It is really hard to tell which animal is the most poisonous in the world. The one that has the most toxic chemicals? The one that kills the biggest amount of people a year? Or maybe the one with the biggest amount of poison?

First of all, I have to admit that the title is a bit incorrect, because there is a difference between poisonous and venomous animals. A poisonous animal carries harmful chemicals called toxins primarily used for self defense. Therefore venomous animals deliver their toxins by stinging, stabbing, or biting. So poisonous animals are passive killers, while venomous animals are active killers.

Nevertheless, theory aside, they are all really dangerous. So look really closely at each photo, cause next time you meet them can be the last thing you ever see.

1. Box Jellyfish

The top prize for “The World Most Venomous Animal,” would go to the Box Jellyfish. It has caused at least 5,567 recorded deaths since 1954. Their venom is among the most deadly in the world. It’s toxins attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. And the worst part of it is that jelly box venom is so overpoweringly painful, that human victims go in shock, drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore. Survivors experience pain weeks after the contact with box jellies.

You have virtually no chance to survive the venomous sting, unless treated immediately. After a sting, vinegar should be applied for a minimum of 30 seconds. Vinegar has acetic acid, which disables the box jelly’s nematocysts that have not yet discharged into the bloodstream (though it will not alleviate the pain). Wearing panty hose while swimming is also a good prevention measure since it can prevent jellies from being able to harm your legs.

Jelly box can be found in the waters around Asia and Australia.

2. King Cobra

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world’s longest venomous snake – growing up to 5.6 m (18.5 ft) in length. Ophiophagus, literally means “snake-eater” as it eats other snakes. One single bite of this deadly snake can easily kill a human. This snake is even capable of killing a full-grown Asian Elephant within 3 hours if the larger animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk.

It’s venom is not as toxic as other venomous snakes, but King Cobra is capable of injecting 5 times more venom than black mamba and can result in mortality up to 5 times faster than that of the black mamba. It is quite widespread, ranging across South and South-east Asia, living in dense highland forests.

3. Marbled Cone Snail

This little beautiful looking Marbled Cone snail can be as deadly as any other animal on this list. One drop of its venom is so powerful that it can kill more than 20 humans. If you ever happen to be in warm salt water environment (where these snails are often found) and see it, don’t even think of picking it up. Of course, the true purpose of its venom is to catch its prey.

Symptoms of a cone snail sting can start immediately or can be delayed in onset for days. It results in intense pain, swelling, numbness and tingling. Severe cases involve muscle paralysis, vision changes and breathing failure. There is no antivenom. However, only about 30 human deaths have been recorded from cone snail envenomation.

4. Blue-Ringed Octopus

The Blue-Ringed Octopus is very small, only the size of a golf ball, but its venom is so powerful that can kill a human. Actually it carries enough poison to kill 26 adult humans within minutes, and there is no antidote. They are currently recognized as one of the world’s most venomous animals.

Its painless bite may seem harmless, but the deadly neurotoxins begin working immediately resulting in muscular weakness, numbness, followed by a cessation and breathing and ultimately death.

They can be found in tide pools in the Pacific Ocean, from Japan to Australia.

5. Death Stalker Scorpion

Contrarily to the popular belief most of the scorpions are relatively harmless to humans as stings produce only local effects (pain, numbness or swelling). However, the Death Starker Scorpion is highly dangerous species because its venom is a powerful cocktail of neurotoxins which causes an intense and unbearable pain, then fever, followed by coma, convulsions, paralysis and death. Fortunately, while a sting from this scorpion is extremely painful, it would be unlikely to kill a healthy, adult human. Young children, the old, or infirm (with a heart condition) are at the biggest risk.

Death stalker scorpions are spread in North Africa and Middle East.

6. Stonefish

Maybe Stonefish would never win a beauty contest, but it would definitely win the top prize for being “The World Most Venomous Fish”. Its venom causes such a severe pain that the victims of its sting want the affected limb to be amputated. It is described as the worst pain known to man. It is accompanied with possible shock, paralysis, and tissue death. If not given medical attention within a couple of hours It can be fatal to humans.

Stonefish stores its toxins in gruesome-looking spines that are designed to hurt would-be predators.

Stonefish mostly live above the tropic of Capricorn, often found in the shallow tropical marine waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans, ranging from the Red Sea to the Queensland Great Barrier Reef.

7. The Brazilian wandering spider

The Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria) or banana spider appears in the Guinness Book of World Records 2007 for the most venomous spider and is the spider responsible for most human deaths.

