15 Worlds Deadliest Animals Africa National Geographic

Downloaded From www.AllSubs.org Africa is a battle field for wildlife a place where ancient giants‥ stealthy hunters‥ and unparalleled predators engage in a never-ending struggle for survival But among these species 12 rule supreme These predators are swift‥ powerful‥ and often lethal Prepare to come face to face with Africa's Deadly Dozen In many people's minds this is the last truly wild continent Its 30 million square kilometres contain some of the world's most extreme landscapes‥ ‥the Serengeti a vast arena for the delicate ballet of life and death‥ ‥the Okavango an oasis emerging from the parched Kalahari Desert‥ ‥and the Great Rift Valley an unforgiving terrain and the scorching 'cradle of man' These brutal cauldrons forge creatures of incomparable strength and power‥ creatures found nowhere else on Earth Most of Africa's wildlife and its people live south of the searing Sahara Desert And in this region one predator in particular reigns the snake Africa plays host to the greatest diversity of snakes in the world 400 in total with over 90 of them venomous And these toxic serpents are built for the kill Each is uniquely specialized to capture its prey Sleek cobras stalk‥ while muscular vipers lie in wait‥ and still others take to the trees But if threatened all of these predators will lash out with a hiss of death And among them this is the quintessential deadly serpent‥ embodying all that's lethal without even baring it fangs It's known as Naja Nivea the cape cobra and anyone who corners this snake is likely to pay with their life The one and a half metre cobra is neither the biggest nor the widest-ranging venomous serpent in Africa It's only found in one region the southwest but this includes the heavily-populated country of South Africa And it often appears in prime ranching territory so human encounters are all too common Every year, the cape cobra kills more people in South Africa than any other snake Its speckled skin enables it to almost disappear within the landscape until it's stumbled upon by an unlucky rancher or shepherd When trapped it raises the front of its body high and spreads its trademark hood in a display of intimidation‥ then it strikes The rush of venom immediately attacks the body's nervous system It paralyzes the muscles and triggers coronary and respiratory failure Just one bite can kill up to six people And the cobra doesn't just strike once It continues to strike until the threat has moved away flooding its victim with toxins Another venomous snake also lurks among the branches and this one is practically invisible It's the eastern green mamba Africa's emerald giant Resting in the canopy it's easily missed But when it's on the move it's clear what makes this serpent so deadly The green mamba stretches up to two metres long Its slender contours and camouflage mean it's perfectly suited to a life in the trees where it sleeps‥ mates‥ and feeds The green mamba hunts a sinuous band from coastal Kenya south to Zimbabwe where it lurks in scrub bush and forests It's nearly invisible to the birds rodents and small lizards it pursues Its ever-vigilant eyes never close because fixed transparent shields serve in place of eyelids Its attention is drawn by movement One misplaced hand and the mamba springs to life Victims of its bite feel a burning pain As the venom spreads it eats away tissue potentially causing gangrene and leaving behind a permanent scar Fortunately green mambas often choose escape over confrontation and only a handful of deaths have ever been recorded But another mamba also lives up here less shy than its green cousin‥ and this one is lethal It's the black mamba The black mamba follows a trail of aerial clues‥ tasting the air as it goes Its target is an abandoned hatchling Potent venom floods the tiny bird's system killing it swiftly This mamba is a far more dangerous snake than the green Not only is it found across a much larger swath of the continent from Ethiopia to Namibia but it also hunts on the ground And that places it in direct contact with humans It only takes one encounter with a black mamba to realize what makes this snake so terrifying Not only is it extraordinarily toxic it's the longest and fastest snake in Africa A black mamba can reach burst speeds of five metres per second faster than most people can run Incredibly, the mamba can also lift half of its 3.5m body off the ground and return to the trees Every harvest season orchard workers venture into the realm of the black mamba Surrounded, the snake will first try to escape But if it has nowhere to go‥ it will defend itself Flashing its ebony-coloured mouth it strikes The victim is infused with a complex torrent of paralyzing toxins This venom attacks the body's muscles and heart and lung function And when the muscles stop asphyxiation sets in Death can occur in as few as 20 minutes Before anti-venom the black mamba's bite was almost 100 per cent fatal But today hospitals can save most victims if they can get there in time But while the black mamba may be Africa's most feared snake it's not the deadliest That distinction goes to the master of concealment‥ the puff adder It kills more people in Africa than any other snake It earns this dubious distinction because of its huge range which covers nearly half the continent from tropical Senegal to Eritrea and South Africa Most encounters are accidental because victims often don't see the well-hidden adder Slow and muscular it can't use speed to escape So instead, it relies on its method of attack This heavy snake launches its one metre body into the air and towards any unwise intruder Centimetre long hollow fangs inject a venom that starts to destroy blood cells and tissue almost immediately Most people do survive the encounter But the adder's range and the sheer number of bites it inflicts reap a deadly toll that results in more fatalities than any other African snake But people aren't the only casualties Undetected, this adder remains frozen Although its victim is only centimetres away it has no idea of its impending death The adder attacks when the target is unable to use teeth and claws in self defence Its lower jaw widens to