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Africa has their ‘Big Five’, the 5 most coveted animals to spot and photograph when you are on safari: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and the cape buffalo, considered to be the most dangerous of all.

But the Amazon has an entirely different group of dangerous inhabitants, what I would call the ‘Tiny 5’, that unlike their African counterparts, are not particularly photogenic, and which you should go out of your way to avoid if you find yourself in the South American tropics. But which one is the most dangerous of all? Read on and you may be surprised.

1. Bullet Ants

We spotted (or rather our guide) flushed out one of these badboys when we were exploring the Amazon on a morning excursion that included floating upriver and hitting the shores to admire Brazil’s version of ‘Home Tree’. While we were admiring a huge rainforest giant, our guide banged on a nearby tree trunk repeatedly, which obviously disturbed the previously pleasant morning of this bullet ant.

Bullet Ant in the Amazon

These giant ants (about an inch or so long) are one of the deadliest stingers in the Amazon, whose paralytic poison continues to burn for up to 8 hours or more after its victim is stung. The name ‘bullet ant’ was given to this species because the pain is supposedly equivalent to being shot – making it even harder to ? imagine that there is an indigenous tribe, the Sateré-Mawé, who actually uses these ants in a painful initiation.

bullet ritual
In this ritual, young men must place their hands in ant-infested woven gloves for 10 minutes, enduring the continuous stinging of hundreds of these deadly ants. Worse still, this ritual is not a one-time thing, but must be completed 20 times in total before a man is considered to be a true warrior. Yeah….no. We took a photo of the ant and that was enough for me.

2. Fire Ants

These guys aren’t nearly as frightening as their ammo-nicknamed brothers, but don’t underestimate their combined force. Normally, I wouldn’t be walking anywhere in the jungle without proper footwear (which does not include flip-flops by the way) but this particular attack came when I was not walking but paddling in a kayak: it was high water season in the Amazon, and the bush near the shores of our lodge had become flooded with the seasonal rise of the river, creating a ‘floating forest’.

We decided to take advantage of this opportunity to paddle the kayaks through this watery jungle path, but at one point, this meant we had to negotiate a bit of a dam where the ground was a little higher. Stepping out to drag the kayak over the obstacle meant my bare feet were exposed to the jungle floor – but only for a minute or two. Which was enough for the fire ants to make my feet their mid-day meal. Within seconds, my feet felt like they were on fire (I get the name now). Rushing to get them off me and put my bare toes back into the safety of the kayak, the instant I got seated, I plopped my feet into the river to soothe the sting. Luckily, these stings don’t hurt for long, but the attack taught me that even though they might get wet, covered shoes will be my mandatory kayaking footwear.

The floating forest near Palmari Lodge in the Brazilian Amazon.

The floating forest near Palmari Lodge in the Brazilian Amazon.

3. Vampire Fish

Anyone who knows me knows that I am no fan of swimming in uncharted waters (more on this here). And that goes double for the Amazon, but not for the reasons you might think. Yes, there are piranha, which for some reason didn’t frighten me nearly as much as Northern Ontario Pike do. And yes, the murky brown fast-flowing water didn’t look too inviting. But it was a tiny little catfish species called the Candiru, also known as toothpick fish or vampire fish, that provided yet another reason not to dive into the big river. Unlike piranha which are attracted to blood, these tiny fish are believed to be attracted to urine in the water, and when they find it, they supposedly follow the urine ‘upstream’ into the urethra itself. Yikes! Turns out this is more myth than fact, and the chances of this happening based on actual cases would be, to quote Bill Schutt, “the equivalent of getting struck by lighting while simultaneously being attacked by a shark”. Still, even more reason not to pee in this pool!

Northern Pike are not a swimming companion I want to meet. And they have teeth!

Northern Pike are not a swimming companion I want to meet. And they have teeth!

4. Poison Dart Frogs

These are the most beautiful miniature works of creature art you might ever find in the jungle. But if you do spot one of the 100 or so species that inhabit our planet, give this colourful frog a wide berth. These cuties are the colour they are for a reason – to ward off predators who might otherwise look at these one-inch-to-two-inch-long frogs as a bite-sized snack. In fact, Amerindian tribes use the frogs’ deadly poison to tip their arrows and darts used for hunting. For humans, the deadliest species is the golden frog found in Colombia along the western slopes of the Andes. What’s interesting is that when these frogs are removed from their natural environment, they lose their toxicity (apparently their diet of specific indigenous insects produces the poison, and once removed from their native environment, the frogs are no longer dangerous.

Tiny Poison Dart Frogs are as beautiful as they are deadly.

Tiny Poison Dart Frogs are as beautiful as they are deadly.

5. The Deadliest Creature of All

Small but deadly if carrying a tropical disease.

Small but deadly if carrying a tropical disease.

It’s not an Anaconda or a venomous spider, but it is a relatively tiny insect: the Amazon’s most dangerous creature is the lowly mosquito. Often ranked as the world’s deadliest creature, this North American nuisance takes on a whole new level of deadly when you get near the equator, far beyond the usual itch and buzzing that we associate with them here. When it comes to carrying diseases, these little pests really get around, and even in northern climates have been known to carry the West Nile Virus and Encephalitis. But they are at their worst in tropical countries, where they are responsible for spreading malaria, yellow fever and dengue fever. Fortunately, most of these diseases can be avoided with immunizations, and there are anti-malarials that travellers can purchase if they are heading to areas where malaria is a problem. But ounce for ounce, this little buzzer is one reason to wear long sleeves and bring out the DEET once darkness falls in the hot humid Amazon.

I know all this talk of creepy crawlies makes the Amazon looks like a place you’d never want to visit but don’t let my ‘Tiny 5’ keep you from going! There is no place in the world like the Amazon, and even with their fair share of stinging, biting creatures, none of the 6 countries that share this river can compete with Australia, the world heavyweight for ‘Home of the Deadly‘. And even that won’t keep me from going there one day.

I’ll just keep an eye out and watch where I put my feet!

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Jane with Hat Tanzania

Jane Canapini is a member of the Travel Media Association of Canada and the North American Travel Journalists Association. She established GrownupTravels.com in 2014 to share information and tips based on personal experience so her readers could get the most out of their travels.

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