8 animals that kill people every year from snakes to sharks

Counting how many people animals kill is imprecise, and the totals differ from one source to the next. The biggest numbers often belong to creatures that are small, common or easy to overlook. Eight animals appear here, each with the figure or caveat its source provides.

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1. Snakes: The Deadliest by Far

Live Science, quoting a World Health Organization figure, says in its animal death-toll roundup that snakes kill between 81,000 and 138,000 people every year. That range is the widest on this list, and the source presents it as a range rather than a single count.

The spread between the low and high end is large, so the figure works better as a sense of scale than as an exact tally. It is stated per year and attributed to the WHO, which is the context a reader needs before comparing it with other animals.

2. Dogs: Rabies Behind the Bite

In the same Live Science piece, the dog entry is really about disease: rabies, often spread by dog bites, kills about 59,000 people each year. The deaths come from the virus the animal can carry, not from the bite wound itself, which makes this entry a disease story as much as an animal one.

That framing is why dogs rank so high despite being familiar pets. The 59,000 figure is an annual estimate for rabies overall, and the source ties it to dogs by noting that bites are a frequent route of spread rather than the only one.

3. Lions: Teeth Without a Number

A Live Science entry describes a lion’s teeth as able to rip apart flesh, but it offers no annual death figure for the animal. The entry is a description of capability rather than a count of victims.

Because no number is given, lions cannot be ranked against the other animals here on the basis of this source. The caution matters: a fearsome reputation is not the same thing as a documented yearly toll, and the page does not claim otherwise. Readers looking for a lion toll will need a different source.

4. Crocodiles: Jaws in Opportunistic Waters

WorldAtlas says in its WorldAtlas deadliest-animals article that around 1,000 people are killed each year at the jaws of opportunistic crocodiles. The site calls the crocodile the deadliest apex predator for humans, a label that rests on that annual estimate.

The word apex predator matters here, because the claim is about large predators rather than every animal on the list. Snakes and rabies-carrying dogs are cited elsewhere with far higher yearly numbers, so the crocodile’s rank depends on how the category is drawn, and on which source is consulted, since the figures differ between publications.

5. Hippopotamus: Dangerous Per Encounter

A data-focused deadliest animals explainer says hippos kill far fewer people than elephants or big cats, yet counts them among the most dangerous animals per encounter. The point is about risk when a person meets the animal, not about total deaths.

That distinction explains why a creature can be low in the annual rankings and still earn a fearsome reputation. The source gives no single yearly death figure for hippos in the material cited here, so the comparison stays qualitative and rests on the source’s own wording about relative danger.

6. Elephants: Five Hundred a Year

ScienceAlert reports in its ScienceAlert ranking that about 500 people a year are killed in elephant attacks. The number sits in the middle of this list, far below snakes and rabies but well above the figures given for wolves and sharks.

The estimate is stated as an annual approximation, so it should be read as a round figure rather than a precise count, with real uncertainty on either side. It pairs naturally with the hippo entry, since a data source cited above says elephants kill more people than hippos do.

7. Wolves: Rare Attacks, Big Reputation

ScienceAlert estimates about 10 deaths a year from wolves, and its deadliest animals list notes that wolf attacks are not common in many parts of the world where wolves live. The low figure sits uneasily against the animal’s fearsome reputation.

The estimate and the caveat travel together, and neither should be read alone: the source treats the number as small and the attacks as uncommon. That makes wolves one of the clearest examples on the list of a feared animal with a modest estimated toll in this source, and a reminder to treat the figure as approximate.

8. Sharks: Rare by Any Measure

ScienceAlert puts the toll from sharks at about 6 deaths a year, and its shark attack estimate says shark attacks are pretty rare. It is the lowest figure among the eight animals here, and the source’s phrasing is deliberately plain about it.

The number is an estimate, and the source’s wording is plain: attacks happen, but infrequently. Set beside the 81,000 to 138,000 snakebite deaths quoted at the top of the list, the gap is enormous, even allowing for how rough both estimates are. Each is stated per year, so the comparison is like for like in that respect.