Animals vs Plants – Who’s deadlier
There are thousands of living things on our planet capable of creating poison or venom, but most creatures and plants that contain toxins strong enough to kill you in a single dose are quite small. Many things can kill you in large amounts like salt or alcohol, but there are few naturally produced substances capable of killing you from a single intake, however, it can still happen. Here’s a list of the most poisonous living things known to mankind, and which amongst them holds the title of being the most lethal.
Oleander vs Hawksbill sea turtle
The Oleander is a decorative plant grown across Asia, Europe, and North America, but it’s also incredibly poisonous and every part of the plant contains some kind of toxin in varying amounts. The smoke of burning Oleander plants is enough to cause severe breathing problems and if consumed, intense stomach pains followed by diarrhea and irregular heartbeats. If enough is consumed then the cause of death will usually be a heart attack caused by the strongest of the plant’s toxins which are Oldendrin, Nerioside, and cardiac glycosides.
The Hawksbill sea turtle sure does look cute, and they aren’t aggressive creatures so the only danger comes to those who see them as food. The diet of this type of turtle contains a variety of toxic algae which it eats all its life, making the flesh of the turtle incredibly toxic to anything that doesn’t have a natural immunity to it, which is anything that’s not a Hawksbill sea turtle.
Winner – Oleander
The Oleander can cause toxic effects through touch, ingestion, and smoke and is very common across most of the Northern Hemisphere, whereas the turtle can only poison through consumption of its flesh and not upon touch.
White Snakeroot vs Striated surgeon fish
White snakeroot is very common across North America and is said to have caused the death of Abraham Lincoln’s mother when she drank milk from cows that ate the plant. The main type of poison in the plant is called Tremetol which is a type of alcohol. When consumed it causes intense stomach pains and a severe thirst followed by delirium and death. The plant caused the deaths of thousands of settlers in the early years of colonizing the continent because it looks very similar to non-toxic European plants that people probably got mixed up and consumed by mistake.
Like the Hawksbill turtle, the Striated surgeon fish doesn’t naturally create toxins but acquires them through its diet. It feeds on types of toxin-producing algae which the fish itself is immune to, but anyone who eats it will experience something called Ciguatera fish poisoning which affects up to 40,000 people each year, though few end up dying from it. The condition feels like food poisoning but can last for several months and is often misdiagnosed as a muscle disorder.
Winner – White Snakeroot
Not only is the toxin stronger, but its likeness to various edible plants combined with how common it is across North America makes it much more likely to be accidentally consumed.
Suicide tree (Cerbera odollam) vs Puffer fish
This tree can only be found in hot and dry regions of the world and is especially common in Madagascar and India. It’s thought the nickname comes from its most popular use which was during the early 1800s when it was used in something called a “trial by order”. This involved eating one of the fruits and if you survived you were innocent. The fruit’s flesh isn’t fatal if ingested because the seed contains all the poison, a type called Cerberin which causes the heart’s rhythm to drastically change, leading to heart attacks or simply shutting down.
The puffer fish is best known as the fish that can kill you if you eat it, but it’s only certain parts of the fish that are deadly. The liver, eyes, and most of its internal organs are highly toxic and cause almost instant effects after consumption, but it isn’t as deadly as people may think. There are between 20 and 50 poisonings from Pufferfish each year in Japan, but less than 25% of them lead to death.
Winner – Suicide tree
In India alone there are over 100 deaths from this tree each year, probably because it looks dangerously close to an apple, compared to the puffer fish which only kills if eaten accidentally and can’t deliver its poison through its spines unless intense pressure is put on them, making it close to impossible for it to intentionally poison a human.
Hemlock vs Stone fish
Hemlock comes in two main versions which are common hemlock and water hemlock, both of which are highly poisonous. The Greek philosopher Socrates was said to have been killed by drinking tea made from hemlock leaves, but how true that is remains uncertain. The plant contains a poison called Coniine which is strong enough to kill an adult with as little as 0.25 grams, but how much of the plant you’d have to consume to reach this amount would vary depending on the plant. Fortunately, it’s quite distinctive and is supposed to taste very bitter and isn’t the nicest smelling flower, making it easy to avoid.
