The bear in The Revenant pretty much destroyed Leonardo DiCaprio’s body. Here are some other creatures that wouldn’t mind doing so in their own ways.
Regardless of whether or not Leonardo DiCaprio is on track to win his first Academy Award for Best Actor, I can tell you that his film, The Revenant, features a horrifyingly exciting bear mauling that leaves DiCaprio’s mountain man a pulpy mess. Seeing that scene got me thinking about the most dangerous animals on this planet.
First off, let’s take a look at the stonefish. Indigenous to the Indo-Pacific oceans, the stonefish is around 30 or 40 centimeters long and can weigh up to five pounds. This decently-sized underwater critter can be a variety of colors, from red to pink to brown to a nasty gray-brown moss-color. From a distance, stonefish are well camouflaged. This water dweller also has the title “The Most Venomous Fish in the World.”
Although stonefish are extremely poisonous, its venom is transferred into other creatures through its spines, not its mouth. In fact, the stonefish only uses its mouth to hunt and can strike in 0.015 seconds. This little beast’s spikes, if stepped on, cause severe pain and could potentially cause heart failure and death. Although the stonefish is nowhere near as menacing as an angry mother bear, it is undeniably a very dangerous specimen that people should be very wary of when they are walking around on ocean shores.
Another aquatic terror from the deep is the •blue-ringed octopus, a golf-ball sized creature that haunt the coasts of Australia. As its name suggests, the miniature octopus is covered in small blue rings that make it easily recognizable. Most octopi of this species reach a maximum size of two millimeters, making it absolutely minuscule.
Though the blue-ringed octopus may be barely large enough to cover a mossy rock, its body carries enough poison to end the lives of 26 full-grown adults in minutes. Its bite causes nausea, vision loss and blindness, loss of senses and lack of control over motor skills. In fact, the blue-ringed octopus’s brutal chomp has no true antidote. The only way to prevent a victim injured by the tiny critter from dying is to continuously perform artificial respiration for around 24 continuous hours.
Moving onto land, a surprisingly dangerous creature is the Komodo dragon, residents of Rinca and Komodo island of Indonesia. Komodo dragons can grow up to two and a half meters long, substantially longer than the average human’s height. Although Komodo dragons have been a part of every child’s “cool animal list,” the reptile is actually an extremely dangerous creature that has the capability of eating a human.
Komodo dragons become extremely dangerous when they begin to feel really hungry, even though they only need to feed about once a month. Although Komodo dragons can be fended off by well-thrown rocks and well-swung sticks, the Komodo dragon’s preferred method of hunting is hiding in tall grass in wait of fresh meat. They wait for creatures to begin foraging in their general area before dashing over quickly and giving the victim an unpleasant chomp. Since the Komodo dragon’s saliva contains over 80 strains of bacteria, most bite victims bite the dust within a few days, upon which the Komodo dragons invites its friends over for a gruesome feast.
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So, if Hollywood ever decides to remake The Revenant with another movie star and another creature beside a bear, nature has a full list of monstrous beasts that no doubt would love to try out, though sea-dwellers the size of golf balls may not be compelling enough for top-billing film.
Richard Hwang is a student at Athens High School. Have you ever encountered any of these animals? Email him at rhwang999@gmail.com.
