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CNN Live At Daybreak
Smaller the Bite, Bigger the Danger
Aired September 25, 2002 - 05:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The smaller the bite, the bigger the danger. That's apparently true when you look at which creatures are the most deadly to humans.
Our science correspondent Ann Kellan has the figures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANN KELLAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you live in the U.S., these big cats shouldn't worry you. You have a better chance getting struck by lightning than being killed by a mountain lion. Even the mighty shark, with three deadly attacks in 2001 and a starring role in numerous "Jaws" sequels, is less a threat to humans than other creatures.
Can you guess the animal that kills more humans than any other? Here's a hint. Think small.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tiger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bear.
KELLAN: Oh, my. Not those. Think smaller. Not a penguin. They've never killed anyone. Smaller.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A wolf.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A dog.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alligator maybe?
KELLAN: Despite their mean and threatening looks, alligators and crocodiles in the U.S. have killed, on average, one person a year for the past 30 years, says the University of Florida. And who's afraid of the big, bad wolf? Fairy tales like "Little Red Riding Hood" would have us running for cover while the defenders of wildlife say they don't know of any incidents of a wolf killing a human in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good boy.
KELLAN: As for man's best friend, the most dangerous canines, according to the Humane Society, are ones humans train as killers for sport. Pit bulls and Rotweilers are responsible for 60 percent of human deaths caused by dogs, which total between 10 and 20 deaths a year, mostly children. Not as many as the number of people killed by deer. The U.S. Department of Transportation says these timid beasts along with other clueless creatures wandered onto roads, killing 83 people in car accidents in 2000.
It turns out the biggest killers are not big at all, but small insects. The CDC says stinging insects, from killer bees to fire ants, claim between 40 to 60 lives every year in the U.S. But insects carrying diseases kill more than any other creature and mostly outside the U.S. according to the World Health Organization, the tsetse fly spreading sleeping sickness claims about 66,000 lives every year.
Yet it's the mosquito that is the deadliest of them all. The U.S. is feeling its bite with more than 70 deaths from West Nile disease this year. And that's just a fraction of its toll. Throughout the world, the mosquito can also carry encephalitis or malaria, making it responsible for more than two million deaths per year worldwide.
Ann Kellan, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 25, 2002 - 05:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The smaller the bite, the bigger the danger. That's apparently true when you look at which creatures are the most deadly to humans.
Our science correspondent Ann Kellan has the figures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANN KELLAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you live in the U.S., these big cats shouldn't worry you. You have a better chance getting struck by lightning than being killed by a mountain lion. Even the mighty shark, with three deadly attacks in 2001 and a starring role in numerous "Jaws" sequels, is less a threat to humans than other creatures.
Can you guess the animal that kills more humans than any other? Here's a hint. Think small.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tiger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bear.
KELLAN: Oh, my. Not those. Think smaller. Not a penguin. They've never killed anyone. Smaller.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A wolf.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A dog.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alligator maybe?
KELLAN: Despite their mean and threatening looks, alligators and crocodiles in the U.S. have killed, on average, one person a year for the past 30 years, says the University of Florida. And who's afraid of the big, bad wolf? Fairy tales like "Little Red Riding Hood" would have us running for cover while the defenders of wildlife say they don't know of any incidents of a wolf killing a human in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good boy.
KELLAN: As for man's best friend, the most dangerous canines, according to the Humane Society, are ones humans train as killers for sport. Pit bulls and Rotweilers are responsible for 60 percent of human deaths caused by dogs, which total between 10 and 20 deaths a year, mostly children. Not as many as the number of people killed by deer. The U.S. Department of Transportation says these timid beasts along with other clueless creatures wandered onto roads, killing 83 people in car accidents in 2000.
It turns out the biggest killers are not big at all, but small insects. The CDC says stinging insects, from killer bees to fire ants, claim between 40 to 60 lives every year in the U.S. But insects carrying diseases kill more than any other creature and mostly outside the U.S. according to the World Health Organization, the tsetse fly spreading sleeping sickness claims about 66,000 lives every year.
Yet it's the mosquito that is the deadliest of them all. The U.S. is feeling its bite with more than 70 deaths from West Nile disease this year. And that's just a fraction of its toll. Throughout the world, the mosquito can also carry encephalitis or malaria, making it responsible for more than two million deaths per year worldwide.
Ann Kellan, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
