Almost 30,000 Brits were sent to NHS hospitals by animal attacks last year with crocodiles, fish and scorpions just some of the culprits, MailOnline can reveal.
Of these over 10,000 were classified as emergency admissions meaning victims needed urgent care to save either life or limb.
NHS data shows dogs were the most dangerous animal in England overall in the 2023-24 financial year, with nearly 11,000 bites and strikes, the latter being when a canine bowls someone over.
Of these almost 4,000 were emergency cases requiring urgent medical care.
But far more exotic and even mundane animal assailants were also responsible for sending Brits to hospital, with crocodiles, fish and even millipedes just a few featured in the NHS data.
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After man’s best friend, bites and stings from non-venomous insects were next biggest cause of Brits needing animal-related hospital care.
This group of creepy crawlies, which includes animals like spiders, ticks and beetles sent over 6,000 people to hospital last year, half of which were emergency cases.
While the NHS data doesn’t detail the exact medical reason why people needed care in these circumstances, allergic reactions could be a major cause of needing hospital care for what is normally a minor ailment.
In third place for animal attacks was broad group called ‘other mammals’ in NHS data.
Nearly 5,000 Brits needed hospital care for this group of creatures, which includes farmyard favourites like cows and horses as well as some household pets like ferrets and cats.
Of these cases, only about one in four were classed as an emergency.
More commonly encountered critters in British life accounted for the majority of animal-related injuries, but a few Brits were unlucky enough to need care for an unusual animal attack.
Seven Brits were diagnosed with medical problems after being bit or struck by a crocodile or alligator, with one of these incidents a medical emergency.
No crocodilian is native to the British Isles meaning these incidents are likely related to people working or visiting with the reptiles as part of zoos or wildlife experiences.
Other rare animal attacks involved incidents with scorpions and tropical venomous centipedes and millipedes, with four and one cases of Brits seeking medical aid last year respectively. These incidents likely related zoos or exotic pet owners.
Even the water wasn’t safe with almost 100 Brits sent to hospital after bites or strikes with marine animals like fish and or stings from aquatic denizens like jellyfish.
On a case by case basis marine animals like fish, sharks and dolphins proved some the most dangerous in the UK with over half being classified as an emergency.
This was closely followed by bee stings a major hazard for people with allergies.
Other weird reasons why Brits needed NHS care last financial year included 91 cases of eating toxic mushrooms, 14 lightning strikes and four incidents where people needed help after experiencing a volcanic eruption.
The NHS data is anonymised, only revealing the age and sex of the patients, a general description of the location of incidents as well as whether the case was an emergency.
It also only records admissions, not individual patients, meaning that, in theory, an individual Brit could appear more than once in the figures.
