# What wild animal are you most likely to be attacked by in your current location? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281 "2014-09-22T22:47:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/1 "2014-09-22T22:47:34Z")
Let’s leave domestic dogs and cats out of this, because that’s too easy and dull. So, what’ll it be? Rabid raccoon? Pack of wolves? Escaped lab monkey? ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/2 "2014-09-22T22:52:19Z")
Turkeys. Or possibly Canada Geese. Probably turkeys though, the damn fearless bastards. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/3 "2014-09-22T22:56:40Z")
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/4 "2014-09-22T22:57:47Z")
Cougar. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/5 "2014-09-22T22:59:24Z")
There are coyotes nearby, including one that sometimes trots across our yard on its way to hide beneath the neighbor’s deck. It’s mangy. I’m afraid of it. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/6 "2014-09-22T23:01:35Z")
Moose. If I came across a mama and babies, oh yeah. But moose in general. I’m in danger in the car! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/7 "2014-09-22T23:08:26Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > Cougar. Stay away from the bars. Canadian geese. They are not polite. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/8 "2014-09-22T23:12:06Z")
A man in our neighborhood was attacked by a raccoon the other week, so I’m going to go with raccoon. I occasionally see coyotes in open space/parkway, but they shy from people, so I’m not worried about them. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/9 "2014-09-22T23:15:02Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. ☹ This is probably it for me as well, although it could be an elk or a mule deer. Not that an elk or mule deer is _likely_ to attack (and we do have mountain lions and bears in the nearby mountains) but the snakes and ungulates are far more common. ---
**Author:** ![callander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@callander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/callander)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/10 "2014-09-22T23:19:36Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > Turkeys. Or possibly Canada Geese. Probably turkeys though, the damn fearless bastards. Who would have known right? Figgin’ turkeys. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/11 "2014-09-22T23:20:26Z")
I have been attacked by Canadian Geese. I’ve been attacked (in my car) by a whitetail deer. I have been attacked by bumblebees. I have been attacked by a grey squirrel. I have been attacked by a bath towel. Once I was seriously threatened by a cricket. Oh yes, and I was attacked by a spider once - it pinned me to the floor. I’ve had wolves and foxes cross through my yard but they never offered to attack - by far the safest wild animals I’ve encountered. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/12 "2014-09-22T23:23:23Z")
Being in LA, it actually gives me joy that I could be attacked by a cougar, bear, or coyote, as well as obstreperous deer or unruly racoons. But, to say most likely? Probably a cranky squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/13 "2014-09-22T23:26:37Z")
Attacked? Maybe a rabid fox or crazed deer. There may be snakes but I haven’t seen one in a long time and the ones I saw weren’t poisonous. Do mosquitos count? 😉 Seriously, an escaped zoo critter might make it here if it ran through yards and jumped fences and such and stayed off the streets long enough not to get run over. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/14 "2014-09-22T23:28:14Z")
Rabid Fox. They may all be dead by now it’s been a while before I’ve seen any foxes, healthy, rabid, or mangy. A wild turkey is possible but they just seem to be passing through our yard so I’d have to hassle one to get him going. The coyotes have diminished, haven’t seen a racoon in forever, there are Fishers around but I haven’t seen one. Actually it’s pretty safe around here these days. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/15 "2014-09-22T23:31:33Z")
All of them. I live in Australia. Every damn animal here is deadly. My biggest imminent threat of injury? My cat, who can go from purring with contentment to attack mode quicker than I can pull my hand away, and I’ve got very good reflexes. I know the OP said no domestic animals, but really he is the biggest threat. I’ve also been bitten by a [brushtail possum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_brushtail_possum) who used to sleep in my wine cellar before we had the house possum-proofed. Bees and wasps can be a problem in Spring, and I’ve noticed the magpies are about to start their swooping season. They are nice birds for 11/12ths of the year, but utter bastards when their chicks arrive. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/16 "2014-09-22T23:38:08Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Being in LA, it actually gives me joy that I could be attacked by a cougar, bear, or coyote, as well as obstreperous deer or unruly racoons. > > But, to say most likely? Probably a cranky squirrel. A squirrel nearly broke my boss’s leg. Okay, she was jogging and was just trying to avoid stepping on it when it ran out from the underbrush, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/17 "2014-09-22T23:53:22Z")
A really pissed off white tail deer i.e. Bambi. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/18 "2014-09-22T23:54:01Z")
I’m not too far from the King Fire (currently burning in California) and I’m a little worried about mountain lions and bears. They’re being burned out of their habitat and people are spotting them in unusual places. We have a lot of snakes here too. But in truth it probably will be a damn dog that gets me. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/19 "2014-09-22T23:55:08Z")
A raccoon if anything. Highly unlikely though. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281/20 "2014-09-22T23:55:35Z")
Cockatiel or Indian Ringneck Parrot (they’re pets but under the law are exotic wildlife.) Otherwise, coyotes, black bears, or cooper’s hawks during nesting season. Cooper’s hawks actually built a nest near a government office a few years ago, then attacked the employees as they tried to go to work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-wild-animal-are-you-most-likely-to-be-attacked-by-in-your-current-location/699281.md?page=2)