These man-eaters were not to be trifled with. For this list, we’re examining individual animals, as well as specific pairs, prides, or packs, with the highest human kill counts in history. From fearsome predators to aggressive beasts, these creatures have made their mark in a very unsettling way.
Our countdown includes:
- **The Mfuwe Man-Eating Lion**: Known for its terrifying reign of terror in the early 1990s, this lion was responsible for several attacks on humans, leading to a massive manhunt to stop it.
- **Sloth Bear of Mysore**: This bear caused havoc in India in the 1950s, attacking and killing many people in the Mysore region before it was finally captured and killed.
- **Wolves of Turku**: A pack of wolves in Finland was responsible for a series of deadly attacks on humans in the late 19th century, causing widespread fear and panic.
- **The Champawat Tiger**: One of the deadliest tigers in history, this Bengal tiger was responsible for over 400 human deaths before it was hunted down in the early 20th century.
- **The Leopard of Panar**: This leopard terrorized the Indian region of Panar in the 1900s, killing more than 400 people over several years before being captured and killed.
What would you do if cornered by one of these animals? Tell us your survival plan in the comments!
Our countdown includes:
- **The Mfuwe Man-Eating Lion**: Known for its terrifying reign of terror in the early 1990s, this lion was responsible for several attacks on humans, leading to a massive manhunt to stop it.
- **Sloth Bear of Mysore**: This bear caused havoc in India in the 1950s, attacking and killing many people in the Mysore region before it was finally captured and killed.
- **Wolves of Turku**: A pack of wolves in Finland was responsible for a series of deadly attacks on humans in the late 19th century, causing widespread fear and panic.
- **The Champawat Tiger**: One of the deadliest tigers in history, this Bengal tiger was responsible for over 400 human deaths before it was hunted down in the early 20th century.
- **The Leopard of Panar**: This leopard terrorized the Indian region of Panar in the 1900s, killing more than 400 people over several years before being captured and killed.
What would you do if cornered by one of these animals? Tell us your survival plan in the comments!
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 deadliest man-eaters in history.
00:07For this list, we're looking at individual animals, as well as specific pairs, prides, or packs with the highest human kill counts.
00:15What would you do if cornered by one of these animals? Tell us your survival plan in the comments.
00:2020. New Jersey Shark
00:22Shark attacks are rare, and fatal attacks even more so. Yet sharks have an unfair reputation as voracious man-eaters.
00:30The summer of 1916 was this beautiful, innocent age, and the Jersey Shore was the place to be at that time.
00:37The bad rap is partly thanks to the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916. That summer, a heatwave drove unprecedented crowds to the beaches.
00:46During the first two weeks of July, there were five attacks along the New Jersey coast, four of them fatal.
00:52All of a sudden he starts screaming. This blood-curdling scream rips along the shore.
00:57In the panic that ensued, hundreds of sharks were hunted down. Researchers still aren't sure whether the culprit was a great white, a bull shark, or more than one animal.
01:06But the incidents changed how people saw sharks, even inspiring Peter Benchley's novel Jaws and Steven Spielberg's adaptation.
01:1419. The Tiger of Sigur
01:20The animals on this list don't usually prey on humans. Often, disabilities drive them to their new diet, with humans making for easier prey.
01:28Such was the case with the Tiger of Sigur, a young male Bengal tiger who, according to Indian-born British hunter and writer Kenneth Anderson, killed at least five victims in the Nilgiri Hills in South India.
01:40It ate three of them, while the mangled bodies of the others were retrieved.
01:45Anderson hunted the tiger over the course of weeks, following tracks and blood trails, and spending long nights lying in wait.
01:52When he finally shot the tiger, he found that it only had one eye. There was an old gunshot slug in the other, explaining its decision to chase easier meals.
02:0218. The Mfuwe Maneating Lion
02:05Maneaters aren't just terrors of the distant past. In 1991, one particular maneless lion claimed six lives in and around the Mfuwe in the Luangwe Valley of eastern Zambia.
02:18Its victims ranged from boys out walking at night to women dragged from their own huts.
