Deadly Australian Animals

Australian animals are among the most dangerous and deadly creatures in the world. The shark and saltwater crocodile can bite a human in half. The box jellyfish is the most venomous animal on Earth and can kill you in minutes. The powerful kick from a cassowary bird can slit a person open. Australia is also home to many dangerous snakes, spiders, fish, and even snails that can kill you. Despite their dangers, these animals are typically not aggressive towards humans unless provoked.

Do Australian Animals Attack Humans?

Photo: Shark Attack

Australia has some of the deadliest animals in the world. But there are no animals in Australia that deliberately attack humans. Given a choice, they all prefer avoiding humans. Except for sharks and crocodiles, none of these deadly animals would ever consume a human for a meal. Therefore, there is no advantage in them attacking something as large and tasteless as a person. Even sharks and crocodiles prefer to leave humans alone.

Photo: Crocodile on a riverbank

Therefore, it is reasonable to say that almost all confrontations with these animals are caused by foolhardy actions of humans. These may include such things as sticking their hands into a spider's web, swimming in waters infested with crocodiles or shakes, stepping on dangerous animals or invading an animal’s space.

Classification of Dangerous Australian Animals?

There is no standard way of classifying the level of risk posed by various types of animals. We have formulated a common-sense approach for determining the level of risk involved. Some animals may be in more than one of these groupings. For example, a bee sting is not deadly to most people; however, to some, a bee sting can bring about a severe allergic reaction which in turn can cause death.

Deadly - Those animals are likely to inflict death if untreated. The most venomous Australian snakes and spiders and the box jellyfish fall into this category.

Dangerous - Animals that can inflict significant injury on a human but don't necessarily cause death. For example, being mowed down by a wombat is really not much fun and could definitely result in broken bones and other serious injuries.

Types of Injury Inflicted by Australian Animals>

We have grouped animals according to how they inflict death and injury on humans.

Venom - Typically, the most deadly animals inflict their injury by stinging or biting, and injecting toxins into their victims, which results in the victim's death.

Poison - These animals do not directly inflict injury on humans themselves. If, however, these animals are ingested or rubbed against, poisoning can occur resulting in serious injury or death.

Aggression - Animals in this group are those that inflict damage by brute force such as kicking, biting, and butting their victims.

Dangerous Australian Animals Rated

The dangerous animal rating used on this page was developed by the Australian Museum, where the museum staff rated animals on a score of 10 based on the threat they pose, combined with the likelihood of encountering one. This list was published in the Australian Geographic. We have added other animals to this list. (See the Dangerous Animals Rated Index above).

Deaths Caused by Australian Animals – Statistics

A recent NCIS Fact Sheet states that there were 254 animal related deaths throughout Australia in this ten year period. Whilst the numbers vary from year to year, this equates to roughly 26 deaths per year overall.

Deaths Caused by Domestic Animals

Domesticated, recreational, farm animals and pets accounted for 54% of all animal related fatalities. The report states that deaths involving horses were the most common and occurred most amongst people aged between 20 and 24 years. Deaths involving dogs occurred most frequently in children under the age of 4 years or elderly people. Farming accidents probably account for the bovine-related deaths.

Deaths Caused by Australian Wild Animals

Australian wild animals, both native and introduced, contributed to only 46% of all animal-related fatalities. Deaths attributed to emus, cassowaries and kangaroos occurred indirectly as a consequence of collision with motor vehicles. They did not directly cause the death of any people.

Why Do Australian Animals Cause So Few Deaths?

The good news is that the number of fatalities resulting from these deadly and dangerous animals is extremely low – it averages only 13 a year. Four times as many Australians die by falling out of bed each year (56 deaths).

So while Australia may indeed have the most deadly and dangerous animals, the death rate is surprisingly very low. The reasons for this are twofold.

Most Dangerous Animals Rarely Meet Humans

Most deadly and dangerous animals rarely come in contact with humans because they prefer avoiding humans, and also, in many instance they live away from human populations.

Excellent Medical Care

In recent years, excellent medical care and the development of antivenom means that relief can be administered to the victim before the ill effect of the inflicted injury can cause death.