Poisonous Animals - Creatures that Summon Death

Number 5: Inland Taipan

The Inland Taipan, also known as Small Scaled Snake or Fierce Snake, inhabits in Australia and is regarded as the most venomous land snake in the world. The Inland Taipan has a dark tan which range from dark brown to olive green depending on the seasons for them to adapt to the environment through thermo-regulation.  They feed on rodents, small mammals and birds and can reach up to a length of 2.8 meters.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia 

They have a very accurate and rapid strike, and unlike other venomous snakes, the Inland Taipans deliver eight venomous bites in a single attack. With the powerful venom containing mostly neurotoxin, Taipans paralyze the victims waiting for them to die before returning to consume the meals. And yes, their venom is so powerful that one bite is enough to kill 100 people! However, no reported case of human being killed by the venom of the snake due to effective anti-venom treatment available.

Number 4: Blue Ring Octopus

Colorful and beautiful as it seems, the illusionist regarded as one of the world’s most venomous creatures, the Blue Ring Octopus. Inhabiting in tide pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Japan and Australia, they can be recognized by their pale brown to yellow color and their trademark blue and black rings. The 50-60 blue rings that cover the Blue Ring Octopus will only ‘light up’ when agitated or being threatened.

Photo Courtesy of BBC 

The Blue Ring Octopus hunts for small crabs, hermit crabs and shrimps, and may bite other animals including humans when provoked. The toxin that it uses to paralyze its victims is known as Tetrodotoxin and is somewhat similar to that found in the pufferfish and cone snail. Interestingly, the toxin is produced by bacteria that are found in the salivary gland of this creature. Currently there is still no known antidote for its venom.

Number 3: Marbled Cone Snail

Looking at its beautiful shell, one might think that it’s harmless but it’s actually rank third in this post of the most poisonous animals.

Photo Courtesy of Worlds Most Unique 

Being a master of deception, the Marbled Cone Snail camouflages itself making others unable to spot it. Waiting patiently, the unknowing prey steps on the snail and is being attack by the snail with the powerful venom and then turns the animal into its sumptuous meal.

It’s venom? Like any other potent venom, contains neurotoxin that attacks the nervous system or nerve cells and in turn paralyses its victim. 

Number 2: King Cobra

I believe that almost everyone know or have heard about cobras, specifically the existence of our next contestant...

King Cobra, being the longest venomous snake in the world reaches up to 5.5 meters in length and weigh up to 9kg. It can be found in the rainforests of India, Southern China and Southeast Asia. The King Cobra feeds on a wide range of animals including other snakes, lizards, small animals and also eggs. Fortunately, humans are avoided by King Cobras whenever possible but are fiercely aggressive when cornered.

Being the longest among snakes, their venom however, is not the most potent. Even so, the amount of neurotoxin (toxins that attack the nervous system or nerve cells) it can deliver in one bite (roughly 7 millimeters) is more than enough to kill 20 people or an adult elephant.

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic 

King Cobras are quite a good parent as they are the only snakes in the world that build a nest for their egg. Besides building, they also guard the nests and their eggs ferociously until the hatchlings emerge.

Number 1: Box Jellyfish

The Box Jellyfish, also known as sea wasp and marine stinger, can be found in the waters off Northern Australia and Indo-Pacific. They are pale blue and transparent with a cube-like shape of their bells thus getting the name Box Jellyfish. They can grow up to 15 tentacles and reach up to 3 meters in length.

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic 

Being a carnivore, it stuns or kills its prey with powerful venom before feeding on them. Humans are also one of the victims of the Box Jellyfish attack. The venom attacks the heart, nervous system and the skin. Due to the overwhelming and excruciating pain of the sting, a human normally goes into a shock and drown or some die of heart failure immediately. Survivors are able to experience certain amount of pain lasting for weeks and also scarring on the areas where the tentacles made contact.

Although the venom of the Box Jellyfish is so powerful, there’s a creature which is the nemesis of the jellyfish and it’s none other than the sea turtles. Surprisingly, the sea turtles are unaffected by the sting and immune to the venom of the Box Jellyfish and often eats them.

Ugliest Land Animals

Number 5 : Star nosed mole

The star nosed mole definitely does not have the most attractive nose but definitely the most effective one which helps it sniff out if something is edible and at a remarkable speed. As its name implies, it has a star nose and to be more specific, fleshy, star shape nose made up of 22 tentacles.

The Star nosed mole which is covered in blackish brown fur, is a small semi-aquatic mammal which inhabits in the wetlands and the eastern part of United States. Like any other moles, the star nosed mole makes underground network of tunnels and also digs shallow surface tunnels for the purpose of finding food such as small amphibians, insects and worms.

Being virtually blind due to poorly developed eyes, the creature relies on its nose to navigate its way through the complete darkness of the underground, basically using its nose to see! The fleshy area of the nose contains 25,000 sensory receptors (6 times more sensitive than the human hand) that constantly touches objects near itself to identify the surroundings and edible food nearby.

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic

The star shaped nose of the mole is in fact the most sensitive organ in the animal world making it able to identify and decide whether the food is edible within 25 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds.  

Number 4: Sloth

I believe everyone is familiar with the movie Ice Age and also the character Sid, the sloth (voiced by John Alberto Leguizamo).

Sloth, the slowest mammal in the world, is classified into two species, the two-toed and three-toed. Sloths have grayish-brown furs but at times grayish-green with the green coming from algae, allowing them to camouflage in the forest. The long arms and hooked claws allow them to hang upside-down from trees for hours. The claws also serve a self-defense weapon when facing an attacker.

Sloth’s main source of food are leaves, shoots and fruits. It sleeps on trees and can sleeps up to 20 hours long. Basically a sloth spends most of its life on trees, even during mating and giving birth.   

