Tag: Our World In Data

Mosquitos and Snakes Kill Hundreds of Thousands of People Annually

Super fact 98 : The deadliest animals in the world are mosquitos, snakes and dogs. Mosquitos kill an estimated 760,000 people each year. Snakes kill an estimated 100,000 people each year. Dogs kill an estimated 40,000 people each year. By comparison humans kill on average 600,000 other humans annually due to wars and violence.

The picture feature purple bar graphs with animal pictures and animal names. The numbers indicate the number of people killed each year (well 2023) by an animal. The numbers are Mosquitos 760,000, Humans 600,000, Snakes 100,000, Dogs 40,000, Freshwater Snails 14,000, Kissing bugs 8,000, Sandflies 5,000, Roundworms 4,000, Scorpions 3,000, Tapeworms 2,000, Tsetse flies 1,500, Elephants 1,000, Bees, wasps and hornets 500, Big cats 300, Crocodiles > 150, Jellyfish 100, Hippopotamuses > 50, Spiders 50, Bears 20, Sharks 6, Gray wolves 5.
Estimates for the number of humans killed by different animals in 2023. Note: This is not an exhaustive list. Estimates come with significant uncertainty and are used for relative magnitude comparisons. Figures have been rounded to not overstate accuracy. Data sources: IHME; GBD (2025); World Health Organization; CrocAttack; ISAF; and others. See the full documentation at https://docs.owid.io/projects/etl/analyses/deadliest_animals/   OurWorldInData –  Research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems.  Licensed under CC-BY by the authors Hannah Ritchie and Fiona Spooner.

The first time I heard that the deadliest animal in the world was the mosquito I was surprised. After I heard that the reason was all the diseases that mosquitos spread, such as malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever, it made more sense to me. I recently learned that snakes kill 100,000 people every year. It surprised me because it seemed like a lot to me.

I was also surprised to learn that our best friends the dogs, come in as number three on the list of deadliest animals, at an annual kill rate of 40,000 people. Even though scorpions are not at the top of the list they kill 3,000 people annually, while spiders only kill 50 people. We have both venomous spiders and scorpions where I live, but I’ve been worried about spiders, not scorpions. It is also surprising to me that sharks only kill about 6 people per year. I guess my super fact 98 is a collection of facts regarding “killer animals” rather than one specific fact. I am hoping that at least one of the facts will be surprising to you.

I should mention that the numbers vary over time and different sources give different statistics. Therefore, the numbers should be seen as ballpark numbers and not exactly. However, Our World in Data is considered one reputable and highly reliable data source that is frequently cited in scientific journals, and access is free.

Mosquitos Kill 760,000 People Each Year

Mosquitos are the biggest killers of humans by far. 80% of those deaths are the result of malaria which is transmitted and spread by the Anopheles mosquito. We have made progress against malaria, and it used to be worse. In the 20th century 150 to 200 million people died from malaria, which is more than one and half million people per year. Smallpox killed 300 million people in the 20th century, but it was entirely eradicated by 1977 thanks to the smallpox vaccine. The two existing vaccines for malaria are relatively recent (2021 & 2023), not as effective as the smallpox vaccine was, and not yet as widely used, which is one reason malaria is still a major health concern.

The picture shows a mosquito biting human skin. It is already filled up with blood. | Mosquitos and Snakes Kill Hundreds of Thousands of People Annually
The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads dengue fever and yellow fever. Original author: US Department of Agriculture; then denoised rescaled, enhanced with adaptive denoising filters and minimal resharpening, then unscaled to original resolution, for easier refitting at various resolutions., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

In addition, mosquitos spread other diseases killing more than 100,000 people every year. Dengue fever, yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis, are a few of the more dangerous mosquito borne diseases.

Snakes Kill 100,000 People Each Year

The death toll from venomous snakes is uncertain but it is likely to be 100,000 deaths per year. The World Health Organization estimates that snake bites kill between 81,410 and 137,880 each year.

The most venomous snake in the world is the Inland Taipan. Its venom can kill over 100 people in a single bite. However, due to its shy nature and remote Australian habitat, no human deaths have been attributed to it. The most dangerous snake to humans, in terms of fatalities, is often considered the Russell’s viper, responsible for 25,000 deaths annually. Other snakes that kill several thousand people every year are the saw-scaled viper, the common krait, the Indian cobra in Asia, and the black mamba.