This spider is believed to have the most potent neurotoxic venom of any living spider. Only 0.006mg (0.00000021oz) is sufficient to kill a mouse. They are also so dangerous because of their wandering nature. They often hide during daytime in highly populated areas inside houses, clothes, boots, and cars.

Its venomous bite causes not only intense pain, the venom of the spider can also cause priapism – uncomfortable erections lasting for many hours that lead to impotence.

8. Inland Taipan

The prize for “The World’s Most Venomous Snake” goes to the Inland Taipan of Australia. Just a single bite from this snake contains enough venom to kill 100 human adults or an army of 250,000 mice. Its venom is at least 200 – 400 times more toxic than a common cobra. The Inland Taiwan’s extremely neurotoxic venom can kill an adult human in as little as 45 minutes. Fortunately this snake is very shy and there have been no documented human fatalities (all known bites were treated with antivenin).

9. Poison Dart Frog

If you ever happen to be running through the rain forests somewhere in Central or South America, do not ever pick up beautiful and colorful frogs – it can be the Poison Dart Frog. This frog is probably the most poisonous animal on earth.The 2 inch long (5cm) golden poison dart frog has enough venom to kill 10 adult humans or 20,000 mice. Only 2 micrograms of this lethal toxin (the amount that fits on the head of a pin) is capable of killing a human or other large mammal. They are called “dart frogs” because indigenous Amerindians’ use of their toxic secretions to poison the tips of their blow-darts. Poison dart frogs keep their poison in their skins and will sicken or kill anybody who touches or eats it.

10. Puffer Fish

Puffer Fish are the second most poisonous vertebrate on earth (the first one is golden dart Frog). The meat of some species is a delicacy in both Japan (as fugu) and Korea (as bok-uh) but the problem is that the skin and certain organs of many puffer fish are very poisonous to humans.

This puffy fish produce rapid and violent death..Puffer’s poisoning causes deadening of the tongue and lips, dizziness, vomiting, rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, and muscle paralysis. Victims die from suffocation as diaphragm muscles are paralyzed. Most of the victims die after four to 24 hours. There is no known antidote, Most deaths from fugu happen when untrained people catch and prepare the fish.

Statistics show that there were 20 to 44 incidents of fugu poisoning per year between 1996 and 2006 in all of Japan and up to six incidents per year led to death. Since Fugu’s poison can cause near instantaneous death, only licensed chefs are allowed to prepare it.

via The World`s Biggests: 10 Most Poisonous Animals in the World.

Another sub-par review because someone thinks we are wrong about the information in LETHAL. When actually, we are right.

Earthquakes are a real threat in Washington State, the most recent occurrence being in 1996. The potential for more happening in the future is there, because of existing, known fault lines.

Tornadoes are often also real threat in Washington State.  In 1972, Washington lead the country in tornado deaths. And in 1997, 6 tornadoes touched down in Washington state in a single day.

 April 5, 1972 – Washington’s Deadliest Tornado Outbreak

* An F3 tornado touched down in Vancouver

* 6 deaths and 300 injured, Washington led nation in tornado deaths that year

* Tornado swept through a grocery store, bowling alley, and grade school near where Vancouver Mall is today

* 50 million dollars in damage

* Later that day, another F3 tornado touched down west of Spokane

* And an F2 tornado struck rural Stevens county

* Numerous severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds were reported over other areas of eastern Washington 

As for the Great White Shark in the woods, it’s likely the user is in a coastal forest, and when in a coastal area, we list the dangers that the oceans represent, as a general rule.

It’s frustrating that our app consistently gets bad reviews for having information that is accurate, but unexpected or against “common wisdom.” Oh well.

We here at Team LETHAL will make a deal with you, Yukon Corneilius. If you will re-rate our app with 5 stars instead of 4, we will do everything within our ability to help fix San Diego’s disease problem. If that’s what it takes to get a 5 star review, we’ll do it.

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Another positive review of Lethal, this time from a Canadian site.

Review: Stay aware with Lethal!

Today I have an application called “Lethal” which uses the GPS location function in your iPhone to assess the area you are in of dangers!

Lethal by Elany Arts Inc.

Lethal measures your surrounding area forthreats using four scales: Wildlife, Crime, Disease, and Disasters. The application locates you via the GPS function of the iPhone and then runs the assessment based on information complied from Government and Academic statistics and research.

Lethal just actually expanded its coverage to Canada, so along with Canadian coverage, the app has over 650 locations covered throughout North America.

When the application is started, Lethal searches for your location and then immediately assess the threats in the area. I have posted an image above of its assessment of Vancouver, BC, Canada (looks like a disaster is coming). Moreover, you can browse locations as well. So for example, if you are about to travel somewhere, you can get an early heads-up of the area. You also have access to a newly added feature called “Rank” which ranks the most dangerous areas to least areas, or vice versa.