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic

On land, the species is very vulnerable as they are unable to move swiftly due to their weak back legs and long claws. They can only dig into the ground using their long claws and pull themselves along, making them difficult to evade predators. Despite being vulnerable on land and highly adapted to living on trees, sloths are pretty good swimmers.

Number 3: Mexican Burrowing Frog

As its name implies, the Mexican burrowing frog is a burrowing animal, spending most of its life underground, making it different from most of the amphibians. It only emerges out of the soil after a heavy rain to lay eggs in a water source. It can travel up to 1.6 kilometers to find a suitable water source for the eggs to be laid. 

Photo Courtesy of One More Generation

The species can grow up to 6 to 8 centimeters and has a large bloated body carrying a stripe on their back. They have short powerful legs and shovel-like feet which aid them in digging. They are found in the southern part of USA and Central America. They feed on insects mainly ants and termites.

Believe it or not, this specific animal dates back to the Jurassic Period!!!

Number 2: Naked Mole Rat

The naked mole rat is a burrowing rodent that spends most of their lives underground too. They come out from ground some times to search for seeds and plants. Possessing a strong and well adaptable characteristics enable these mole rats to survive under the harsh conditions underground.

Although they are rodents, they live in communities similar to that of many insects such as ants. This means that there is a dominating queen leading the colonies and the queen is the only female to breed and bear youngsters. Worker mole rats are responsible for digging the burrow where the colonies live in using their teeth and also to gather food for the colonies.

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic

The naked mole rat can be found in the eastern part of Africa and the tunnel systems built by them can stretch up to 3 – 5km in total length.

Number 1: Aye Aye

Aye ayes are the largest nocturnal creatures and can be only found on the island of Madagascar. They are actually relatives to the chimpanzees, apes and even to us human (in a certain way).

Aye ayes are omnivores feeding mainly on insect larvae, seeds, fruits etc. The food choices may vary depending on the habitats and the food available.

Photo Courtesy of National Geographic

The thin, elongated middle fingers found on each of their hands are probably the trait mark of the aye ayes. The main usage for this elongated finger is to dig for insect larvae found under the barks or to scoop the flesh out from fruits such as coconuts.

Though aye ayes are harmless, they are classified as an endangered species. Superstition is the main factor for these near extinct species as natives believe that they symbolize death or bad luck. For these reasons, they are being hunted and killed on sight. Hunting, together with habitat destruction has caused the aye ayes to be endangered. Fortunately, they are now currently protected under the law.

Gross Human Parasites IV - Sparganosis for the Flesh-Lover

Keeping pets at home? Love sushi? Enjoy frog-congee? 

Sparganosis is a parasitic infection, the culprit is a type of tapeworm belonging to the genus Spirometra. Mammals such as dogs, cats and raccoons are the definite host (final host) of the parasites. 

Copepods, Frog, Cat. (The first, second and definite hosts)

The adult Spirometra living in the intestines of their hosts lay uncountable eggs which discharge during hosts' defecation. The eggs are then consumed by copepods, the first intermediate hosts; amphibians such as snakes and frogs preying on copepods are the second intermediate hosts. Within the first intermediate hosts, the eggs hatches and the larvae live in the body cavities of copepods; after passing to the second intermediate hosts, the larvae continue to proliferate and penetrate into the muscles and subcutaneous tissues of the hosts. The second intermediate hosts of this parasites are eventually consumed by wild carnivores such as dogs and cats, and the parasites mature in their definite hosts and complete their life-cycle. 

And how do human get Spargonosis? 

Human are actually the accidental hosts of Spirometra (or maybe not accidental). 

• consumption of raw water from rivers or lakes 
• open wounds on body contacted with Spirometra sources such as animal feces or raw flesh 
• consumption of uncooked or not-fully-cooked flesh 

Once infected, the parasites will move to various organs such as eyes and brains of the patients or subcutaneous tissues in various body parts. No symptoms will be seen from the beginning, and eventually as the parasites grow, bulges (nodules) will develop on the infected regions along with pain. For infection in the eyes, patients' eyes will bulge out. For infection in the brains, neurological symptoms such as loss of motor control can occur. 

A boy with ocular Sparganosis
Source: click here

Surgical removal of adult Spirometra from eye. 

It has been reported in China rural areas that villagers believed in old traditional methods of applying raw frog flesh to wounds to speed up recovery, and thus resulted in being infected by Spirometra. Majority of human Spirometra infection cases occur in Japan, Korea and China.

Retracting an adult Spirometra from a frog.

Antibiotics have been given to patients infected with Spirometra, however this is not really beneficial as a cure. The best way to get rid of the parasites is through surgery. 

Ball Cutters - Ultimate Man Castration

Have you ever wonder why the Pacus are notorious as “Ball Cutters”? The only reason for the given name is the fish has been reported biting off the testicles of fishermen and men!

Pacus have teeth resemble human’s teeth, meaning that their teeth are supposedly made for crushing. The fish originated from rivers and streams in Amazon, and have been recently introduced to river systems of Papua New Guinea where the cases of man-castration have been reported. The fish use their teeth to crush nuts and seeds in their native habitat, however, after introducing into a new habitat lacking the suitable vegetation for survival, Pacus turn from herbivore to omnivore, converting their nuts-chombing ability into balls-chombing ability.

Ball-cuter's teeth (resembles human's teeth)

Pachus are relatives to the piranha, this explains their ability to "chomb" off their preys (including men's testicles). So guys, before going for a swim in the wild, make sure there isn’t any Ball-cutters looming out there, or else, put on your armor as you swim, I bet you wouldn’t want a 40pounds Ball-cutter going after you!