The photo shows a brown speckled snake with a head that does not appear wider than the body unlike the head of vipers. | Mosquitos and Snakes Kill Hundreds of Thousands of People Annually
Inland Taipan. XLerate, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons.
The photo shows a light brown snake with dark brown spots and triangular viper head. | Mosquitos and Snakes Kill Hundreds of Thousands of People Annually
Russel’s Viper in the CME Dapodi campus. Photographed by Abhinav Chawla (self). AChawla, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A beige spectacled cobra with flared hood looking into the camera. | Mosquitos and Snakes Kill Hundreds of Thousands of People Annually
The Indian Cobra, here photographed at Hoskote, Karnataka, is one of the most dangerous snakes in all of Asia. Pavan Kumar N, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.

Dogs Kill 40,000 People Each Year

Our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo is lying on a blanket.
Did you kill 40,000 people? Actually, our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo did not kill anybody.

Even though there are some large and dangerous dogs, most deaths caused by dogs is from rabies resulting from being bitten by a rabies infected dog. See the horror movie Cujo.

Freshwater Snails, Kissing Bugs, Sandflies, Roundworms are Mass Killers

Other critters that kill thousand of people every year are freshwater snails, kissing bugs, sandflies, and roundworms. These critters kill people by infecting them with dangerous parasites or as in the case of roundworms, being a dangerous parasite.

Scorpions Kill 3,000 People Each Year but Spiders Only 50

I was at an overnight outing with the guys at work. I had just moved to Texas. We were standing or sitting around the fire drinking beer when I asked a question. I’ve heard about the scorpions in Texas, but I’ve never seen any. How common are scorpions?

A coworker named Gary told me to turn around, so I did. Behind me was a tree, and the tree was covered by crawling scorpions. Well, I was glad I did not lean on it. The scorpions I saw were the striped bark scorpion.

The reason scorpions kill a lot more people than spiders is that some scorpion species have a very potent and deadly venom. Some spiders are dangerous too, but spiders tend to have less potent venom.

A yellow, beige scorpion with light brown stripes.
Striped Bark Scorpion (Centruroides vittatus) Striped Bark Scorpion (Centruroides vittatus). Charles & Clint, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Big Cats kill only 300 People Annually and Sharks Only 6

Would you prefer to stay in a room with a Tiger or with a mosquito? Mosquitos kill 760,000 people every year, whilst Tigers only kill a handful of people every year. However, Tigers don’t kill less people than mosquitos because they are less dangerous than mosquitos. The difference is exposure. Mosquitos are everywhere but not Tigers. If Tigers were as common as people and everywhere people were, the numbers probably would be different.

Bengal Tiger walking next to a forest.
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) female, Kanha National Park, India. Attribution: Charles James Sharp.

Other Posts Related to Animals

To see the other Super Facts click here

Nuclear Energy is Relatively Clean and Safe

Superfact 96: Nuclear power is a relatively clean and safe energy source that produces no atmospheric emissions during operation. However, there are some problems with nuclear power, but they are often overblown.

The photo shows the three mile island nuclear plant from the across the shore of Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township.
The Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. March 28, 1979, a nuclear accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant sent shockwaves across the world, raising fears about nuclear power. However, no one died, and no one was hurt. Shutterstock Asset id: 2512612545 by Aubrie K

Clean energy sources are often defamed by disinformation and misunderstandings. For example, wind power turbines are not bird killing machines. Contrary to what you often hear wind power is indeed a very clean, cheap and sustainable energy source. Nuclear power is another misunderstood energy source. Wind power, solar power, hydro, and nuclear power are all considered clean energy because they produce no greenhouse gases or air pollution during operation and they also have very low life-cycle emissions.

The graph below from Our World in Data depicting lifetime greenhouse gas emissions (construction, operation, disposal) and safety data for the European Union, show that the lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of coal power is 162 times higher than those of nuclear power and coal kill 820 times as many people as nuclear power. The lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of natural gas are 120 times higher than those of nuclear power and kill 613 times as many people as nuclear power. The difference is staggering.