02:23The lion was distinguished by its massive size, measuring 10 feet long and weighing 500 pounds, and its absolute fearlessness.
02:32It once returned to a victim's house to steal a bag of her laundry, roaring over it in the center of the village.
02:38This odd behavior led to rumors that it was really an evil spirit or sorcerer.
02:42It was finally killed by California hunter Wayne Hosek after a three-week wait in a hunting hide.
02:4917. Keisagake, the Sankeibetsu Brown Bear
02:53This story seems too horrific to be true. In November 1915, a nusuri brown bear, also known as a black grizzly, stole food from a farm in northwestern Hokkaido, Japan.
03:04It was shot and wounded, but on December 9th broke into another home, killing a child and dragging a woman into the forest.
03:12The next night, while the men searched for it, women and children took refuge in a nearby homestead, until the bear burst through a window and bit and clawed through the panicked residents.
03:32The attacks left six people dead, with another dying later from injuries.
03:36Initially, bear hunter Yamamoto Heikichi, who recognized the bear as the dreaded man-eater Keisagake, refused to help.
03:44But after this last attack, he joined the hunters and brought the bear down.
03:4916. The Wolf of Jyusenge
03:52In the early 1820s, a lone wolf prowled the outskirts of Jyusenge in central Sweden.
03:58Unlike most wolves, however, it wasn't hunting hares or deer.
04:02A few years earlier, it had been captured as a pup and kept in captivity, which may explain how it lost its natural wariness of humans.
04:09Within the span of just three months, it attacked 31 people, killing and partially consuming 12.
04:15With a few exceptions, its victims were aged between 3 1⁄2 and 15.
04:20It was hunted down and killed on March 27th, 1821.
04:2415. The Sloth Bear of Mysuru
04:28Don't let the name fool you.
04:30Sloth bears walk in a slow, awkward shamble, but they can easily outrun a human.
04:35In 1957, an Indian sloth bear in the southern state of Mysuru went on a killing spree that saw dozens mauled and 12 killed.
04:43It would attack its victims' faces, clawing and biting them to shreds.
04:48Enter hunter and writer Kenneth Anderson again, whose friend begged him for help after his son was fatally attacked.
04:54It took Anderson several attempts.
04:56On one occasion, he came across a mutilated victim barely alive and attempted to carry him away, but sprained his ankle and had to be rescued himself.
05:05However, after lying in wait one night, he eventually succeeded in catching the bear by surprise.
05:1114. The Tigress of Javalagiri
05:14We're not done with Anderson yet. Far from it.
05:17Other infamous man-eaters he hunted included the tiger of Mundachipalum, which he shot while eating its seventh victim, and the tigress of Javalagiri, which makes for a much sadder story.
05:28After poachers killed a tiger in southern India's Javalagiri forest range, its bereaved mate began calling outside the village.
05:35A young hunter shot the tigress wounding it, and soon after it took its first victims, eventually killing 15.
05:42Kenneth Anderson was called in, but was outwitted while lying in wait when the tigress suddenly appeared behind him.
05:48He shot its ear off, but it escaped.
05:50He was later able to get a clearer shot by imitating a tiger call, a ruse that left him feeling troubled and sorry for the tigress.
05:5813. The Wolves of Turku
06:01This trio of wolves in southwest Finland terrorized the town of Turku in the early 1880s.
06:07In fact, their predations were so relentless, the national government got involved, organizing several hunts.
06:13The pack preyed on children, and some fearful souls whispered that the Antichrist had come, believing the animals' appetites to be unnatural.
06:21Before they were hunted down, the wolves took 22 lives in all.
06:25They're far from the only wolf pack to have hunted children.
06:29In 1981, the wolves of Hazaribagh in eastern India killed 13, and a few years later in 1985, the wolves of Ashta in central India killed 17.
06:3912. The Wolves of Paris
06:42When you think of Paris, wolves probably aren't close associations.
06:46But the city has had several infamous incidents.
06:49In 1765, the Wolf of Soissons attacked 18 people in northeast Paris, killing 4.
