You’d expect even the most fearsome predator to be pretty harmless after they’re dead, but there are some animals that keep on delivering death despite no longer being alive, says Sheena Harvey.
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Animals that can kill you even when they're dead
Box jellyfish
These cube-shaped marine creatures, inhabiting the Indo-Pacific region, come in approximately 50 species. Box jellyfish range in size from the tiny Irukandji group of jellyfish, that are the dimensions of a thumbnail, to the Australian box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) the bell of which can be 30cm (1ft) in diameter with tentacles stretching for 3m (10ft).
Regardless of size, the jellyfishes’ multiple tentacles extend out of the bell and are lined with thousands of stinging cells. Called nematocysts, these contain a powerful toxin and act like harpoons to deliver death to anything that touches them. Unlike other types of jellyfish that drift into their prey, the box species are active hunters, travelling at speed through the water to entangle small fish and crustaceans in their tentacles.
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Large as we are, humans are not safe from these stinging killers. Their toxin can cause cardiac arrest in as little as two minutes, and many deaths and illnesses requiring hospitalisation are recorded every year.
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If box jellyfish die and wash up on the shore the danger persists, as the nematocysts are pressure-sensitive and can fire when touched, regardless of whether the jellyfish is alive or dead. Being small and almost transparent they can lie hidden in the sand for a long time, to dispatch death to the unwary.
We named the box jellyfish the deadliest animal in the ocean
Pufferfish
Staying with a marine theme, fugu, which comes from one of several types of pufferfish, is a prized food delicacy in Japan despite potentially being lethal. The pufferfish feed on molluscs and crustaceans that have bacteria living on them. The bacteria converts to a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin that doesn’t harm the pufferfish but accumulates in their liver, intestines, ovaries and skin, making them highly poisonous if eaten.
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So although pufferfish don’t actively kill anything beyond their food items when they are alive, they can kill almost anything after they are dead. Preparing fugu in Japan is strictly regulated and only experienced chefs are allowed to handle the fish and remove the most poisonous parts before serving slivers of the raw flesh as sashimi. Even then, the traces of neurotoxin that inevitably remain give diners numb and tingling mouths and occasional light-headedness.
Cane Toads
These terrestrial amphibians are native to Central and South America but were imported into Australia, the Pacific islands and the Caribbean as pest controllers.
Cane toads are effective against the beetles that damage sugar cane crops but, thanks to the poison glands at the back of their heads and across their backs, they also kill a significant number of other animals, including domestic dogs. That includes when they are dead and eaten as carrion, as the poison remains potent.
Apart from being deadly, the milky fluid that is excreted by the glands and spread across the toad’s skin contains bufotenin, which is mildly hallucinogenic. The Colorado River toad in Mexico and southwestern USA has similar excretions.
Discovering this property has led to dried toad skins being offered as an aphrodisiac and a bizarre leisure activity of ‘toad licking’ becoming semi-popular. Not highly recommended as human deaths have been recorded as a result of indulging in the practice.
Cone Snails
These conical marine snails that live in the Indian Ocean have beautiful, intricately patterned shells, much prized by collectors. They vary in length from half an inch (1.3cm) to eight inches (21cm) and they all pack an unusual and deadly attack and defence system.
Like most molluscs, cone snails have a radula tooth, a bit like a barbed tongue that scrapes their food into their oesophagus, but theirs has been modified into a weapon by the addition of a venom gland filled with neurotoxins.
When alive, the snail uses the radula tooth like a high-powered dart to spear its prey and inject the venom, paralysing and destroying its nerve tissue. In one cone snail species the speed of the radula leaving the shell, driven by strong muscular contractions, was recorded at 56mph! Not only that, but the lethal harpoon is strong enough to pierce a wetsuit and remains loaded and capable of injecting venom post-mortem.
Although actual death in humans is quite rare, collectors and beachgoers attracted by the pretty shells risk a sting that can cause paralysis or death if they pick one up, even if it’s clearly dead.
Golden Poison Dart Frogs
A dose of poison, equivalent to a couple of grains of common table salt, taken from the skin of a golden poison dart frog is sufficient to kill a human. Which is why the forest hunters from the Emberá and Cofán cultures in its native Colombia daub its poison on the tips of their darts and arrows to make them even more lethal.
It is believed that the frog manufactures the batrachotoxin, that acts to open up the membranes of its victim’s nerve cells, from the insects it eats, particularly one species of beetle that has been found to also contain the compound. The brilliant colour of the golden poison dart frog offers it no camouflage in the green rainforest, but it does give a strong indication that anything looking to make a meal of it should think again.