The graph depicts death rates and greenhouse gas emissions per unit for different energy sources including coal, oil, natural gas, biomass, hydropower, wind, nuclear power, and solar. | Nuclear Energy is Relatively Clean and Safe
Death rates from fossil fuels and biomass are based on state-of-the art plants with pollution control in Europe and are based on older models of the impacts of air pollution on health. This means that these death rates are likely to be very conservative. For further discussion see our article: OurWorldinData.org/safest-sources-of-energy. Electricity shares are given for 2021. Data sources: Markandya & Wilkinson (2007); UNSCEAR (2008: 2018); Sovacol et al. (2016); IPCC AR5 (2014); UNECE (2022); Ember Energy (2001). OurWorldinData.org – Research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. Licensed under CC-BY by the authors Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser. Citation : Hannah Ritchie (2020) – “What are the safest and cleanest sources of energy?” Published online at OurWorldinData.org. Retrieved from: ‘https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260202-100556/safest-sources-of-energy.html&#8217; [Online Resource] (archived on February 2, 2026).

In the graph above, greenhouse gas emissions are measured of CO2 equivalents per Gigawatt-hour of electricity over the lifecycle of the power plant. 1 Gigawatt-hour is the annual electricity consumption of 150 people in the EU. Death rate from accidents and air pollution is measured as deaths per Terawatt hour of electricity production. 1 terawatt hour is the annual electricity consumption of 150,000 people in the EU.

I should mention that there are problems with nuclear power that are not entirely covered by the graph above, including radioactive waste, a history of spectacular accidents, and a perceived connection to nuclear arms. However, as you will see later in this post, even though these problems get a lot of media attention, they are not as scary as one might think. However, it should be noted that nuclear power in its current form is not a cheap source of energy, but that is a different topic.

I consider this a super fact because nuclear power is often thought of as an extremely dangerous and dirty source of energy, which is not the case.

How Does Nuclear Power Work ?

From left to right : a neutron strikes a uranium nucleus, and it breaks apart into a Krypton and Barium isotope and release three neutrons, which strike three uranium nucleuses, causing three fission events and releasing nine neutrons in total, etc.
Illustration of nuclear chain reaction. Uranium-235 fission. Shutterstock asset id: 73714504 by Mpanchenko. Note I corrected an error in the picture.

The fuel (fuel rods) in a nuclear power station consists primarily of stacked ceramic pellets made of low enriched uranium dioxide housed inside sealed metal tubes. The uranium consists primarily of two uranium isotopes U-238, which has 92 protons and 146 neutrons and U-235, which has 92 protons and 143 neutrons. Uranium always has 92 protons. The isotope that is used for fission is U-235. Natural Uranium consists of 0.7% U-235, trace amounts of U-236 and the rest (99.3%) is U-238. The uranium in nuclear fuel rods is either natural (0.7% U-235) or a few percent of U-235 (low enriched uranium). This should be contrasted with a uranium atomic bomb which has at least 80% U-235 (highly enriched).

A nuclear power plant generates electricity using heat from nuclear reactions. Inside the reactor, atoms of fuel (uranium) undergo nuclear fission, where they split apart and release a large amount of heat. The fuel rods (see picture below) in a nuclear power station consist primarily of stacked ceramic pellets made of low enriched uranium dioxide housed inside sealed metal tubes. There are also control rods in a nuclear power station, which consist of materials with a high neutron absorption cross-section. The control rods are used to regulate the reaction. If they are fully inserted the reaction will stop. Also note that nuclear reactors have a containment shield (at least in western countries).

How a nuclear reactor generates electricity using fuel rods, control rods, steam, turbines, and generators diagram hand drawn schematic vector.
Fission generates heat, which generates high pressure steam, which pushes a turbine around, which turns a generator, which generates electricity, which is transformed to the right voltage and delivered to customers. Science educational illustration Shutterstock Asset id: 2658971563 by Alexander_P

Below is an alternative illustration.

