A silent stalker that hunts by ambush from behind and can take down prey several times its own weight.
  7. American Bison — ranked #77
    American Bison
    A two-ton animal that injures more Yellowstone visitors every year than bears and wolves combined.
  8. Moose — ranked #88
    Moose
    Bigger than any bear on the continent and aggressive in rut and calving season, with thousands of vehicle collisions on top.
  9. White-Tailed Deer — ranked #99
    White-Tailed Deer
    Kills roughly 200 Americans a year through vehicle collisions, more than every predator on this list put together.
  10. Africanized Honey Bee — ranked #1010
    Africanized Honey Bee
    The bees and wasps that swarm on the slightest provocation and cause dozens of anaphylactic deaths in the US each year.
  11. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake — ranked #1111
    Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
    The largest venomous snake in the Americas, with a hemotoxic bite that destroys tissue around the wound.
  12. Bull Shark — ranked #1212
    Bull Shark
    An aggressive shark that swims far up rivers into fresh water and is blamed for many attacks in shallow coastal surf.
  13. Brown Recluse Spider — ranked #1313
    Brown Recluse Spider
    A small, retiring spider whose venom can rot a hole through skin and tissue weeks after the bite.
  14. Cottonmouth — ranked #1414
    Cottonmouth
    The semi-aquatic pit viper of southern swamps, known for standing its ground with its white mouth gaping.
nature45animals43North America11predators4

Comments

Reputation meets the casualty record here: two fatal wolf attacks documented in modern North America, against a moose that reaches people through windscreens: https://youpick.best/articles/the-wolf-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team·Aug 21·
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