Currently, Lethal is available in the iTunes AppStore for $0.99.

Enjoy!

Link

I would be pretty terrified to see an 8 foot long rattlesnake. I can’t really even fathom what that would look like. Think of the striking range that snake would have!

A diamondback in the rough

At last, a naturalist finds his Holy Grail: A rare rattler in remote Florida park

The eastern diamondback rattler struggles to stay alive as a species, no thanks to humans.John Serrao

April 26, 2009 6:00 AM

I don’t know what it was that suddenly brought my eyes to ground level after an hour of scanning the branches of the pines and oaks for birds along a remote trail in Florida’s vast Appalachicola National Forest. Was it the sunlight reflected off the glossy, yellowish skin? Or the wide, heavy shape stretched straight out among the thin, curving fallen branches that littered the ground? Or — most likely — the regular pattern of big, dark diamonds that extended four feet in a straight line just a few feet from my and my wife, Felicia’s, feet.

Even though I’d never seen one before, I immediately knew what the animal was, and after a glance of just a fraction of a second, I repeated three or four times in an excited but hushed voice to Felicia: “Diamondback rattlesnake!”

The eastern diamondback rattlesnake has been my “Holy Grail” — the number one item on my “bucket list” — for more than 30 years. Quite simply, it’s the biggest, most dangerous snake in the United States. A handful of snakes, including the indigo snake and our own black rat snake, may slightly exceed the diamondback’s maximum recorded length of eight feet, but none can match its sheer bulk and weight, nor the immense size of its head. I’ve seen timber rattlesnakes in the Poconos that measure 4½ feet long and 8 inches in circumference, and I can’t possible imagine an eastern diamondback rattlesnake almost twice that size.

What an impressive creature to encounter in the pine forests of Florida, Georgia or the Carolinas! But, despite countless visits to the wilderness areas of these southern states over the past three decades, including places highly recommended by other naturalists, foresters and park rangers, I’ve never seen one — until March 24, 2009, a date I’ll never forget.

After my initial shock at the sight of such a big snake just a few feet off the trail, I quickly assessed the situation. It appeared very calm and remained completely motionless, stretched out lengthwise in the sunlight. Its beautiful, yellowish-tan skin was shiny and almost iridescent, indicating that it had very recently shed it skin.

The conditions for photographing it could not have been better, and, since no people were in the forest except for Felicia and me, I could take my time and just enjoy this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime (I hope not) experience. I photographed it from every angle for at least 15 minutes, and it remained motionless.

Then, before we moved on, in order to prevent it from being detected by anyone who might harm it, I gently tapped it with a branch. This caused the rattlesnake to slowly withdraw beneath the cover of a shrub, where it coiled up to face me and began to rattle, warning me not to come any closer. It seemed both fearless and non-aggressive at the same time — an animal completely secure with its own status at the top of the food chain, with no natural enemies except humans.

Unfortunately, humans have taken a terrible toll over the years on populations of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, just as they have with timber rattlesnakes in the northeastern states and various species of western rattlesnakes. Unbelievably, unlike our own timber rattler, the eastern diamondback enjoys no laws to protect it — no restrictions against killing, collecting, habitat destruction or the insanity of “rattlesnake roundups,” a community snake-hunting tradition started long ago by ranchers who thought rattlesnake populations were too high.

Dr. Bruce Means, the expert on this species, conducts research in the Florida Panhandle and has written extensively on its biology and population declines. I read his excellent book, “Stalking the Plumed Serpent” (Pineapple Press, Sarasota, 2008), this past winter and became even more obsessed with finally seeing an eastern diamondback in the wild after vicariously experiencing his adventures with this magnificent reptile (the first chapter, which relates a nearly fatal bite and his struggle to crawl back to civilization, is sure to raise the hairs on the back of anyone’s neck). However, Dr. Means, in a letter written to me in February, sadly informed me that the eastern diamondback rattlesnake now survives in good numbers only on a few isolated, remote barrier islands and within vast, protected wildernesses like the 500,000-acre Appalachicola National Forest.

During our 10 days in Florida, we saw 125 species of birds and almost 40 reptiles and amphibians. We saw the dusky pygmy rattlesnake; the beautiful and rare Gulf Hammock rat snake; the unusual, legless eastern glass lizard; and hundreds of butterflies of a dozen species flitting from flower to flower along the long, sandy trails. Alligators were common, including a mother with seven babies. And a big water moccasin coiled up, opened its mouth widely, and displayed its sharp, venomous fangs and famous “cottonmouth” while I photographed it.

