As someone who spends a lot of time outdoors, I’m intrigued by animals that kill and stories of human deaths resulting from animal encounters. I used to think this was a rare thing in the U.S. and that the vast majority of human deaths by animals took place in third world countries. The good news is that statistically, this is true.
The bad news is that on average, a couple hundred people are still killed by animals in the U.S. each year and that number is on the rise. Ironically, the animals doing most of the killing probably aren’t the ones you’re thinking of. A review of studies on animal-to-human deaths, sheds some light on animals that kill us here in our own country. The following is what we’ve learned. Continue reading →