johan rebel

Perhaps, but with the important caveat that the mosquito is only a vector.

Mosquitoes as such do not kill a single soul, the diseases they sometimes transmit do.

Johan

Kagehitokiri

there are statistics, but i know what you mean re really complete statistics

seems like crocodiles are not as aggressive/territorial/etc

i spent a few minutes trying to look at WHO, too difficult

interesting AWF chose to include this >
awf.org/wildlife-conservation/hippopotamus

s0ssos

Classic case of how something happens to a white Westerner, which happens to black Africans all the time, and makes the headlines.

Hippos are dangerous in Africa. Always have been. Kill locals all the time.

Kagehitokiri

local news will report when local person died..

but i agree when talking about national news

susiesan

Does anyone have any more information on the original incident, details of how it happened? Discussion on TA has gone cold.

johan rebel

But they do see people as food. They eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are of course no reliable stats, but it seems to happen quite often. Even in South Africa, where crocs are essentially restricted to the KNP.

I'm well familiar with a large pool that's home to numerous hippos and even more crocodiles, including some very large specimens. Locals from Mozambique and Zimbabwe fish in this pool, illegally and at night. Their spoor goes right up to the edge of the deep and dark pool. That's just asking for it. Last year two friends watched a croc surface with a human leg in its jaws. That victim was not recorded in any statistics, that's for sure.

They do. So do crocs, elephants, hyaenas, leopards and lions, just to name a few. The point is that nobody knows for sure which is the biggest killer. Not that it really matters, I'm not sure what purpose a ranking would serve anyway.

Assuming somebody bothers to report the incident. A lot of stuff that happens in Africa goes unreported.

Here's one from March 5th, 2013, which I think never made it beyond the local news:

"There was horror in Kariba yesterday when a couple that was allegedly enjoying Adam and Eve’s fruit of nature in the bush got attacked by a jealous lion.

According to sources who spoke to My Zimbabwe, Daniel Muzarabani and his girlfriend, indentified as Sharai Mawera, were having sex in a bushy area situated in Mahombekombe suburb when a lion pounced on them.

“Unfortunately the woman, who was also known as Mai Desire, was mauled to death by the lion, but her boyfriend managed to escape naked, only wearing a condom. The two were having their quality time near Mahombekombe Primary School”, said a reliable source.

After realizing the presence of the deadly wild animal in the midst of their alleged love nest, the nude survivor is said to have escaped for dear life while leaving his female counterpart behind.

Another source who claimed to know the two very well told the My Zimbabwe news crew that the man was naked since it was very hot.

“He is a fisherman and he used to meet so often at the same spot with his girlfriend who is now deceased. His girlfriend, Mai Desire, was a vendor and the two were romping when the incident occurred. In fact, they were doing it sideways. The lion came from behind and roared. The guy managed to escape before stopping at a distance, from where he witnessed his companion being attacked. He later rushed to the road seeking help”.

The man is said to have been ignored by motorists and members of the public who initially thought he was mad since he was naked and wearing a condom.

“Later on, people heard his plea and accompanied him to the police, where he reported the matter. Cops and officers from Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority attended the scene and fired a single shot before getting to the spot. The woman had already been killed. She had bloody bruises all over her body. Her neck and tummy had been mauled”.

Members of an apostolic sect who worship near the area where the tragedy occurred reportedly took to their heels amid claims that they saw seven lions in the area.

Meanwhile, at around 10 a.m., remains of another man who is yet to be identified were also discovered near ZESA social club. My Zimbabwe is reliably informed that the unidentified man was attacked and killed by lions the day before yesterday and residents of the town are now living in fear since the lions are still roaming freely.

There were also reports that another Kariba man only identified as Musinje was attacked to death by lions while coming from a Night Club this week. His remains are said to have been found yesterday at 6 p.m. together with the empty beer container that he was carrying when he got fatally mauled by vicious lions."

Johan

Kagehitokiri

referring to local news in west - is there even 'local news' for 'most' places in world?

many predators see people as food, but not all attack equally / same way / etc

children are often the biggest victims and most susceptible (fatally) to venom

IAN-UK

Yet those touted as the principal killers, buffaloes and hippos (dragging this back on topic ) are not predators, neither are venomous snakes.

Kagehitokiri

= not all attack equally / same way / etc

im still trying to figure out why awf.org would mention it re hippos

btw no overlap between constrictors and venomous etc ?

johan rebel

True, but non-venomous African Rock Pythons do prey on humans occasionally.

I guy I know was out with a friend herding their fathers' cattle near Utah (in Mpumalanga, not the US). This happened some eight years ago, they were both 15 at the time. Late afternoon they went different ways to round up the cows before taking them home. After a while he heard his friend screaming for help. He found him with a large python coiled around his torso. He started beating the snake with a stick, and the dogs they had with them also attacked it. The snake was killed. The victim suffered serious bruising and cracked ribs. How he got caught by the python he could not explain, it just happened. Pythons come across as sluggish, but they can be very fast and agile when they want to.