I’m sure that all of these sightings will remain in my memory over the years, but none will be more treasured, vivid and indelible than my first experience with America’s most impressive snake, the eastern diamondback.

Let’s hope that, before it’s too late, laws will be passed to protect this relatively inoffensive reptile so that it can continue to give nature lovers unforgettable experiences in the southern pine forests of which it is such a magnificent part of the natural heritage.

User Review:

LETHAL Response:
All cities in the US and Canada with populations over 100,000 (according to most recent Census numbers) are covered in the latest update. Let us know what town you’re referring to, and we’d be happy to check it out.

None of the cities in the app are listed as 35 times the national average in any crime category. In Violent Crimes certain Canadian Provinces are 12 times. In Rape certain Canadian Provinces are 24.1 times. And in the Murder Category Downtown St. Louis is listed as 13.3 times the national average.

As a basic rule of thumb, if a city is within 10 miles of the ocean, we’ll list the aquatic dangers.

It’s 99 cents now, actually. And we do a lot of research to provide the most accurate information. As always, if you have a problem with any of the data, please contact us directly. We often make updates to make the information as valuable as possible.

User Review:

Our Response:

As we make clear in our FAQ’s and our sources section, LETHAL talks about possibilities, not what has happened. According to weather experts, tornadoes are completely possible (though with low likelihood, as noted in the app ) in the Flushings sections of Queens, as is demonstrated by the number of Tornadoes that have touched down in NY and NYC in the past. A NYC are Tornado has touched down as recently as 2006.

As for Copperheads, Queens is within their national range, and being an urban or suburban area does not mean the snake can’t show up. In fact, expects say that Copperheads may prefer some urban areas because of the many areas in which they can hide.

Since the App Store gives developers no ability to respond to user reviews, we’re going to do it here, occasionally. Mostly for our own sanity, since sometimes the things people say need to be debated a little!

Our Response:

Risk of either mosquito and crocodile attacks ARE low in the everglades. In the case of the mosquito, the LETHAL app is warning you about the possibility of an attack that would pose danger to a person. LETHAL is concerned more with deadly diseases, not just general itchiness. Disease bearing mosquitoes are actually rare in Florida, while not so rare in other parts of the world.

I think the user confused alligators and crocodiles. There are many alligators in the Everglades, and the risk of a gator attack is indeed heightened. However,  there is also a very small population of crocodiles in the Everglades. In fact, it’s the only place in the world where both crocs and gators co-exist.

But there is absolutely no documented record of an attack on a human by a crocodile there. (Or anywhere in the United States, for that matter.) American Crocs actually have a reputation of being less aggressive than crocs elsewhere in the world (though there have been attacks in Central and South America, where they are more prevalent.)

So for both mosquito and croc, putting the level of attack risk at “Low” is correct.

Thanks for saying we’re fun, but do understand that we strive to be educational too! We really really do!

Link

This is exciting! We’re listed as one of 9 apps that will change your life. Unfortunately, they’re listing our old price.

9 APPS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

April 24, 2009

Plan ahead

($1.99; iPhone)

Just how safe is your gated community? Lethal uses your location to determine how likely you are to be mauled, mugged, maimed or injected with flesh-eating bacteria by some otherwise cute ladybug. And you thought suburbia was safe.

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Even more LETHAL!

by Steven Sande on Apr 23rd 2009

Remember LETHAL? It’s an app that can keep you awake at night by telling you about all of the dangerous things that can kill, maim, or at least injure you. The good thing is that LETHAL does it in a humorous way.

We did a review of LETHAL a few months ago, and now the development team at Elany Arts has taken the app to a new level. Not only did they significantly upgrade LETHAL, but they also dropped the price of the app from US$1.99 down to US$0.99.

What’s changed? 

• LETHAL now gives a risk ranking for every US and Canadian town or city with a population over 100,000, plus all Canadian National Parks. If you’re within a large metropolitan area, you can watch your LETHAL index change as you drive around.
• More disasters! More dangerous animals!
• The crime information is more specific, with new updated crime data from the FBI database.
• You can view rankings for all locations from most dangerous to least (or vice versa) for all indexes and specific risks. Want to find the #1 area to get killed by a grizzly bear? LETHAL can help.
• Speaking of animals, they’re now displayed with their relative risk based on prevalence in the area and confirmed attacks (I griped about this in my earlier review, since they showed mountain lions as a big risk in my suburban neighborhood).
• Disasters are also displayed with their relative risk based on prevalence and confirmed incidents.

LETHAL (click opens iTunes) is a fun and fascinating app, and the new lower price and extra-chunky feature set makes it even more worthwhile.