The Deadliest Creature in Japan (Other than Covid-19)
If asked what is the deadliest creature in Japan, many people would reply with "a Bear". I sometimes see a news story about a hiker or an elderly person collecting mountain vegetables being attacked by a bear. I have only seen bears in the zoo in Japan, but if anyone sees a bear in the wild, signs are put up to warn others.
Actually, bears are not the most dangerous creature in Japan. From 2008 to 2018, there were only 22 deaths from bear attacks according to the Ministry of the Environment.
Hornets and wasps are much more deadly than bears in Japan. During the same time period, 2008 to 2018, 191 people died after being stung by wasps and bees! This makes them the deadliest creatures in Japan, more dangerous than poisonous snakes and sharks, which kill even fewer people than bears.
According to Nippon.com, "The main types of wasps that attack people in Japan are paper wasps (ashinagabachi) and hornets (suzumebachi); the latter are particularly aggressive. Very little poison is released from a wasp sting so that is not the direct cause of death, but antibodies are produced the first time a person is stung, and a second sting can unleash an intense allergic reaction causing anaphylactic shock. In this case, blood pressure suddenly drops and death can quickly result after the victim experiences breathing difficulties and falls into a coma."
Wasps and bees live where we do, so it is much easier to come in contact with them. Last summer, there was a wasp nest in the bicycle parking area where I work and they closed down the parking area until winter. I was told it was too dangerous to try to remove the nest, so they waited until cold weather and the wasps died! Experts claim the color black can provoke an attack so people should wear lighter colors and to cover black hair.
Be careful out there and stay safe!
9 comments:
now that's interesting, who would've thought that?
Wow, I have had a few wasp stings in my life time, but none for a few years. That k's interesting info Pamela.
I was stung by a wasp when I was a little girl and it was quite serious. Then believe it or not I was stung by a swarm of wasps last summer while on holiday in Sweden. It has taken a year for the scars to disappear. However, I think the Swedish wasps are reasonably harmless, and I was not in need of medical care, nor did I die!
In Japan, tough I have lived dangerously, we had a paper wasp nest right outside our window and didn't notice it until the hive was rather huge. Luckily we had a neighbour with experience of removing nests who helped us get rid of it. Paper wasps are hovering and moving around slowly, so we should have spotted them easily if we had just paid attention to what was outside our window! Stay safe!
Hope you can avoid all those deadly creatures!
I was watching an episode of a TV show last week where they asked "Which animal is responsible for the most deaths in Australia?" And although people guessed all sorts of things like sharks and snakes, the answer was horses.
Janie took my comment. I used to be deathly afraid of bees due to allergic reactions to stings. I have a healthy respect for them now and try to keep a safe distance from them.
There are California Brown Bears on the other side of our mountain which is land owned by the Bureau of Land Development. We have not seen one yet, but we saw a cougar on the next ridge yesterday while driving the trail Corey made to the top of our land. We did see a bear hole the other day when we were exploring. I haven't checked my pictures yet. I hope the one of it came out good enough to post. How can I be too busy to check my pictures!!!
xx, Carol
To me the deadliest creature is a snake....if I saw one I would win a medal at the Olympics for the fastest sprint....
In Australia we are noted for the worlds deadliest snakes and spiders.
How interesting. We have two sorts of hornets here - our native one which looks like a giant wasp and the asiatic hornet which arrived here about 15 years ago on a boat and has steadily made itself at home. It is black with a bright orange rump and sadly attacks our bees which is not good for the environment. I have no idea how many deaths there are here from wasps and hornets but having been stung once by a hornet (extremely painful) I am very wary of getting stung again! xx
Frankly, I'd prefer not to be attacked both are by either hornet or wasp! Both are pretty grim!
I don't know about Japan, but I think in Germany, ticks might be among the most dangerous animals as the can cause serious infections. We don't really have any big predators in the wild, though!
I wonder where 'death by eating poisonous fish' ranges on the list of animal-related deaths in Japan, though?
Post a Comment