Fission generates heat, which generates high pressure steam, which pushes a turbine around, which turns a generator, which generates electricity, which is transformed to the right voltage and delivered to customers. The picture also shows a cooling tower and illustrates how a nuclear plant uses water.
A nuclear power plant generates electricity by using heat from nuclear fission to produce steam, which drives turbines connected to electrical generators. This illustration also depicts the nuclear power plant’s use of water for cooling. Don’t worry, the water will not turn radioactive. It is a separate isolated loop. Shutterstock Asset id: 2525528665 by Papia Majumder.
The photo is taken in 2024 and shows the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant with a nuclear reactor building and the associated coolant tower. | Nuclear Energy is Relatively Clean and Safe
Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant, located in Pennsylvania, is known for a partial meltdown in 1979 Shutterstock. This photo shows the reactor as well as the cooling tower. Asset id: 2520903273 by Amy Lutz.

What about Chernobyl ?

The Chernobyl disaster, which occurred on April 26, 1986, was the worst nuclear disaster in history. 50 people died as a direct result of the disaster and an estimated 4,000, perhaps 10,000 future cancer deaths are predicted from the disaster. However, it should be noted that an estimated half million people died from coal pollution in the United States over the first two decades of the 21st century. You have to compare.

Another, thing to keep in mind is that the Chernobyl reactors were RBMK reactors (Reaktor Bolshoy Moshchnosti Kanalnyy), an extremely flawed, old and dangerous design that only exists in Russia (or the former Soviet Union). Above I mentioned that the control rods slow down the nuclear reaction when inserted between the fuel rods and stop the reaction when fully inserted. In an RBMK reactor, it is the other way around. The control rods speed up the reaction when inserted. Add the fact that the Chernobyl reactor did not have a containment shield designed to contain a major release of radioactivity, unlike Western reactors and that the Soviet Union was an authoritarian and secretive regime that made things much worse. A nuclear disaster similar to Chernobyl is highly unlikely to happen in the West.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster was caused by a severe earthquake and a 15 meter tsunami. Around 2,300 died from the evacuation, and 15,000 people died from the Earthquake, but it is estimated that no one, or perhaps one person died as a direct result from the nuclear disaster itself. As mentioned no one died from the Three Mile Island accident.

What about Radioactive Waste?

Radioactive waste stored on-site at nuclear power stations (spent fuel) is often millions of times more radioactive than long-term disposal waste. It is important to remember that highly radioactive isotopes decay fast (that’s why they are dangerous), which means that long-term disposal waste is not very dangerous. We are surrounded by radioactivity and our by far largest exposure to ionizing radiation comes from the radon in our basements.

Does nuclear power for energy generation increase the risk for nuclear weapons proliferation?

While commercial nuclear energy and weapons programs share technology, they are distinct processes. The historical data and studies show that national nuclear energy programs in general don’t lead to the development of nuclear weapons. No country officially developed nuclear weapons based on a pre-existing commercial nuclear power industry. Typically, nuclear-armed nations developed dedicated, military-focused, and often secret reactors to produce plutonium or facilities to enrich uranium for weapons.  Also, the issue is mostly moot for countries that already have nuclear weapons, such as the United States.

Conclusion

Nuclear power is clean and safe. It might be our cleanest energy source that can provide baseload power. However, there are other concerns including the possibility of spectacular accidents, radioactive waste and the possibility that nuclear power for energy might aid nuclear weapons proliferation. Luckily, it appears that these concerns are overblown. It should be noted that nuclear power, as implemented today, is not cheap energy, but that is a different topic.

To see the Other Super Facts click here

The Extinction Rate is Much Higher Than the Natural Baseline Rate

Super fact 71 : Based on the fossil record today’s extinction rate is hundreds, or even thousands, of times higher than the natural baseline rate.

Animals included in the watercolor painting include Teratorm, Mammoth, Macrauchenia, Glyptodon, Smilodon, and Andrewsarchus. | The Extinction Rate is Much Higher Than the Natural Baseline Rate
Collection of watercolor prehistoric and now extinct animals isolated on a white background. Hand painted illustration of Ice Age. Asset id: 2169205593 by Ekaterina Glazkova

Estimating the extinction rate is a complicated task that requires some assumptions and estimations. This article from the National Library of Medicine use what it claims to be conservative estimates, which would tend to minimize evidence of an emerging mass extinction. Despite that fact the average rate of vertebrate species loss over the last century is up to 100 times higher than the extinction rate without/before humans (background rate). Other sources claim an extinction rate that is 1,000 or even 10,000 the background rate.