06:56However, the most notorious attacks occurred in the winter of 1450, when a starving pack snuck through holes in the city walls, creating panic throughout Paris.
07:05The leader was a reddish wolf nicknamed Courteau, meaning bobtail, a feature that's led to speculation he was a wolf hybrid or Iberian wolf.
07:14The pack killed 40 people before a band of brave residents flushed them out and into the square in front of Notre-Dame, where they were stoned and speared to death.
07:2311. The Leopard of Gumalpur
07:26Also known as the Spotted Devil of Gumalpur, this leopard claimed 42 victims in southwestern India in the mid-20th century.
07:34The animal terrorized the villages of Gumalpur and Devrabeta to the point where people were afraid to leave their houses.
07:41But staying indoors didn't save them either.
07:44When residents took to barricading their doors at night, it forced its way in through thatched walls.
07:49Eventually, hunter Kenneth Anderson managed to hunt it down and discovered porcupine quills in its right forefoot, preventing it from pursuing faster prey.
07:5810. The Tigers of Chogat
08:01Maneaters don't always hunt alone.
08:03Known as the Tigers of Chogat, this Bengal tigress and her sub-adult cub reportedly killed 64 people in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand in northern India.
08:12The true number of victims may be higher.
08:15It excludes victims who were mauled and died afterwards.
08:18In 1929, famed British hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett was asked to hunt the maneaters down.
08:24He witnessed the tigers' carnage firsthand, tending to the wounds of a girl who'd survived an attack, but whose scalp was left, quote,
08:31"...hanging in two halves."
08:33It took him several attempts, but Corbett eventually shot and killed both tigers.
08:37He discovered that the tigress had a broken canine, worn-down teeth, and broken claws, explaining her unusual change in diet.
08:449. Changi Chali
08:46This pale lion hunted the British outpost Changi in 1909, in what is now northern Zambia.
08:53With light-colored fur and only half a tail, Chali, also known as Charlie and the White Lion, was easily recognizable.
09:00The maneater would force its way through doorways and thatched rooftops.
09:04One woman woke to find Chali tearing through the wall of her hut, but survived after thrusting a firebrand in the lion's face.
09:11For hunters, Chali proved an elusive catch, stealing the bait right out of traps.
09:16Eventually, teaming up with two other lions, Chali was blamed for 90 deaths before a gun trap got the better of him.
09:248. The Leopard of the Golis Range
09:27Little is known about this maneater, who roamed the Golis Mountains in northwestern Somalia in the late 1800s.
09:32British big-game hunter H.G.C. Swain wrote that according to locals, it claimed more than 100 victims.
09:38A panther with dark fur that blended into the shadows, it would lie in wait on rocks that overlooked a turn in the path, ambushing its prey from above.
09:47The region's rough terrain made leopards difficult to track, and this maneater's final fate is unknown.
09:52According to English traveler James Forsyth, a panther in the Soni district of central India came close to the same victim count.
09:59The Soni panther was said to drink its victim's blood and leave the bodies.
10:047. The Beast of Gévaudan
10:06A long, tufted tail, russet fur, and a huge head full of teeth, what was the Beast of Gévaudan?
10:13This maneater stalked the former French province of Gévaudan in the 1760s, killing an estimated 113 people.
10:20Based on descriptions, it's believed to have been a large wolf or wolfdog, but at the time, there were also fears that it was a witch or werewolf.
10:28Other theories claim it was a hyena, lion, or even a mastiff armored in boar hide.
10:34King Louis XV sent in soldiers and hunters, but the deaths only stopped after farmer Jean Chastel shot a wolf-like creature with a silver bullet in 1767.
10:436. The Leopard of Rudraprayong
10:46For eight years, the people of Garhwal in northern India lived in terror of the dark thanks to this relentless maneater.
10:53The Leopard of Rudraprayong would catch some victims outdoors at night, but that didn't mean locals were safe at home.
10:59The leopard would break down doors, enter through windows, and even dig through mud walls, dragging people away into the dark.
11:06Official records put fatal attacks at 125.
11:09When soldiers failed to catch the leopard, Jim Corbett, the same hunter who later killed the Tigers of Chogoth,
11:15embarked on a 10-week hunt in 1926 that brought the leopard's reign to an end.
