The graphic shows how many people are killed by different species of animal every year. The big red block at the bottom might surprise you: The number of mosquito-caused deaths is staggering. Other than human death during times of war, the mosquito is the clear leader. The reason? Mosquitoes carry terrible diseases, including malaria (which kills more than 600,000 people every year); dengue fever virus; Rift Valley fever virus; yellow fever; chikungunya virus; West Nile virus