72 Dangerous Animals ZC Edition: 'Wrong Place, Wrong Time'

Here it is, the first decision the members on ZC have to make. Please don't search this series up, as it may spoil how the show ranked them compared to how we ranked them. So, without further ado, let's do a brief summary of all the contestants for today.
(P.S, if you could leave a reason as to why you voted for the creature/creatures you voted for, that'd be great! Also, you can vote for 2 animals that you think are the deadliest to humans out of the 6).

Contestant 1 - Indian Rhinoceros.
With remarkably quick speeds and good agility, the Indian Rhinoceros is known for toppling cars, trucks and anything of the sort. Attacks on humans directly are rare, but they are notoriously aggressive. One charge by an Indian Rhino can be fatal and even if it's not, massive injuries could come at the force of it.

Contestant 2 - Indian Leopard
With Leopards and humans growing closer together, attacks are getting more and more deadly, with individuals now famous because of their man-eating habits. With Leopards now sometimes preying on Stray Dogs, Leopards infected with rabies can become even more deadly, and can actively seek out humans to kill. They don't always attack, and prefer to keep away from humans, though.

Contestant 3 - Asian Forest Centipede
This long, elongated insect has been known to have caused many injuries from its venom. People that have been struck by it have known to have had swelling, bruising and in rarer cases, a slow heartbeat and breathing difficulties. Even worse, it is a common creature across Asia, and is even growing to the Carribbean and perhaps even southern USA.

Contestant 4 - Orangutan
Though not the first thing people think of, this great ape can really pack a punch if you get on its bad side. Just like a human, it can get aggressive if you don't give it what you want, even going as far as to keep you trapped until you give it something. There has not been any recorded attacks on humans, as it prefers to avoid human contact.

Contestant 5 - Toxic Flower Urchin
With a venom that packs a very large punch, this urchin can be very deadly. Some prove to be fatal, while non-fatal injuries include paralysis of the lips, contracting muscles, difficulty of respiration and unconsciousness. This urchin definitely has a punch to it.#

Contestant 6 - Saw-Scaled Viper
This snake is one hell of a striker. With a very fast strike, most bites are fatal. It is believed that in regions where they are in, they have a bigger population than any other snake species in that region combined. These snakes do give a defensive pose before striking, but not for long. As rats are becoming favourable food for this viper, more humans are being bitten than ever before, and it is certainly very deadly.

 

Also, FYI, if there is a draw, I think we'll either do a tiebreaker vote or I decide who goes to the final. I think the former option is better in my opinion, though.

 

Also, you can vote twice for different animals, not just once.

 

I Vote for the Orang Utan and the leopard

 

Remember, if you want to explain why you voted for what you did for the purpose of discussion, feel free to.

 

I voted for the Saw-Scaled Viper and the Toxic Flower Urchin because they are sometimes underrated but in this case they can be the most dangerous of all of them. It is more likely that this viper or this urchin attacks you than an Indian Rhino or a rabid leopard. Most of the other animals attack when they are bothered but the urchin attacks when you step on it.

Those are the reasons why I voted for them.

 

Not sure if there are objective figures comparing human fatalities from the six species in Asia, but from my memory, I recall saw-scaled vipers are amongst the top three species of snake to cause human death in India. I didn't go with any of the others as although they might be more likely to actually kill a human if they find one, they are much rarer and so confrontations are less frequent.

I don't know the urchin particularly but didn't want to research it as you said it might spoil the fun

 

You can research the individual animals all you want! The only reason I said to not go onto the series' Wikipedia page is because it showed how the show ranked the animals, and I want to leave that as a surprise so we can discuss and compare the two results.

 

I went for the leopard and the urchin. I'm not sure whether this is meant to be 'which one would be most dangerous if you were faced with one' or 'which one is more of a danger if you were to be in a region of Asia with all of them.

I reckon the leopard would be by far the most dangerous if you were in close range and had annoyed it, but I think the most dangerous might just be the urchin because if you are in a reef and walking around barefoot/with a thin wetsuit, you could walk on one and that would almost certainly be fatal.

 

FYI, it's more like the latter.

 

I almost stepped on an urchin several times here in Panama. Believe me, it is pretty dangerous because there are some parts of the beach I went where you are surrounded by urchins. The water is crystalline so that is an advantage because you can see where you step. I can't imagine how it would be if the water wasn't crystalline, I would have stepped on a lot of urchins.

 

Well it's a good thing there are aren't any dangerous urchins in Europe because there is so much sediment in the water you can't see a thing!

 

So, the poll has closed and it is time for result comparison. First of all, how ZooChat ranked them.

The Centipede may be lethal, but its venom doesn't compare to others, so it takes last place. Tied in 5th and 4th place, the Orangutan is certainly a dangerous creature if you get on its bad side, and the Urchin can be fatal. Above them, the massive force of the Indian Rhinoceros could easily topple a car, landing spot 3. The Leopard is becoming more deadly as it is going closer to humans and catching rabies, getting it to second place. Our 'Wrong Place, Wrong Time' winner is.. the Saw-Scaled Viper! With a deadly venom and becoming more common, this viper has caused lots of deaths and will probably only cause more, but only time will tell. The Saw-Scaled Viper takes first spot in our Fearsome Finalists showdown, but who will join them? Prepare to choose between forces in the land, air and water in the next poll, 'Jaws and Claws'.

But, how did the show rank them? I have the results right here.

1. Indian Leopard
2. Saw-Scaled Viper
3. Asian Rhinoceros
4. Toxic Flower Urchin
5. Asian Forest Centipede
6. Orangutan

Now, I pass the question onto you, what do you make of both our rankings and the show's rankings? I would love to encourage conversation about the show's results compared to ours.

 

I mean, if you have got on the wrong side of a leopard, there is little chance of getting away without at least a pretty bad mauling. But I think, even though I voted for them, that the leopard should be a bit lower down. Of course they're dangerous, but only when you've got on their bad side or injured them; they are one of the only animals who don't generally run away when injured, they just come back angrier.

Of course if you are a Blackbuck or a muntjac you should fear a leopard more than anything else, but we happen to not be either of those things and a leopard is not likely to attack unprovoked, unlike a few of the animals on this list.

 

I suppose that a leopard is more. of a problem to a lepidopterist than to a leopard moth.

 

Not necessarily, because Leopards with rabies (which is increasing due to leopards getting closer to human habitats and those habitats having a larger amount of feral dogs carrying rabies) will actively seek out to hunt, injure or kill humans. It's the same thing that happens with dogs, rattles, jackals and the sort.

 

Yes, I took that into account later by saying a leopard 'is not likely to attack unprovoked' but you are of course right. This has been the cause of multiple leopard 'rampages' through cities. However, generally speaking, it is extremely unlikely that you are going to be attacked by a leopard.

 

Looks at the macaques.

Chuckles: I’m in danger

 

Damn, another time I lose a bit of info. Sorry

 

Saw scaled viper is obviously more dangerous than the leopard. I think the script writers of the show also know that as well. But I think they purposefully put leopard on the top, because then the show becomes more fun. We all know snakes are dangerous, and to most people, snakes are just way too boring creatures. Same with insects. However, mammals are much more interesting to most people. So they tried to avoid putting too many snakes and insects as the winners, and tried to include mammals as well.