MOST DETESTED MAMMALS ON EARTH

KANGAROO

The Australian highway version of a deer, kangaroos are also

perplexed by headlights and are often hit by traveling cars in

more remote areas. Hitting a kangaroo can easily destroy a

small car. In fact, 18 Australians died last decade

from roo-related collisions.

BAT

Yes, a bat is a mammal rather than a bird and most of us are

pretty freaked out by these nocturnal creatures. Though

often dramatized at Halloween time as blood suckers, bats

rarely bite humans and actually prefer insects to blood. They

act as an effective pest control, plant pollinator and natural

fertilizer producer. If there’s any mammal we should love

rather than hate, it’s the bat.

SHORT-TAILED WEASEL

The cute-looking short-tailed weasel is anything but cute!

These greedy little mammals have hunting instincts bigger

than their stomachs and often kill way more than they

can eat. They can also swim up to a mile in the ocean and

can wander up to 40 miles (65 km) at one time. In New Zealand,

these hated animals have been responsible for the

extinction of quite a few bird species.

FERAL CAT

One of humanity’s most common house pets, cats are generally

thought of as harmless and docile, though a bit lazy, creatures.

But when cats go feral, meaning when house cats become wild

cats, they can be quite the pest. One study found that

62-82% of feral cats carried toxoplasmosis: a parasite which

causes neurological damage to marine mammals. Beyond their

danger to health, feral cats have also hunted the Okinawa

woodpecker and Cayman Island ground iguana into

endangered statuses.

DOG

Though we know them as “man’s best friend”, maybe we should

rethink our relationship with dogs. In a period of just over 30

years up to 2013, over 450 people were killed by dogs in

Canada & the U.S. and over 2,400 people were maimed.

Furthermore, in India alone, about 20,000 people die each year

due to rabies infections from dog bites, the source of

90% of human rabies infections globally.

HIPPOPOTAMUS

Named from the ancient Greek words for “river horse”, the

hippopotamus is one of the deadliest animals in Africa. Its

unpredictable nature and aggression has led it to charge

quite a few boats and humans. For example, in 2014, a

hippo charged a boat near Niger’s capital which led to the

death of 13 people. In Colombia, a local drug lord decided to

raise four hippos. After his death, his estate was abandoned

and the hippos multiplied rapidly. About 20 years later, the

population was almost five times as large and some of the

hippos even escaped and killed nearby cattle and attacked

humans, making it quite a hated animal in the area.

GOAT

The goat: though it might seem like a simple animal which goes

great with Indian curry, this is one tough animal. Domesticated

in western Iran over 10,000 years ago, goats can survive

some of the least hospitable climates on Earth. Add in a

rabid appetite and ability to consume almost any tough plant

matter and herds can ravage small islands and lead to

ecosystem collapse. (Goat herds have been known to grow so

large they cover an area up to 12 miles across).

MONGOOSE

Originating from central and southern Asia, the mongoose is a

wily predator. Introduced to islands such as Mauritius and

Fiji to wipe out surging rat populations on sugar cane plantations,

the mongoose took a liking to other local foods it found and now

both the rat and mongoose are invasive and destroying

the ecosystem.