Let`s see who can answer this question

[Govind]

My question is simple and straight!!...unlike tht of the Sphinx...

 

Well...name the mammal who has killed more human beings than any other mammal??

 

Let's us see the bright ones here...lol

 

I`m from India...so u can expect all this from me...lol...we are known for are education...lol

[YT2095]

other than MAN himself, it would probably have to be Rats (or is Rodentia a species unto themselves?).

 

that`s my Guess

[5614]

I like this question!!! Only coz I know the answer though!!!

 

I'll PM Govind the answer, he can say if it's right, I'll let you guys guess!

 

[edit] and if I'm correct, than YT isnt!!!

[ydoaPs]

i say it is man

[YT2095]

5614, I hope your not going to say Deer, I`m not sure they have too many of those in India?

[Govind]

Well...its not wats PMed to me...

 

and yourdadonapogos is right...why r u confusing guys...(and YT2095)..i said mammal...man is a very nice mammal!!!

 

The answer is Man

[5614]

What!?!?! No I would not say deer!!!

 

(My answer excluded man)

 

[edit] oh well!

[5614]

OK, so to continue the thread.... EXcluding man, which mamal has the most kills?

[atinymonkey]

The rat.

[YT2095]

I say rats come second

[Govind]

hmmm...interestrin...rat!!..could be...specially if we consider the diseases transmitted by em too!!

[YT2095]

prolly Mosquitos after that, if we exit the mamalian realm, Birds seem to be doing quite well also, though there`s not much to beat the common flu

[5614]

Whilst rats carry diseases they themselves do not do the killing, more the disease they carry does, so whilst they could be held partially responsible they themselves are not killing, so no, not rats.

[YT2095]

nowhere in this thread other than NOW in this post was "Directly" or the word "Indirectly" mentioned or specified as a parameter.

 

consider that there are VERY few deaths from a man to a man without the use of a weapon also, and you`ll see that your arg is simply that of being a Poor Loser

 

btw, what answer DID you PM him with?

[rakuenso]

I would have to say either mosquitoes or rats as well because of malaria and the bubonic plague

[5614]

When I was typing post #13 I typed about the analogy of man doesnt kill man, only guns do... but then I realised that no, that wasn't a technically correct analogy, because: the man choses to kill the person, it's his free will to pull thr trigger, he is fully responsible, whereas the rat has no choice, he doesn't have the intention to kill....

 

(all "he" could be she as well!)

 

And I PMed the answer as hippos.

 

Bold at top: http://www.didyouknow.cd/animals/hippo.htm

 

Infact, just do this search: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=hippos+kill+the+most&meta= and see yourself!

[YT2095]

HA HA

 

I can`t beleive you googled for it, despite it not being very Honest or sporting of you, you forgot to factor in Globality.

 

the only Hippos here are likely to be in Zoos, with like fences and stuff ROFLOL

[5614]

What?!?!

 

I googled it as proof that it is commonly accepted as the mamal which kills the most humans, it's one of those random "world record" style random facts that I know... just I thought as proof I'd try and find a site, so I googled 'hippos kill the most' as proof... I didn't google the question, I agree, that is not honest nor sporting.

[Mokele]

As far as direct kills, I'm dubious about hippos. While they're very dangerous and kill a lot of people *currently*, humans have not always had boats and therefore have not always been in close contact with hippos.

 

I'd vote for leopards. There is fossil evidence that they've been hunting anthropoids since Australeopithecus, their range overlaps with ancient humans both in geography and climate/habitat, and they are hunters evolved to cope with prey about our size (compared to lions, which are more big-game hunters). Given that the vast majority of human history has involved us wandering around African savannahs, I'd be more inclined towards leopards.

 

Hippos might be more dangerous on a per-individual encounter, but they did not hunt us, nor did we enter their habitat as often as we were in leopard habitat.

 

Also, next time you watch a dragon in a movie, look at how feline the movements often are. Our fear response is triggered by felid movements (in part), while hippos look amusing to us.

 

Mokele

[mossoi]

I heard a few years ago that Hippos were 2nd only to snakes in the number of people killed (excluding man).They have self sharpening teeth which could definitely give you a nasty nip.

 

This leads onto another question though. If he was such a good killer, why didn't George savage Zippo when he was being annoying?

 

Mokele, you're assuming that the only reason an animal would kill is if it's hunting us for prey and precludes self defence, territorial aggression, stampeding and general crushings, mauling, gougings and bitings.

[bascule]

Well, even if you don't go by kill count, the hippo is still one of the most dangerous. How many other animals can you think of that can literally bite off your head?

[Sayonara]

Dolphins - they account for all unsolved murders.

[Mokele]

Mokele, you're assuming that the only reason an animal would kill is if it's hunting us for prey and precludes self defence, territorial aggression, stampeding and general crushings, mauling, gougings and bitings.

 

No, I'm not actually assuming that. I'm assuming that

a) if any animal can frequently cause humans wounds in self defense, we'll either find a way to avoid the possibility (traps or spears or poison arrows) or just stop hunting it (if it's not worth the risk),

b) few animals have territorial reactions to humans, and those that do rarely kill us, since a standard of territorial displays is to display in order to deter a fight, as we'd learn fast to run away when the display starts,

c) Stampedes are suitably rare and early man was unlikely to fall victim due to a variety of factors, not the least of which being scurrying up the nearest tree

d) general injuries will be distributed across multiple species, and therefore unlikely to contribute majorly to kill count

 

In contrast, active predators who deliberately target humans would actually seek us out in order to kill us. The commonality of the leopard, it's known propensity for hunting humans, combined with actively seeking us as a food source, IMHO, would elevate the kill number substantially.

 

Mokele

[john5746]

How about Man's best friend, the dog? Although they don't kill often, they are around so many humans.

[akcapr]

ill say cats. whats the answer?