Mammals are vertebrates, they feed on milk from their mothers’ mammary glands at birth, and they possess unique characteristics, such as hair (in most cases). Perhaps because humans are also mammalian animals, we have historically chosen other animals with this same nature to accompany us throughout the history of humanity, not only as potential work or transportation, but as faithful friends. The majority of domestic animals that live with humans are mammals (cats and dogs) and horses, and other farm animals on which our survival has largely depended, are also mammals.
But, despite the affable character that humans show towards mammalian animals (and that they seem to show us as well),accidents involving humans and mammals sometimes occur in which people are injured or killed. On many occasions, the cause of the accident is not so much that the animal itself is aggressive, but because human civilization itself has invaded part or all of its habitat, with which the animal may feel threatened and reacts by trying to defend itself.
Many more mammals with which humans habitually interact cause fatal accidents than other types of animals that, a priori, may be less ‘friendly’ to us; An example of this are sharks, fish that cause about 5 fatal accidents a year. Instead, elephants, hippos, deer, tigers or even dogs can cause tens or hundreds of human deaths each year, depending on the country.
In the world there are about 5000 species of mammals. Most are smaller in size than human and generally harmless. However, other larger animals such as lions, tigers and bears are famous for their ferocity,usually when they are hungry or provoked.
Although some animals (in this case, mammals) sometimes kill some people, human activity causes a disproportionate number of deaths in animals, especially mammals. The food industry, hunting, but mainly the destruction of ecosystems, derived from human activities seriously compromise many species every year. Therefore, it is our responsibility to love and respect animals, and not blame or demonize them, precisely to minimize the risk of this type of attack.
These are some of the deadliest mammalian species for humans.
