Asked about animals with impressive claws and you’ll probably come up with grizzly bears, lions and tigers. But there are some surprising animals that can inflict tremendous damage with their powerful and razor-sharp toenails.
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Here are 10 deadliest claws in the animal kingdom.
10 deadliest claws
1. Harpy Eagle
The massive talons on this gigantic South American bird of prey have no equal in the avian world. Even among mammals this animal’s arsenal is impressive. The dagger-sharp claws are longer than a grizzly bear’s, at an average 13cm (5in).
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In comparative terms to body size, that would mean a bear would have to have claws that were 25cm (10in) long to match the bird in reach – that would be a scary prospect for any form of prey! Add to that the fact that a harpy’s grip can generate hundreds of pounds of force, sufficient to crush the skull of a monkey – a favourite way for the bird to dispatch its prey – and you have a formidable killing machine.
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2. Hairy Frog
Lurking in fast-flowing rivers in central Africa is a small amphibian that you wouldn’t think would have the ability to inflict bloody wounds on anyone who attempts to capture it. The hairy frog is only about 12cm (5in) long but it has a secret weapon that’s unique in nature – it has super-sharp toe bones that can burst out of the skin of its feet to act like claws and repel attackers.
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These bones are located just behind the frog’s fingertips and are held in place with strands of collagen. When the frog is threatened it breaks the connection and pushes the bones out of the tips. No one knows what happens next, but scientists surmise that after the frog has made good its escape, leaving a shredded, bleeding adversary, it must pull the ‘claws’ back in and grow fresh skin to cover the exit wounds.
3. Cassowary
This large bird of Australia and New Guinea is capable of killing a human with the dagger-like claw on the inner side of each foot. These claws are as long as a man’s hand and extremely sharp.
Although they are flightless, cassowaries can leap great heights if provoked. When they feel threatened, or their chicks are in danger, they will attack. This takes the form of launching themselves up to 2m (6ft) into the air and coming at their victim feet first, raking down through their soft, vulnerable parts.
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Backed by a powerful punch from the bird’s sturdy legs, it’s horrifying how much damage two toenails can do to a human face. No wonder they’re considered the world’s most dangerous bird.
4. Komodo Dragon
The thin hooked claws of this Indonesian reptile are designed to rip into the vulnerable throats or bellies of their prey after they have charged it down. The front claws are then used to hold the carcass down while this largest of lizards strips off chunks of flesh to swallow.
The enormous claws also have a secondary function as digging tools, used by the females to construct nest holes to protect their eggs and young. They will also use their claws to fight off unwanted attention from amorous males. They are very resistant to advances in the early stages of courtship and will make their feelings known with painful scratches.
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When the young hatch, they use their claws to climb trees, where they stay for their first few years hiding not only from predators but from their own kind as komodos are known for cannibalism.
5. Wolverine
The claws of this massive mustelid of northern Europe and North America are like the crampons used by climbers. They are so long and powerful they help the animal climb steep slopes and tall trees with ease, even when they are ice-covered.
Unlike their superhero namesake in the X-Men comic books, though, their claws are non-retractable and quite curved so, like bears, wolverine walk on the soles of their paws and their claws blunt and wear down with use. This means they are not always useful tools for killing, even though the animals are capable of stalking and dispatching small and vulnerable prey such as squirrels, chipmunks, and newborn or weakened mammals.
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Wolverines are primarily scavengers and those formidable nails do come in handy for tearing lumps out of carcasses, especially frozen ones.
6. Mantis Shrimp
There are two types of mantis shrimp, inhabitants of shallow tropical seas, which have different methods of employing their impressive claws. They are divided into smasher shrimps and spearer shrimps.
Unlike the tearing force of many animals’ claws, the terrifying power of a smasher shrimp’s club-like claws comes in lashing into their prey at lightning speed, 50 times faster than a human can blink. This delivers a devastating blow to anything with a protective shell, rendering the soft hidden body parts accessible for the shrimp to pick over.
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Spearers, on the other hand, have equally destructive claws, but these deliver a fatal stab with a barbed tip that also impales the prey ready to be grasped by the shrimp’s forelimbs and dismembered. Anything with a soft skin would be well-advised to stay away from both types of mantis shrimp. They have come to be nicknamed ‘thumb splitters’ because a defensive blow from either of them can result in an extremely painful gash.
7. Red Kangaroo
This extremely popular symbol of Australia, with its bouncy gait, soft fur and peaceful face, carries a pair of concealed weapons that command respect. Unlike its normal, albeit small, grasping front paws, its back feet each have two inner toes fused into one, with an impressive double claw arrangement at the end. This elongated toe protrudes a considerable distance beyond the other two outer ones so that the foot resembles a long, wide dagger in shape and nature.
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When the kangaroo is roused to defend itself against rival male roos in the mating season or humans invading its space and cornering it, it will use its powerful leg muscles to launch itself into the air and land a damaging blow with those rapier toes. At best you can expect considerable blunt force trauma from such an attack, at worst deep, potentially deadly, gashes.
So, if you’re faced with what you thought was a cute kangaroo sitting back on its tail, tensing its muscles and growling like a lion, don’t make eye contact, just back away very slowly…
8. Centipede
The claws on a centipede are not what you might think. They’re not used like other animal claws to rake or stab, their function is to inject venom into their prey. These two pincer-like appendages at the front end of the animal are called forcipules or toxicognaths, and look under the microscope like the curved claws on a cat.
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At the base of each forcipule there is a gland that produces the venom, which is delivered to the victim via a pore at the tip of the claw. The process is rather like being pierced by a hypodermic needle, with the muscles of the centipede tensing to act like the plunger. The effect is fatal for the animal’s prey of invertebrates and spiders and very painful for larger species. Even in humans it can cause intense discomfort, and the site of the two small punctures can be red and swollen for days.
9. Giant Pangolin
The claws of a giant pangolin are not deadly in their own right, but they are instrumental in the deaths of millions of ants and termites. The animal uses its long, thick, powerful claws to tear into hard stony ground and unearth the insects’ nests. It then uses its extremely long, sticky tongue to lap up hundreds of the invertebrates, virtually clearing an ants’ nest at one sitting.
Having such efficient tools for the job is not all good, though. The claws curl back on themselves to form the grappling hooks that make them so effective, but that means they cover the pangolin’s foot pads, making it impossible to walk normally. As a result, it favours its back legs and a rolling gait, occasionally resting its front feet on the curly claws. While it is walking it has been likened to a dinosaur, with a profile like a stegosaurus.
10. Coconut Crab
Residing on the islands of the South Pacific and Indian oceans limits the diversity of natural foods, but this crab has evolved to exploit an easily available fruit that might otherwise have been inaccessible to such a small animal. It sports a set of claws made up of one impressively large and immensely strong one and another slightly smaller. The claws are rock-hard and durable, consisting of around 100 layers of calcified tissue.
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The larger claw can exert a force of 2,000 to 3,000 newtons on the object it is pinching – that’s roughly six times the force an average human can exert in a hand grip. This crushing power makes short work of a tough coconut shell, yielding the nutritious white flesh for the crab to munch. Of course, having such useful appendages means coconut crabs can defend themselves very well – who would volunteer to submit to a squeeze from a steel-like vice that could crush your bones to pulp?