To put some specific numbers on what a high extinction rate means, scientists count 881 animal species are known to have gone extinct since around 1500. If we include animal species that scientists suspect might be extinct, that number shoots up to 1,473. You can read more on the issue here or here or here.

A black and white photo of Two Tasmanian Tigers. The Tasmanian Tigers had stripes on their back.
Two Tasmanian Tigers. The Tasmanian Tiger or Thylacine was hunted to extinction. Benjamin, the last Tasmanian Tiger, died in 1936 in the Beaumaris Zoo in Tasmania. Baker; E.J. Keller., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What is clear is that the current extinction rate is much higher than what is typical and we humans are the cause. This came as a shock to me the first time I found out about it, and it is certainly an important topic, and therefore a super fact. It is true, surprising to many, and important.

Those who want to minimize the problem with the ongoing extinctions often point out that extinctions are a natural part of evolution and that throughout Earth’s history up to around 98% of all species that have ever existed are now extinct. In my opinion, that argument fails to consider the enormity of Earth’s four billion year natural history. A lot of evolution happened during that time.

Modern humans have only been around 300,000 years, or 0.0075% of that time, a tiny blip in time. Human civilization has only been around for 12,000 years, or 0.0003% of that time, an even tinier blip in time. Like comparing an ant head to a mile. Us having a large negative impact on the natural world in such an extremely short time is quite notable.

By considering the extinction rate you get a better idea of the scope of the problem. The fact that the extinction rate today is significantly higher than the expected natural rate and that the primary cause of modern extinctions is human impact as opposed to natural phenomena, makes it a case for concern. To read about a related issue, “The Wild Mammal Biomass Has Substantially Declined”, click here.

The color photo shows a close up of a giant tortoise. | The Extinction Rate is Much Higher Than the Natural Baseline Rate
Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Station in 2006, the last known individual of his species of Galápagos tortoise. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeweston/, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

The Five Past Mass Extinction Events

Over the last 440 million years life on Earth has experienced five so called mass extinctions. A mass extinction event is when at least 75% of the world’s species are lost during a short period of time – geologically speaking. This period is not clearly defined but often defined to be two million years. Two million years may seem like a long time, but geologically speaking, it is a short time.

3D illustration showing two carnivorous dinosaurs and two large herbivores looking up at a burning asteroid.
Extinction of the dinosaurs when a large asteroid hits earth 66 million years ago. It was the last mass extinction event. Asset id: 2196200279 by funstarts33

The five mass extinction events were:

Below is an overview of the five big mass extinctions in Earth’s history. The graph is from Our World in Data.

The graph shows extinction rates going up and down with five tall peaks representing mass extinction events.
The Big Five Mass Extinctions in Earth’s History. A mass extinction is defined by the loss of at least 75% of species within a short period of time (geologically, this is around 2 million years). Extinctions are a natural part of evolution, but background rates are typically less than 5 families extinct per million years. Sources Barnosky et al (2011). Howard Hughes Medical Institute: McCallum (2015). Vertebrate biodiversity losses point to a sixth mass extinction. From Our World in Data.
A stunning AI generated illustration of a woolly mammoth standing on a snowy landscape during a vibrant sunset with northern lights in the sky. | The Extinction Rate is Much Higher Than the Natural Baseline Rate
Are We in the Middle of a Sixth Mass Extinction ?
A Glyptodon walking across an empty prairie.
3D illustration of a Glyptodon, also extinct, Asset id: 495169627

Biodiversity experts have estimated that about 30% (uncertainty range: 16–50%) of species have been globally threatened or driven to extinction since the year 1500. 30% globally threatened or extinct is not 75% that are actually extinct, but in just 500 years that looks like a quick start on a mass extinction. It should be noted that 500 years is just 0.025% of two million years. Issues such as deforestation, chiefly the result of replacing forests with agriculture, overexploitation, and global warming / climate change are driving extinctions and represent big biodiversity threats in the near future.

A northern white Rhino is grazing green grass at a zoo.
The Northern white rhino subspecies, the second-largest land mammal after elephants, has no hope of recovery after the last male died in 2018. Only a female and her daughter are left. The photo is of Angalifu, a male northern white rhinoceros at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Angalifu died of natural causes at the age of 44 on 14 December 2014. Sheep81, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

This is why there is talk about the so called Holocene or Anthropocene extinction and it possibly being a sixth mass extinction, this one being human caused. It should be noted that there are credible sources that question whether we are at the cusp of a sixth mass extinction event.

