Not genral-depends on the species-and, of course, the individual animal. But in general, Grevy's stallion are more"aggressive" than mountain or common zebras- 40 years ago, a Grevy stallion killed a visitor at Frankfurt zoo , and several keepers were hurt by them.
Sloths strike with their arms very hard,and it this case, he hurt the keeper at the head very hard-he died later at the hospital, brain bleeding,what ever, but his death was defenitely caused by the sloth...they also can bite-with more power than a lion.
Killer whale attacks could probably be avoided with protected contact. (though this might not be necessary for animals with no history of aggression towards people. For the sake of this discussion, we'll ignore the controversy of orca captivity) If a large, wild animal constantly interacts with humans in captivity, there's a good chance that someone would get attacked at some point. Even bottlenose dolphins have been known to attack in captivity. (though unlike the orca, it's not super rare for them to attack people in the wild either) If the average modern zoo did shows where keepers and trainers got into the exhibit, unprotected, with adult tigers, chimps, and lions, you can safely bet that lots of people would get hurt. Any animal can be dangerous, but these days, most half-decent zoos take a lot of precautions and they aren't gonna let zookeepers cuddle with adult grizzly bears or something.
I would think chimps would be extremely dangerous since not only are they strong and on a short fuse, but they are also highly intelligent, all of which make for a dangerous combination. I would imagine big monkeys like baboons, mandrills, and drills would also be dangerous. Cape buffalo are certainly unpredictable as are hippos and black rhinos. In the case of elephants, it seems like the males in musth are much more dangerous than females, although as others have said, female elephants that have been mistreated can be very aggressive.
Though their downfall in captive population has been mostly attributed to high inbreeding, hartebeest or topi in america are considered very aggressive animals and thus many zoos did not have interest in keeping them. This is the same situation with Cape Buffalo. If zoos are interested in sourcing the buffalo, they most obtain them from ranches in texas. I would assume hartebeest and topi would be the same but very few are left in private hands. Does San Antonio still have topi and hartebeest?
Cockatoos. Just kidding, have Hippo's been mentioned? Also, Pygmy Killer Whales have been known to be very aggressive in captivity.
Most aggressive Silver Pheasants are the most aggressive animals I know. They don't usually kill you though.
There have been reports of Cubans engaging in what may be pack hunting at Gatorland. Thus they are kept mostly alone or in small groups, especially after said reports. From what I hear they have a more well developed cortex than other crocs. Here is an article on them: Last of the Cuban crocodile? With shrinking habitat and threatened by hunting and crossbreeding, this ancient reptile faces possible extinction.
Silver pheasants can truly be horrible creatures! Another extremely aggressive animal that is hard to exhibit is holapsis guentheri or leavis. The species is very attractive but vicious. They remind me of the little compsognathus from Jurassic Park. They are so aggressive that not only are there male + male fights and female + female fights, there is also male + female fights. Anyone that has luck them has a very lush cage or lives in Germany They cannibalize as well, which is horrible when you arrive too late to their terrarium and you see mom tearing apart her newly born neonate.
Having worked with many different species i would have to say many can have their moments of aggressive behavior towards a keeper. Be it from hormones, situations or general bad mood days. But by far the most aggressive from my experience are chimps. Their unpredictability and intelligence makes them at times a very challenging species in term of aggression especially as it is inherent in their make up.
For real? Life of Pi said they were very docile ,however I have learned in the past few years that fiction book aren't always truthful.
Have to disagree with a number of the comments on here. I've worked with some leopards which made you feel nervous about security by how quiet and sneaky they were. While other individuals were mostly oversized pussycats, included the most docile black leopard. I have heard the stories about jaguars, but personally I have not worked with them. Have worked with a small group of chimps and despite all the suggestions that they are prone to aggressive tantrums and the like, were very laidback individuals and eager to interact with keepers. They were originally part of a larger group and not hand-raised too. Tassie devils make a bit of huff and puff but really it is all show. For pretty much every species that has been mentioned there will be some individuals that are aggressive while others are virtually tame. Probably the two most dangerous species that I have worked with were a pair of siamangs that tried to psychotically attack every time you went near the enclosure, and a female Diamondback rattler who would regularly start to rattle when you approached. Never trusted either. And I've worked with a fair number of species that could potentially kill you with relative ease... if you were foolish enough to let them. As a general rule of thumb - if it's bigger then you, has sharp teeth/horns, is intelligent, uses poison/venom/electricity, or has been hand-reared/no fear of humans, then be careful working with it.
I think the most dangerous animal anywhere is the one you don't exercise common sense around, regardless of how little, or docile, or slow moving. Also, Humans. They can be quite dangerous to work with.
I always hear that wildebeest are very aggressive, yet how they always seem to be so common in mixed species savannahs. Even Fresno Chaffee Zoo has them with White Rhinos, Giant Eland, Ostrich, and many antelope species. How are they incorporated into mixed exhibits then? Or are they not as aggressive as we think? Or are they perhaps only aggressive around non-hoofstock?
I've heard the opposite about tassies, that they're very docile and relaxed. I even remember an article from a few years ago when Tasmania was considering having them domesticated as pets so that they could save the population! Now I don't know who to believe!
I still say as far as aggression and handler injuries - zebras > onager > psewalski's horse, though this is just from internet research and not personal experience
