These are the world's deadliest animals

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mosquito malaria

AP

Some mosquitoes can transmit malaria, a deadly disease.

The world's deadliest animal isn't a shark or even a human.

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Drawing from a 2014 graphic from Bill Gates' blog, we decided to rank the world's deadliest animals. Most of the deaths caused by animals, it turns out, have less to do with the animals themselves than the diseases they unwittingly transmit.

Note that some numbers are harder to get an accurate read on than others, so these are for the most part rough estimates - sometimes very rough. And the list is representative of different kinds of deadly animals, but it's by no means comprehensive.

Here are some of the animals responsible for the most human deaths. The scariest predators aren't as dangerous as you might expect - but don't underestimate the little guys.