If asked to name the most dangerous animal you can think of, you'd might name the lion, tiger, bear, or perhaps the great white shark. Most of us tend to think large and ferocious. Seldom would it occur to us to consider the honey bee, the flea, or even the mosquito. Yet if you happen to be allergic to bees and get stung, are bitten by a Yersinia Pestis carrying flea, or if you live in a region where the anopheles mosquito breeds, then an encounter with these animals can result in death.

This field trip leads us on a trip to web sites of fierce creatures, some that we'd naturally think of and some that might never occur to us. Some of the stops will prompt us to consider biology as in how a parasite travels through our bloodstream. Many stops will take us to parts of the world that introduce a new geography. We will see how climate plays a role in providing a welcoming habitat.

Objectives

1. Students will learn about animals that cause harm to humans, and how and why this happens. They will also see that in most cases, animals are not intentionally agressive towards humans by nature, but that the animal was in some way provoked or threatened.
2. Students will learn about the animal's defense systems and the purpose it serves the animal.
3. Students will be taken to web sites all over the world, learning about the geography of a given animal, and in some cases, how people deal with the presence of a given animal.

Concepts

1. Where in the world do you find lions, tigers and bears?
2. How does malaria infect a human?
3. What conditions attract mosquito populations?
4. Do rats cause the plague?
5. What did the Indians of tropical America use to poison their dart tips?
6. Which is the only poison octopus?
7. What happens when people cut the Crown of Thorns starfish into pieces?
   

Terms To Learn