accommodate larger prey When the meal is finally devoured its jaw flexes back to normal Africa's snakes inhabit almost every corner of the continent brilliantly adapted for life both on the ground and high above In the Savannas of eastern and southern Africa water is the most precious commodity And within these pools live two of Africa's most lethal animals both armed to the teeth Every year, Nile crocodiles kill hundreds of people probably more than all other species of crocodile combined They hunt waterways throughout most of Africa Yet people have driven them from much of the river that shares their name A reptile of epic proportions the Nile crocodile can grow to lengths of six metres and weigh close to a ton Its power allows it to select from a vast menu of prey including buffalo antelope and even young elephants A fully grown Nile crocodile has few natural enemies Equipped with eyes on the top of its head it studies its prey‥ and hides A Nile croc lying in wait can hold its breath for over 45 minutes But with a simple flick of its tail it catapults itself out of the water It grabs its prey by the head or limb and pulls the meal down to a murky death Another water-borne creature also lashes out with its teeth but this one is a herbivore‥ the hippo Its placid demeanor belies a volatile temperament During the day a water hole can offer cool refuge from the searing African heat Here, a hippo is in its element Despite its substantial mass the creature is buoyant When a three and a half ton hippo slips below the surface it seals its nostrils completely and can hold its breath for up to 30 minutes Hippos inhabit the watering holes of west, east and southern Africa as well as the upper reaches of the Nile River Only one predator will hunt an adult hippo‥ a pride of lions And even then, they're not easily taken Hippos can run at nearly 30 kilometres per hour The males wield 30 centimetre tusks which they use in battle These giant canines can deliver devastating wounds‥ and are capable of biting a crocodile in half But it's the females that pose the greatest threat to humans They protect their calves fiercely even from other hippos With a newborn to guard an adult female won't tolerate any intruder Every year, these leviathans kill dozens of people Although their range is shrinking hippos still rule the water hole Africa's aquatic giants are well adapted for survival Whether on dry land‥ in the water‥ or under it‥ these animals are equipped to deal with all threats and opportunities head on Africa is home to some of the most awe-inspiring wildlife on the planet venomous insects‥ toxic serpents‥ and deadly predators But few species embody all that is Africa like its ancient giants This grazer weighs nearly a ton While it feeds, it's calm But suddenly it can transform into one of the most dangerous creatures on the continent The hunter becomes the hunted as the behemoth retaliates The cape buffalo spends 18 hours a day moving across the Savanna in relative peace But when provoked the grass-fed giant can prove a worthy adversary of both fierce carnivores like lions‥ and trophy hunting humans who target the buffalo for its ornate rack of horns It thunders along at the speed of a galloping horse It can easily disembowel a predator with little more than a slash of its horns or a well-aimed hoof 100 years ago buffalo roamed nearly all of sub-Saharan Africa But today, they're gone from most of the south Yet they're still among the most abundant large animals on the continent and the only thing more dangerous than one buffalo is a startled herd, stampeding Another massive creature shares the buffalo's territory‥ but this one squeezes the life from its victims It lies in wait watching for its prey to approach and prepares to attack The African rock python has a deadly embrace Unlike other snakes this constrictor doesn't strike with venom Instead, it kills with muscle African rock pythons can weigh up to 135 kilograms and grow to over six metres‥ making them among the largest snakes in the world They live throughout the Savannas and forests of sub-Saharan Africa Already powerful on land this brawny serpent employs an even more impressive tactic from underwater where it glides with fluid grace Ever adaptable the pythons that live near water thrive on fish And older snakes can find even bigger prey here They wait underwater‥ rising every 30 minutes to take a discreet breath They can spend hours in this coil of tension‥ waiting for just the right moment to strike Scores of teeth seize the prey‥ and muscular coils envelop the victim Crushed, the springbok is slowly asphyxiated The python can swallow up to 60kg of lifeless prey - whole After a meal like this it can fast for more than a year But even so it should always be approached with caution This snake will defend itself no matter what the size of the threat So, although pythons rarely eat people they can still kill us Giants that are placid in appearance‥ can sometimes transform into killers when provoked But one of Africa's enormous animals is unexpectedly deadly It weighs more than a truck‥ stands twice as tall as a human‥ and can crush with a misplaced foot It's the world's largest land animal And if you enrage an elephant its fury can be lethal Humans have pushed elephants to the brink dividing their lands‥ culling their ranks‥ and causing disarray in their families And now, elephants are pushing back Once, they roamed much of Africa freely But today most elephants are confined to patches of protected land in central, east and southern Africa Roads and farms divide them from their traditional grounds and impede their timeless migrations As a result of this they're often forced into unnatural habitats where they quickly exhaust food supplies and have to compete with domestic herds for water While seeking out new territories they can ravage fields and gardens And all too often this leads to confrontations with unarmed rural inhabitants In the 1990s more than 200 people were killed by elephants in Kenya alone Efforts are underway to reduce elephant overcrowding But with ever-decreasing territory their conflicts with us will only increase Of Africa's trio of ancient giants two are grazers‥ and only one is