"Ooh, ah, ee, ah, ooh, ah!" Trivia Quiz

Female mosquitoes are the ones which will bite you and suck out your blood, injecting their own saliva at the same time. In most parts of the world, the bite isn't going to do most people much harm, just raise a red, itchy bump. But in areas where diseases such as malaria and yellow fever are found, these can be transferred in the saliva, and can be fatal if not treated, or you haven't been vaccinated against them.

You probably don't want to be bitten by a crocodile. The larger species will attack humans, either for food or to defend their territory, and such attacks are often fatal. Most deaths are caused by three species in particular: the Nile crocodile, saltwater crocodile and mugger. The best advice is to stay out of the water in areas where these creatures are known to live.

Beavers are herbivorous rodents, so aren't going to bite you unless you really provoke them. Those big front teeth are used to chew down small trees in order to build dams across streams, forming large pools. The plants they like to eat grow in and around such pools, and their homes (lodges) often have an underwater entrance for security.

The piranha fish lives in South America, where it inhabits rivers and lakes. It has a fearsome reputation as a predator but is more likely to feed off an already dead body than attack a human being in the water. A single piranha would certainly give you a nasty bite, but it is unlikely to be fatal. Their normal diet is other smaller fish, as well as plants and insects.

Not all sharks are carnivorous, but those that are meat-eaters would certainly give you a nasty bite if they were hungry and you were swimming near them. Films such as "Jaws" gave sharks a reputation as man-eaters that they don't really deserve. Even so, there are enough documented instances of sharks attacking (and sometimes killing) humans to make me stay out of the water in areas where there are known to be sharks.

Those of you who have pet cats will know that they have sharp teeth and will give you a nasty nip if they are scared or feel threatened. However, they have a well-developed hunting instinct and will actively seek out small rodents and birds to catch. Sometimes they will eat them, but more often a pet cat will bring its prey home to give to its owner as a not-always-welcome gift.

Zebras are one of the most recognizable wild animals and can be found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. They are herbivorous grazing animals and live mostly on grass and other vegetation, using their large front teeth to help them pull up grasses. So if a zebra did bite you, it would certainly be painful for you, but the zebra wouldn't enjoy the experience much either.

Most species of fox are omnivorous, meaning they will eat both meat and vegetable matter. But their sharp teeth mean they are well suited to hunting and eating small mammals and birds and have a bad reputation among farmers for killing hens and other small domestic animals, often killing more than they actually need to eat.

Their bite would not normally be fatal to a fully-grown human, but foxes can become infected with rabies, which can be transmitted through a bite and is fatal if not treated quickly.

Okay, you're not actually going to get bitten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, since it is a species of dinosaur which became extinct around 65 million years ago, around 60 million years before the first vaguely humanoid mammal even lived. But in its day, it was one of the most ferocious beasts alive, with a strong bite that could bring down most other dinosaurs.

It is believed to have been both a predator (hunting down and killing living prey) and a scavenger (eating the remains of already dead creatures).

Not all snakes will bite you, and of those that do, not all are venomous. Most venomous snakes kill their prey by injecting poison into their bodies through their hollow fangs. If you are bitten by a venomous snake, it is important to get medical attention as soon as possible, since untreated wounds from some snakes can be fatal.

The snake in this picture is a red-bellied black snake, an Australian species whose venom is toxic but unlikely to prove fatal.