Because the toxin is exuded through the skin, handling a dead frog – even worse, eating it – could prove fatal. The fact that the treated hunters’ arrows have been proved to retain their deadliness for more than two years, shows that handling a dead frog is not a safe option, even after a very long time, if you want to remain alive.
Hooded Pitohui
A native New Guinea songbird with orange-red and black plumage is one of the few known poisonous birds in the world. Its feathers contain a potent batrachotoxin, which results in the victim’s paralysis and death.
The toxin gets into the feathers through the bird’s ingestion of a species of beetle. The bird itself is immune from the toxin but it is absorbed into the bloodstream and from there into its plumage as it grows. It uses these poisoned feathers as a defence against predators. The striking colours and pattern of the bird, as with the poison dart frog, gives a very visible warning that it is not to be tangled with.
Touching the bird’s feathers, even after it is dead, will result in numb, itching and burning skin. Eating it would mean swift death. For that reason, the local name for the species in New Guinea is the ‘rubbish bird’, because it is impossible to eat and the feathers cannot be used for decoration.
We named the hooded pitohui one of the deadliest birds in the world
Wasps
If you are highly allergic to a wasp sting you need to be aware that even if it has been disposed of it can still be dangerous. The venom sac at the end of the wasp’s stinger continues to pulse for some time after death, delivering what could be a lethal dose to those who are sensitive. The venom is a complex mixture of enzymes, amines and peptides that in humans can cause shock, respiratory distress, heart and liver damage.
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The stinger is very sharp so it will still pierce the skin even if the animal is no longer actively injecting it. So you need to be careful if you’re disposing of a body on your windowsill or the corpse of one you have just swatted. There is also a danger in standing or inadvertently sitting on a dead wasp until the poison sac has dried up.
Western, or Inland, Taipan
This Australian snake is chosen for inclusion because it is the serpent with the world’s deadliest venom, but realistically any snake can be responsible for death even after it is dead itself.
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Snake venom is stored in modified salivary glands that are located on each side of the animal’s head and delivered to the fangs via ducts. Although it is usually injected in a bite, venom in certain species can also be spat out.
In a species such as an inland taipan, the deadly fluid is made up of neurotoxins that damage nerve cells, myotoxins that destroy muscle tissue and procoagulants that cause blood clots. A combination that spells death in capital letters.
In fact, one bite from a taipan contains enough venom to kill 100 people and it’s an animal that’s prone to biting multiple times in a single defensive attack. Luckily, the inland taipan is quite a placid, shy snake that would rather hide than confront. Unlike its coastal cousin that requires little provocation to become aggressive.
The reflex to bite if the snake feels threatened is so strong it will continue for a surprising time after the snake is dead. There have even been reports of decapitated snakes still giving a lethal bite.
Stonefish
The highly camouflaged stonefish, found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, are amongst the most venomous fish on earth. They have spines along their backs like needles, each with a gland at the base containing neurotoxins. They also have additional razor-sharp spines beneath their eyes, called lachrymal sabers, that they can extend instantly as an extra, potent defence.
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Stonefish venom is a verrucotoxin that results in intense pain for the victim as well as causing breathing difficulties, damage to the cardiovascular system, convulsions and paralysis. At its worst it will kill you. The fish seem to be able to adjust the amount of venom they release depending on how much pressure is applied to their spines. So the greatest danger is a swimmer standing on one and receiving several spine piercings to their feet.
It is feasible to encounter stonefish in rock pools or stranded on the beach. After they are dead, the spines will still deliver a lethal dose if their bodies are trodden on and, because their colouration and skin texture are designed to blend into their surroundings perfectly, they can be near-impossible to see.
Happily, there are remedies to deal with a stonefish stinging. Anti-venom is available in places where humans and fish are most likely to encounter each other and submerging the affected foot in hot water helps to deactivate the venom if the injuries are not too extensive.
Elk
It's surprising, after reading about all these exotic dangerous animals, to think that an animal as commonplace as an elk can kill anything while it’s alive, never mind when it’s dead. But in the past few years hundreds of people have been seriously injured and even killed in road traffic accidents involving elks.
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The reason these animals are so lethal, even when a motor vehicle has put an end to their lives, is that they have relatively long legs and they weigh more than 300kg (660lb) when fully grown. When the front of a car hits them, their legs are knocked out from under and their huge mass comes straight through the windscreen.
In 2020 seven deaths were recorded in Norway alone and in August 2025, Russian model and Miss Universe contestant, Kseniya Alexandrova, was killed when the car her husband was driving hit an elk as they were travelling home through a wilderness area between Moscow and St Petersburg. So the chances of such a placid creature doling out death after death is not such an impossible phenomenon.