I must confess that I was initially rather sceptical when I first heard the story, but after asking a lot of questions and getting consistently clear and coherent answers I believe it to be true.

Johan

IAN-UK

OK, enough of the hippo stuff!

Could you please turn your attention to my Săo Tomé question?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/afric...-sao-tome.html



(to keep things on-thread you might focus on island-based predator threats ...)

johan rebel

I'm really sorry, but I can't help you. Never been there. All I know is that once upon a time pirates did really nasty things to the locals.

OK, OK. How about switching to drunk man-eating chimps, then?

"'Drunk And Disorderly' Chimps Attacking Ugandan Children

Chimpanzees in western Uganda are increasingly raiding illegal brewing operations in forested river valleys and getting drunk on the country beer. Once intoxicated, they become hostile and attack and at times kill human children, parks officials say.

The officials, however, insist that even a drunk chimp cannot take on a grown man. All the babies they have attacked have been either unaccompanied, or are in in the company of other children. One notorious chimp nicknamed Saddam is blamed for killing at least three babies and maiming several others in Ruteete sub-county which borders the Kibale National Park.

Early this year, officials of the Jane Goodall Institute in Uganda were quoted in BBC's Wildlife Magazine as saying that chimpanzees had killed eight children and injured many others in Ugandan national parks. Debby Cox, the director of the institute, suggested that the aggressive behaviour of the chimps was caused by increased proximity between the animals and humans.

Dr Michael Gavin, who carried out the study, was reported by the magazine as saying that the technique used by the chimps to kill or maim the children mirrored the way they tear apart other prey, suggesting that they snatched the children to eat them. "In most cases they bite off the limbs first before disembowelling them, just as they would the red colombus monkey, which is among their favourite prey," he said.

A January 14 report on the chimp attacks, prepared by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), says that local beer is usually brewed illegally along river valleys, which are also the habitat of chimps. "When chimps come across the local brew, they drink it, become drunk and in that state any encounter with people means an attack," says the report, compiled for the UWA executive director, a copy of which was obtained by The EastAfrican.

In the Kibale Park, situated in an area known for brewing banana beer, authorities say there have been 12 chimp attacks since 1996, and three of the victims died. The park recorded at least six other attacks between 1992 and 1995.

The attacks are normally experienced in areas neighbouring the park and normally occur between October and December. This is probably due to food scarcity prevailing in the main chimp habitat during this period, which forces them to move beyond the park boundary in search of food.

"Crops such as sugarcane and bananas, which are grown near the parks, are preferred by chimps. Once the chimps come across a sugarcane plantation, for example, they tend to abandon the park and, as a result, come into conflict with the local communities," says the report.

And when crop-raiding chimps are chased, they get frightened and charge back - especially if they have imbibed some brew.

Barbara Musoke, spokesperson of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), said that the killings had taken place over a period of 10 years. "We have reduced wildlife and human conflicts. The cases reported are cumulative, they happened over a period of time," she said, adding that the incidence of attacks had dropped.

The most recent chimp attacks resulted in the death of a three-month-old child while two others were maimed. The dead child, was snatched by a chimp from under a tree in a vegetable garden where his mother and grandmother were digging. The child was rescued by people in the neighbourhood, but the chimp had torn off his face and he died in hospital.

UWA says that all the attacks involved children under five years old and took place when no men were around. In some cases, children left unguarded cried, attracting the attention of chimpanzees. The victims were usually carried between 13 and 240 metres from the scene of the attack.

"The attacks were predatory in nature," said a UWA official, "because the chimpanzees attempted to carry the child away and eat it."

Johan

susiesan

This is all very interesting but since I plan to go on safari in Tanzanai including the Serengeti whee the hippo attack occurred I would like more information about this incident if it is available.
Asante.

MADPhil

This doesn't answer your question but when we stayed at the Karen Blixen camp in the Masai Mara we were warned that the hippos were dangerous. The camp is on a bend in the river with a large pool that was full of hippos and crocs. The hippos come ashore at night and wander considerable distances, there was a hippo track just outside the (unfenced) camp. We were also told that more people were killed by buffalo because they are on land all the time and people don't suspect that they are dangerous.

Cheetah_SA

I guess one purpose is to underline how dangerous some of the "less likely" suspects really are. When you get a movie as widely seen as Jurassic Park showing a man reassuring his child that there is no need to fear the marauding dinosaur nearby with the line: "There's no need to be afraid: it's a vegetarian." you need to counteract that unscientific BS as best you can.