Posting this on Thanksgiving Day may seem awkward. However, whether there will be a human caused sixth mass extinction or not depends on us, and it looks like more people want to protect our natural world. Many animals, such as the giant panda, bald eagle, the sea otter, black footed ferret, the Peregrine falcon, the blue whale, Rodrigues fruit bat, the Island night lizard, and the California condor, have been saved from extinction through conservation efforts like habitat restoration, anti-poaching laws, captive breeding programs, and reintroduction to the wild. Perhaps we are turning things around. We should give thanks to all who care.

To see the other Super Facts click here

The Wild Mammal Biomass Has Substantially Declined

Super fact 70 : Wild mammals have declined by 85% since the rise of humans even as the total mammal biomass has nearly tripled. The result is that only 4-5% of the total biomass of mammals are wild animals. The rest are humans and livestock.

Pie chart shows that Livestock, mostly cattle and pigs, corresponds to 60% of the mammal biomass, humans are 36%, and wild mammals are 4%. | The Wild Mammal Biomass Has Substantially Declined
Livestock, mostly cattle and pigs, corresponds to 60% of the mammal biomass, humans are 36%, and wild mammals are 4%. The data is taken from this article.

As stated, mammal biomass has declined by 85% since the rise of humans. This is despite a threefold increase in mammal biomass over the last 200 years. However, this increase is almost entirely due to the growth of human and livestock populations. The result is that only 4-5% of the total biomass of mammals are wild animals. Another result is that Earth’s wild land mammals now make up just 2% of the mammal kingdom. You can read more here, or here, or here, and more in depth here.

Humans are 36% of the mammal biomass, Sheep is 4%, Livestock and pets 59%, including 2% dogs, 3% pigs, goats 3%, cattle 38%, and buffalo 6%
Humans and our livestock dominate global mammal biomass. Biomass is the total weight of each animal group. It’s calculated by multiplying an estimate of the total number of individuals by their average mass. Shown is each group’s share of global mammal biomass. This graph is taken from Our World In Data.

I think this is a super fact because we know it is true, and this huge and extremely rapid change of Earth’s fauna (from a geological timescale) is certainly important, and yet I think it comes as a surprise to many people. I often see the argument that humans have been great for animals because there are many more of them and the mammal biomass has tripled. That argument leaves out the part about the increase in mammal biomass coming from domesticated animals while wild animals have been disappearing. One question that comes to mind is whether life at the cramped factory farm is better than the life as a wild animal.

Wild Mammal Biomass Data

Below are a couple of graphs displaying some additional information on wild mammal biomass.

The graph shows that even hoofed mammals is a big group consisting of 49% of the wild mammal biomass. Rodents are 16% and elephants are 8%, bats are 7%, Marsupials are 7%, and primates are 4%, carnivores 3%, rabbits 1%, and other mammals 4%.
The distribution of the world’s wild land mammal biomass. The graph is taken from Our World in Data.

Another thing to note is that the wild animal biomass is very concentrated to just a few species. Considering that there are between 6,500 and 6,800 recognized mammal species in the world, it is quite remarkable that only 10 species make up 40% of the mammal biomass.

White-tailed deer is 12%, Wild boar is 8%, African Savanna Elephant is 6%, Eastern gray kangaroo is 2%, Mule deer is 2%, Moose is 2%, Red Deer is 2%, European roe deer is 1.8%, Red Kangaroo is 1.8%, and the Common Warthog is 1.4%.| The Wild Mammal Biomass Has Substantially Declined
Just 10 species make up around 40% of wild mammal biomass on land. The graph is taken from Our World in Data.

Reasons for Decline of Wild Animal Biomass

This decline of wild mammal biomass is primarily caused by human activity, including hunting, habitat loss and degradation from agriculture and urbanization, climate change, and pollution. This human-driven extinction event is the result of a rapidly growing human population and its increased consumption of natural resources, leading to widespread disruption of ecosystems and dramatic declines in wild mammal populations. It should be mentioned that the extinction of large mammals such as mammoths, American mastodon, giant ground sloths and glyptodonts was likely aided by human hunting in prehistoric times. The largest mammals have always been at the greatest risk for extinction and that is still true today.

