According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration, only 200 human deaths nationwide result from crashes with deer annually. So I think the vast majority of times, it’s the deer that comes out the clear loser there. People kill far more of each other with their cars out on the highways.
No one’s mentioned ticks yet. About 60 people nationwide die of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever every year, mainly because of delays in diagnosis. We have a problem with that here. I know two people at work who have gotten it from a tick bite, and one of our students died of RMSF a couple years ago. It was thought at first that she had the flu.
I don’t know I’ve been struck by a cottonmouth twice in my life. The first time I got real sick but I recovered okay, the second time it was not a big deal at all. Dad got bit by a cottonmouth once, we weren’t real impressed by them. Dad was with a friend that got bit by a diamondback, it went really bad but the guy lived. A diamondback will kill you.
Bees and wasps kill people often and spider bites, black widow and brown recluse, are really bad. I’ve seen that.
Deer go into rut soon, they’ll kill you if you happen to walk up on one. Personally, I don’t like walking where there are signs of feral pigs. You don’t have a chance with them if you can’t get into a tree or the water before they get to you.
Yeah, crocs are in a more limited area than gators but I didn’t want them to feel left out. And yes, snakebite deaths are probably rare due to available treatments, bee stings are probably more fatal to those who are allergic but probably happen more often (I think there’s been a few around here in the past year or two).
I believe the OP excluded dogs and other domestic pets. My cats are probably more likely to kill me by running between my legs when I’m walking and send me crashing to the floor where I could crack my head open on the tile. However, since the OP was about animals most likely to kill, those mentioned previously are ones that probably have the higher potential to kill in the right … or wrong circumstances.
If we’re not counting dog bites, then surely deer on the road would be number 1. After that, snakebites from diamondbacks, copperheads, or water moccasins would be a very distant second, and then things that sting that people are allergic to, and then rabid animals.
Alternately, fried chickens are probably a much greater cause of death here than any of those live animals.
The chicken is the most lethal animal to humans, its eggs are full of cholesterol, its meat often harbours E-colli, and it is a major vector for the flu virus transfering to Humans. Flu is the biggy there about 36,000 per year in USA alone http://www.usmedicine.com/dailyNews.cfm?dailyID=131
Near Park Meadows (http://www.parkmeadows.com)…the Suburban Housewife in it’s natural SUV habitat. Check out the picture on the homepage…it shows the smug cunning drive that motivates these creatures to park, Latte, and Text Message all at the same time!
You’d think I was being a smartass, but really I’m deadly serious.
Well, there’s an oft-repeated saw about a swan being able to break a man’s arm with one blow of its wing … so, I suspect, the most dangerous creature (to me) would be the swan. There are always swans out on the canal. The risk isn’t particularly high, though; probably not much higher than the danger of tripping over a moorhen, falling into the canal, and drowning. It’s not exactly Sheena Queen of the Jungle territory round here, you know.
Too many to choose from!
I might be bitten by a taipan outside the door.
I might be trampled by the horses in the paddock out the back.
I might get munched by an estuarine crocodile down at the lagoon.
I might get stung by a deadly box jellyfish if I venture into the sea.
I might get get yumped by a great white or tiger shark.
Or my doggie might smother me in my sleep…
In S.E. Texas we have alligators, copperheads, water mocassins, rattlers, fire ants, bees, West Nile mosquitos and sharks but the one that scares me most is the party animal.
I live near Boise, Idaho. Mountain lions (cougars) have been known to come down from the hills and into the city here. If you’re out in the mountains I’d say bears or wolves would be your greatest animal threats along with mountain lions. If you go out into the desert you’d be up against coyotes and rattlesnakes.
I live a little ways west of Calgary, and there seems to be more deer on the roads around here than cars. Still, deaths in car vs. deer accidents seem remarkably low (for the people. Deer don’t have it so easy). Most people aren’t even injured. Elk and moose, on the other hand, can really ruin your day if you meet on a dark highway.
I was almost attcked by a black bear just last week, but luckily survived due to some manly running away. Still, I think grizzly bears are more likely to kill you around here. We also have the odd mountain lion attack.