The stone fish is named as such because of its natural camouflage of looking like a stone. It is considered the world’s most venomous fish and delivers its toxic payload through a series of spines along its back. It’s common in the warmer waters of south-east Asia and Australia and is especially familiar with swimmers and surfers. It sits on the sea floor in shallow waters, waiting for a smaller fish to swim close enough for it to strike, but from the surface it’s impossible to tell apart from a normal rock, leading to almost every single case of poisoning caused by someone treading on it.
Winner – Stone fish
Even though Hemlock is much more common and the poison itself is more lethal, it’s highly unlikely to be consumed, whereas people step on stonefish somewhere in the world on a regular basis. The other reason the stone fish wins is because of the feeling the toxins produce, with the pain supposed to be so great people have actually asked for the affected limb to be cut off, something they are glad the doctors didn’t do after administering an antidote. The pain has been described as having jagged wires slowly twisted around the inside of your leg while it’s also on fire, and it’s well known as being the greatest pain you can possibly receive from a naturally produced toxin.
Aconite vs Inland Taipan
Aconite is more commonly known by its many nicknames which include Monkshood, Wolves Bane, and Queen of Poisons. It’s the most poisonous flower in Europe and is very common across most of the continent. The most poisonous part is the root which contains such highly concentrated toxins that you’d be dead as soon as you swallowed it, and was used as a poison on arrow tips to instantly kill wolves so they could gather their pelts and protect animal herds during the Middle Ages.
The Inland Taipan is officially the world’s most venomous snake and has enough toxins in a single bite to kill 100 adults. Its venom usually kills within 3 to 5 hours but there is an antidote as long as someone gets to a hospital fast enough. Fortunately, the snake is very shy and doesn’t like going near people, instead preferring to live in quiet areas and feeding off mice and other small animals.
Winner Inland Taipan
Aconite is much more common but doesn’t bear anything edible looking someone may eat, like a berry. The chance of someone getting bit by a Taipan is small, but the odds of accidentally digging up and eating the root of a wildflower are even smaller. In terms of toxins, the ones produced by the Taipan are much stronger but take longer to work, whereas the Aconite can kill almost instantly after consumption.
Castor bean vs Poison dart frog
The castor plant is grown as a decorative plant in European and American gardens and produces uniquely shaped leaves and impressive flowers, and is also mass-produced for its oil-bearing seeds. It also happens to contain one of the most powerful plant poisons on earth, a substance called Ricin. The level of toxins found naturally in the seed is strong enough to kill an adult from as little as three seeds, and only one for a child or dog. The plant is very distinctive and anyone growing it should know not to eat the seeds, and it’s very rare to find it growing in the wild.
The skin of the poison dart frog creates a toxin so strong that it takes as little as 2 micrograms to kill a human. The average frog contains enough poison to kill around 10 people but it’s only produced as a deterrent and it doesn’t have a way to deliver it offensively. Its bright colors warn predators of its toxic nature and other animals seem to instinctively know not to eat it, with the only deaths caused from it coming from people using its poison to kill other people, originally on arrowheads, hence the name.
Winner – Castor bean
Not only is the poison in the castor bean more powerful in the same quantity but the plant is much more common. The frog is unable to use its poison and makes it pretty obvious that it’s not safe to eat, so almost every single death caused by this animal was done through manipulation of its poison by people. The bean of the castor plant is more likely to be consumed than someone accidentally licking a brightly colored tropical frog.
When it comes to who’s deadlier it’s difficult to say as the strength of the toxin alone is not an accurate indicator. The poison in the Aconite flower is over 1000 times stronger than the venom in a bee sting, yet bees kill a few dozen people around the world each year compared to Aconite’s average of zero.
