The Southern Hemisphere and its high % of dangerous animals.

[Benbay001]

The title was going to be "Why does the southern hemisphere have such a high percent of dangerous animals?" but i ran out of space.

There are very few deadly (to humans) animals in the northern hemisphere, yet the south is littered with them. Why is that?

[TheHeretic]

Deadly animal are quite dense, so over hundreds of thousands of years gravity takes effect, a bit like the funnel full of tar that dripped a few weeks back.

This is scientific fact, and undeniable.

It could also have something to do with population density, and how long such places have been inhabited?

[randlemarcus]

Easy one, and mostly to do with population density. Northern hemisphere, lots of people who learn to kill nasty things, therefore less nasty things.

Southern hemisphere, the nasty things get nastier by killing each other.

[Benbay001]

But surely to eradicate all nasties like we have done in this country would take 1000s of years at current population density. Yet the population has been no where near as dense as it is now for that long. Help!?

[TheHeretic]

Benbay001 said:

But surely to eradicate all nasties like we have done in this country would take 1000s of years at current population density. Yet the population has been no where near as dense as it is now for that long. Help!?

A great deal of forest was removed, agriculture came on in leaps and bounds, vastly altering the countryside from what it was, to what it is now. Wolves, and large predators will hAve been hunted out as societies became more, and more adept at such things, but they were still about in the relatively recent past. Little things like snakes, spiders, etc, they are probably as a result of environment change due to agriculture, etc.

[davepoth]

It probably has something to do with climate. Cold weather favours large animals (less surface area compared to volume, so less heat loss) but warm weather favours smaller ones.

However, being big does have benefits - mainly the ability to sit on smaller animals that you want to eat. An advantage had to be found elsewhere.

[Tango13]

Benbay001 said:

But surely to eradicate all nasties like we have done in this country would take 1000s of years at current population density. Yet the population has been no where near as dense as it is now for that long. Help!?

We haven't eradicated all nasties though. We still have Adders which can be fatal to humans under some circumstances, the elderly or young are most at risk but nobody has died from an Adder bite for 20 odd years.

[Turbodiesel1690]

There isn't much down there is there? Australia maybe? Meh. Northern hemisphere for the win

[Timmy35]

Not sure it does really. Large sharks....N & S hemisphere.....crocodiles, same ( Nile crocs aren't exactly small ), venemous and large constricting snakes, same both N & S, large lethal cats same both N & S, even lethal jellyfish....yes you get box jellyfish down there but we have the man-o-war up here.

I think it's perception really, also the Aussies trying to scare us so we don't keep emigrating there ( it isn't working ).