a predator But all have earned a place among this land's most lethal animals A pair of predators rules the African darkness One is a cunning hunter‥ and the other, the ultimate survivor But neither is exactly what it appears to be As they stalk in the darkness their invisible laughter pierces the shadows and stirs panic in all who hear it These creatures are legendary hunters and scavengers These are the eery calls of the spotted hyena There are three species of hyena in Africa the striped and the brown which are solitary‥ and the spotted which is a highly social animal The spotted hyena ranges from Senegal and Somalia in the north to Botswana and Namibia in the south making it the most common large carnivore in Africa Clans contain up to 80 individuals But they break into smaller teams to hunt Once dismissed as maniacal 'laughter' their yelps, growls and whoops act as a dinner bell‥ a call to arms‥ or a warning to their cubs Their body language also sends signals to the clan‥ intent to attack‥ excitement‥ or fear When clan territory overlaps with that of other predators hyenas will intimidate any carnivorous competitors and, if given the chance kill their cubs They eat anything At a kill, nothing is left to waste The hyena's massively-muscled head and neck power some of the strongest jaws in nature They can exert a bite force stronger than that of a lion Hyenas are efficient hunters with the ability to crush, swallow and digest nearly every part of their prey including the bones They kill their prey with their brutal jaws But another of the night's hunters wields a much smaller but equally effective - weapon The toxic punch unleashed by this predator has earned it the name 'death stalker' This scorpion is only 10cm long but it's possibly the most dangerous in the world 400 million years ago long before the age of the dinosaurs scorpions were perfecting the tactics, armour and venom that would ensure their success There are more than 1,200 different species on the planet and hundreds of them live only in Africa But the death stalker thrives in one of the most extreme environments on Earth The Sahara Desert is the centre of its territory which stretches from Egypt southwest to Mali Scorpions hunt the shadows seeking out spiders small rodents and insects Their pincers *** their prey and prepare it for the kill Then the stinger injects the lethal blow Although a sting delivers less venom than a snake bite the death stalker's toxins are nearly three times as powerful as a cape cobra's Fever, convulsions and increased blood pressure can wrack victims in as few as five minutes But fewer than 3 per cent of stings are lethal Children suffer the most fatalities because a dose of venom is far more potent in their smaller bodies A pack hunter‥ and a solitary killer Africa's nocturnal predators have a tactic for every occasion But among Africa's deadly dozen one animal reigns supreme With up to 250 kilograms of pure muscle it's the largest carnivore on the continent They hunt in daylight and at night alone‥ or in teams There's no creature too big or too smart for them to tackle‥ even us When they catch an animal they just eat everything After falling down they started to bite me on the legs The lion is perhaps the most formidable predator in all of Africa Once, lions roamed nearly all of this land unsurpassed and unstoppable But then they met us Over the course of the last century humans have killed hundreds of thousands of them Today, the big cats may number fewer than 23,000 Small numbers remain in west African countries like Mali while other populations range from Somalia and south to Namibia But most of them live behind the long fences of reserves like South Africa's Kruger National Park sanctuary for more than 2,700 lions In November 1998 park guard Sydney Maziya was shutting down the neighbouring Marloth Game Reserve for the evening He received word that a gate at the far end of the park was open and was given an order to close it The only way for Maziya to cross the reserve was by bicycle even though there were lions around While I was still cycling to the gate I heard the sound of the lions Lions have nine different vocalizations but it's their roar that indicates their domain And the roars surrounding Sydney were coming from all directions Females - often sisters form the core of a pride of lions They're joined by males who can be nearly twice their size Together, they're armed with enough power to take down a buffalo weighing nearly a ton Their muscular back legs launch them towards their quarry‥ while their agile front legs pull the prey to the ground The fatal bite is often delivered by a male and he's the first to feed But while their size helps them to hunt it comes at a price Every hunt is crucial because it requires precious energy Ultimately, only about one in every five attempts succeeds And in rare instances, some lions turn to a weaker form of prey In 1898 lions terrorized the track layers of an East African Railroad Company Two notorious animals killed and ate more than 120 people They became known as the Man-Eaters of Tsavo After nine months of terror the project's chief engineer Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson finally shot the elusive cats Today, lions kill dozens of people every year a statistic with which park guard Sydney Maziya was all too familiar When the lion jumped over me what came in my mind was that 'oh now, I am dead.' Before long, more lions had joined in the attack on Maziya The other lions that came to me and started to eat me Then suddenly, his luck changed A truck appeared and the driver had a gun They bite me on my thigh on my knee After the lion left, I realized how badly injured I was I was losing a lot of blood Sydney Maziya's mauled legs are now mended and he's back on his feet But his encounter has left him with a healthy respect for the most formidable predator in Africa It is lucky if they don't kill you Because I know, usually if they grab you, they kill you They're an elite group of 12‥ embodying all of nature's grandeur and power They have thrived with a vast array of survival skills and defences They are Africa's Deadly Dozen www.mvgroup.org Downloaded From www.AllSubs.org