1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader (78 page)

583

FACT :
Crocodiles are ferocious killers that cause 600–800 human deaths every year. Crocs attack with terrifying speed,
launching themselves out of the water to snare prey
, which they drag underwater and spin repeatedly in a death roll until the victim is drowned or too disoriented to fight back.
Death roll—sounds like something a croc orders at a sushi bar.

“The 10 Most Dangerous Animals in the World,” AOL Travel,
www.travel.aol.co.uk
.

584

FACT :
Big cat attacks on humans cause an estimated 800 fatalities a year—and they are increasing, particularly attacks by tigers in Africa and India, and mountain lions in North America. Experts blame the increase on
destruction of the animals’ natural habitats
and a decline in prey species.
I think we got the better end of that deal. Tigers are bad news. So are mountain lions, but the news is worse with tigers.

“The 10 Most Dangerous Animals in the World,” AOL Travel,
www.travel.aol.co.uk
.

585

FACT :
If a swan hisses at you, take heed.
Swans have been known to capsize boats
, attack humans on jet skis, and strangle dogs to death. They kill by holding their victim’s head under the water until it drowns.
I think I just found a new prey species for big cats.

“The 10 Most Dangerous Animals in the World,” AOL Travel,
www.travel.aol.co.uk
.

“The UK’s Deadliest Creatures,” AOL Travel,
www.travel.aol.co.uk
.

586

FACT :
Because of deadly attacks, the United Kingdom’s
1991 Dangerous Dogs Act forbids ownership of aggressive breeds
—Pit bulls, Dogo Argentino, Japanese Tosa, and Fila Brasileira— without a special permit, which is only issued after a dog has been insured, neutered, given a special tattoo, and fitted with an identity chip.
Pit bulls are only aggressive if you raise them that way. At least that’s what the lady on the news said. The one who was being interviewed after her dog mauled a four-year-old child.

“The UK’s Deadliest Creatures,” AOL Travel,
www.travel.aol.co.uk
.

587

FACT :
At 1,500 pounds and wielding two large, sharp horns, the cape buffalo is not an animal to cross.
These unpredictable creatures will charge head-on when threatened
, sometimes in groups, and can reach a top speed of 35 mph.
The top speed of a human is less than 30 mph—and that’s a professional sprinter, not you—so you can’t outrun the buffalo. But as long as you can outrun at least one person in your safari group, you’re good.

“Top 10 Deadliest Animals,” LIVEScience,
www.livescience.com
.

“The Cape Buffalo: A Very Dangerous Animal,” Africa On The Matrix,
www.on-the-matrix.com
.

“Buffalo,” African Wildlife Federation,
www.awf.org
.

Matthew Herper, “What’s The Human Speed Limit?”
Forbes.com
, May 14, 2004,
www.forbes.com
.

588

FACT :
A polar bear can rip the head off a human
with one swipe of its paw
.
Ha, my mom could do that with just a look.