Stay Away From Me!
Adjective
ready or likely to attack or do harm to others
Black mambas are fast, lethally venomous and, when threatened, highly aggressive. Stories of their deadliness abound, and they have been aggrandized in African myth.
Verb
open to view
"No other animal works as well... Anywhere they want to be, they can be, and then look at you, bare their teeth and sink back into the gloom. It's almost more terrifying than anything."
Noun
sudden numbing fear
The appearance of a Brazilian fish has sent a chill through summertime swimmers in Sweden and Denmark. The alarming fish is the pacu, a cousin of the piranha, which has large teeth and a reputation for biting men's testicles.
Noun
feelings of fear or disgust
Law enforcement agents often use dermestid beetles to expose skeletons when chemicals might damage evidence. The insects might give you the creepy-crawlies, but they are a great tool in forensic investigations.
Noun
hard bonelike structures in the jaws of a venomous snake used to inject its poison
The Gaboon viper is found in the rainforests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. The world's heaviest viper snake, it lies in waiting, ready to sink all 2.2 inches (5.6 cm) of its fangs into its prey.
Adjective
making someone afraid or anxious, esp. in appearance
While a fearsome reputation precedes them, in reality the tarantula's bite is only as harmful as it looks. What venom they may inject is weaker than that of the average bee.
Verb
force or drive a liquid into something
Anopheles mosquitoes carry the malaria parasite. The blood-seeking females inject these microscopic invaders, each bite acting like an infected hypodermic needle.
Phrase
do not be tricked into thinking otherwise
The hippopotamus is widely considered to be the No. 1 most dangerous animal in Africa. They may look like goofy, awkward oafs, but make no mistake: nearly everything about the hippopotamus is deadly.
Adjective
beaten by cleverness or trickery
An unnamed Belarus hunter was outfoxed by his quarry when the fox he had wounded ended up shooting him by pulling the trigger on the man's gun.
Verb
cause or allow food or drink to pass down the throat
Anacondas squeeze until the animal dies of asphyxiation. Stretchy ligaments in their jaw allow them to swallow their prey whole.
Noun
physical damage to the body
The Bullet Ant’s sting causes waves of throbbing, mind-blowing trauma that doesn’t stop for 24 hours.
Adjective
full of poisonous fluid injected into prey or attackers by a bite or sting
Attached to rocks on the sea bottom or on coral reefs, they wait for fish to get ensnared in their venomous tentacles.