11:20Corbett suspected that the leopard had gotten a taste for humans from scavenging on unburied bodies after an epidemic.
11:265. The Savo Maneaters
11:29This notorious pair of maneless lions has become legendary.
11:33In 1898, the duo terrorized workers building a railway bridge over Kenya's Savo River.
11:38They dragged victims right out from their tents and for the better part of a year defied all attempts to stop them,
11:44evading hunters and jumping over thorn fences placed around the campsite.
11:48Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson, who oversaw construction, blamed them for 135 deaths,
11:54although subsequent studies have suggested he may have exaggerated.
11:57After months of attacks, Patterson himself was able to shoot and kill them.
12:01They may have turned to hunting humans after an outbreak of the virus rinderpest decimated their natural prey.
12:074. Gustave
12:09A scarred living legend, Gustave haunts the Rousizi River and Lake Tanganyika in Burundi.
12:14He named the creature Gustave. It is a name which now strikes fear in the hearts of people across Burundi.
12:20Estimated to be over 60 years old, the grizzled croc is thought to weigh a colossal 2,000 pounds.
12:26The exact number of his victims is unknown, but rumors claim he's responsible for a staggering 300.
12:32Of course, this could be exaggerated or the result of several animals, a common problem with reports of Maneaters.
12:38Either way, you probably wouldn't want to get in the water with him.
12:45Illuding capture and shrugging off bullet wounds, Gustave has attained near-mythic status.
12:53He was last sighted in 2015, so today he may actually be more legend than living.
12:593. The Panar Maneater
13:02In the 1900s, a prolific Maneater stalked the Komound Hills in northern India, reportedly killing 400 people.
13:08In 1910, Jim Corbett, who'd later hunt down the Chogat tigers and the Rudraprayung leopard, stepped in.
13:14Scouting the area, he came across a remote homestead, where the leopard had dragged a sleeping woman from her bed.
13:20Her terrified husband had pulled her free, but the wounds in her throat and chest were septic.
13:25With medical aid miles away, Corbett kept watch outside through the night.
13:29But if the leopard was watching, it remained hidden, and the woman's wounds proved fatal.
13:34Determined, Corbett returned months later, and this time succeeded,
13:38shooting the leopard as it charged by the light of burning torches dropped by his men as they bolted.
13:43Hey, we would be running, too.
13:452. The Tigress of Champawat
13:48Jim Corbett heard about the Panar leopard while hunting an even more dangerous Maneater in 1907, the Tigress of Champawat.
13:55The Tigress started killing in Nepal, evading hunters, and even the Nepalese army, whose efforts drove her down into India's Komound region.
14:03There, the killing continued, reaching an estimated 436, mostly women and children.
14:09It was one of Corbett's earliest and most famous hunts.
14:12Tracking a trail of blood, he found the Tigress, but was almost ambushed.
14:16The next day, he organized a beat of local villagers, who managed to drive the Tigress into his sights.
14:22When he examined the body, he discovered that a gunshot had broken her canine teeth, turning her towards new prey.
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14:441. The Lions of Njombe
14:47Tanzania has had several notable Maneaters.
14:50In the 2000s, a lion named Osama killed at least 35 people along the Refugee River,
14:55but Osama's deeds pale next to those of the Lions of Njombe.
14:59Between 1932 and 1947, this pride of 15 lions in southern Tanzania was responsible for some 1,500 deaths.
15:07They were cunning, traveling to villages under the cover of darkness,
15:10and reportedly using a relay system to drag bodies back into the bush.
15:14The attacks followed the colonial government's decision to kill thousands of zebras,
15:18giraffes, and buffaloes to protect livestock from an outbreak of rinderpest.
15:22However, locals had another explanation.
15:24The lions were controlled by a witch doctor named Matamula Mangera,
15:28who had been dismissed as headman from the Iyai village.
15:31Their reign of terror was finally brought to an end by British game warden George Rushby and his scouts.
15:37Do you agree with our picks?
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15:54Thanks for watching!