A stunning AI generated illustration of a woolly mammoth standing on a snowy landscape during a vibrant sunset with northern lights in the sky.
Woolly mammoth, now extinct, Asset id: 2571557381 by Wirestock Creators.
A Glyptodon walking across an empty prairie. | The Wild Mammal Biomass Has Substantially Declined
3D illustration of a Glyptodon, also extinct, Asset id: 495169627
To see the other Super Facts click here

Climate change worsens wildfires in the US

Super fact 52 : Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the United States, particularly the western United States during the last two decades. The number of Wildfire acres burned in the United States has significantly increased even though the number of wildfires has not. Another important factor is forest management.

The graph consists of blue bars corresponding to a year starting in 1983 with the last bar being 2020. The bars show the number of million acres burned per year in the US. In 1983 and 1984 the bars show between 1 and 2 million acres burned. The following three years more than 2 million acres were burned. From 2015 to 2020 the number of acres burned annually is between 5 and 10 million acres | Climate change worsens wildfires in the US
Wildfire acres burned in the United States. Number of acres of wildfire burned in a given year in the United States. This is shown from 1983 onwards, when consistent reporting began. Data source : National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Presented by OurWorldinData/natural disasters.

To some people this does not come as a surprise. However, due to the complexity of the issue combined with political spin, this is a surprise to me, or even something they refuse to believe. I’ve come across many people who are surprised to hear that there really is a connection between climate change and wildfires in regions of the world which are getting dryer and hotter due to climate change. There are also others who are surprised to hear about the complex picture and the importance of good forest management. In any case, since it is a surprising fact to many, and an important fact, I consider it a super fact.

As super fact 52 above states, Climate change is a key driver in the worsening of wildfires in the US, particularly in the American West. A 2016 study published in PNAS found that human-caused climate change caused over half of the documented increases in fuel aridity since the 1970s and doubled the cumulative forest fire area since 1984. I can add that we know that Climate Change, or if you call it Global Warming, is Happening and is Caused by us, primarily due to our burning of fossil fuels. I can also add that Scientists Agree that Global Warming is happening and that we are the Cause.

Wildfires and the Complex Statistical Picture

In general, you can’t look at wildfire statistics and draw conclusions without considering the context. Below are some considerations.

  • Wildfires are not started by climate change or poor forest management. They are started by lighting, falling powerlines, campfires that are not properly put out, and sometimes by arson. That doesn’t mean that climate change and poor forest management does not increase the risk and extent of wildfires.
  • Research organizations such as NOAA recognize that wildfire is a natural part of the western US ecosystem. However, climate change is significantly exacerbating the problem by creating conditions more conducive to intense and widespread wildfires.
  • Suppression of fire in certain ecosystems may in fact increase the likelihood that a wildfire will occur.
  • There are wildfires started intentionally to prevent future wildfires.
  • In the past, forests evolved with frequent, low-intensity fires that helped clear out underbrush. They can have ecological benefits. Therefore, the number of wildfires may not have increased over the last 100 years.
  • Local conditions and forest management have evolved through time complicating the wildfire statistics around the world.
  • In the past reporting was not always consistent.

That does not mean that we don’t know whether climate change worsens wildfires or not. Research organizations such as NASA, NOAA, NOAA (again), NOAA on LA fires , Ohio University, are all in agreement on the fact that Climate change has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the United States. Other organizations such as AccuWeather, Texas 2036, the Nature Conservancy, IFAW, American Progress, and the New York Times concurs.

The photo shows tree trunks on fire and professional firefighters extinguishing a large, high-priority part of a forest fire.
Highly skilled hotshot firemen crew working in a challenging remote area with flames reaching the treetops. Shutter stock asset id: 2258645599 by Gorodenkoff

Fix Our Forest Act

Climate change is a huge problem that is going to take decades to tackle and the whole world needs to be involved in that effort. However, we can quickly address wildfires here in the US, especially the American West by addressing the other half of the problem, forest management. There is currently a bill in congress called the Fix Our Forest Act that does that. It streamlines and enhances forest management based on the science. In the house of representatives, it has the number H.R.471 and in the Senate it is S.1642.

I was recently in Washington DC to do volunteer lobbying for these bills. You can read about it here.

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