When you hear South America, you will think that there are a lot of deadly creatures out there. You might also be familiar with the famous rainforest here, called the Amazon rainforest.
You ca also see the list of endangered animals in the Amazon rainforest. South America is not only rich in biodiversity of various flora and fauna species, but it is also a home for some most dangerous animals on earth!
The following is the list of the most dangerous animals you can find in South America. The animals range from the smallest, as small as a bug, to the largest, as big as a green anaconda or black caiman.
If you plan to visit South America, then you can anticipate yourself to avoid these following animals. Let’s continue to get to know to anticipate these 6 most dangerous animals in South America.
Let’s start with the animal in South America that is infamously deadly and
killed the least people, then it would be the anaconda. There’s a slight doubt
that an anaconda could kill people.
The heaviest snake in the world is the green anaconda which weighs over 250 kg and has sold muscles. Green anacondas are also one of the longest snakes with some specimens measuring over 7m. The anaconda hunts its prey by ambushing its prey from the water.
It will wait, mostly submerged, for its prey to come within a striking range, then it will launch a lightning attack. Anacondas use their powerful jaws to coil around the prey and squeeze the life out of it.
Surprisingly, they don’t kill with their poison, instead, they kill their prey with their sharp, backwards pointing teeth. That’s why anaconda is considered as one of non venomous snakes.
Piranha is the most frightening fish ever live. Piranhas are known as the most
notorious man-eaters of all. They are equipped with razor-sharp teeth that are
able to strip a man to the bone in seconds.
They mostly live in lakes and rivers in South America. They just simply use their mighty mouth to gobble up other fish or other sea animals, such as worms, mollusks and shrimps.
They like to swim in shoals, which is a group of fish swimming together which can grow up to 14 inches long. They even have devoured human swimmers!
In South America, you can find several crocodilian species and at least three of them are considered dangerous to humans. Black caiman is one of them. Black caiman is considered as the most common and widespread on the continent.
If you visit South America, specifically the Amazon River and you find a crocodile, then it is likely to be this black caiman. Caiman is also one of the wild animals that only lives in Amazon, so it is a bit hard to find it in other places.
Does black caiman kill humans? There is a little doubt about it. Some large specimens have been observed to prey anything coming to their range, including deer, other caiman, tapir and other various farm animals.
Regarding to their diet, they mostly feed on small fish, frogs and invertebrates, such as crustaceans and insects. But, they will also be likely to have other animals, including birds, turtles and large mammals.
Bright color of an animal usually tells us that it is
poisonous or dangerous. This golden dart frog also tells the same. The bright
yellow color enables the golden dart frog to hide itself among the jungles in
Colombia. Surprisingly, the golden dart frog claim to be the most poisonous vertebrate
on earth.
This frog is poisonous, not venomous as it does not have any fangs or sting to deliver the poison. The golden dart frog has a poisonous skin that is coated in a powerful alkaloid toxin known as batrachotoxin. Once being touched, the poison will work by blocking the victim’s nerve impulses.
As a result, the victim will get paralysis and possibly heart failure. One interesting thing about this frog is that the poison from one frog will be able to kill 10 to 100 humans or 20,000 mice!
Dart frog might look innocent but it can bring you to trouble! Read the other innocent-looking animals that are deadly too!
- Brazilian Wandering Spider
Phoneutria is the Brazilian name of this species of spider, which means murderess. That name gives us hint that this arachnid is often ranked as the most dangerous spider in the world. It is ranked as the most venomous spider on earth by Guinness World Records.
It is proven that the bite of this spider is more akin to a snake bite. Compared to the black widow spider, this Brazilian wandering spider has 20 times more powerful neurotoxin that is able to cause a loss of muscle control leading to difficulties in breathing and even fatal respiratory paralysis.
Do you know that some spiders can be made as pets at home? If you plan to have one, then you need to know the types of house spider and the benefits.
A bug might look small, but there is a bug that is known to be the most dangerous
animal in South America. It is the kissing bug. This bug has some other names,
such as the assassin bug and the vampire bug.
Kissing bugs are 2.5 cm long but they are bloodsuckers! This is not the main reason why they are on top of the list of South America’s most dangerous animals.
Instead, it is because of they are the carriers of parasites causing Chagas disease. So, it is not about the matter of the bite, but it is more to the parasite they carry that is really harmful to humans.
Chagas disease is endemic throughout South America and kills more people than any parasite-borne-diseases. There are around 7 million people estimated to be infected with this disease and causing around 7,000 deaths every year as a result.
There is no cure for Chagas disease once it is established, although early treatment can stop this happening.