North America's Deadliest Animal

[Paradox]

Chip, I think your main concern is the spirochete.

 

[Mac]

Coyote attack Oct 27 2009

I know this is rare, but a hiker died after being attacked by 2 coyotes (Tuesday, Oct 27) on a trail in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1149776.html

 

[Chip]

Chip, I think your main concern is the spirochete.

Treponema pallidum used to terrify me.

Okay...for the purposes of this poll and thread, my definition of "Deadliest" is simply "the animal that we are most likely to be killed by" in North America. Clearly it's deer and moose via collision. Next on the list would be by dog attack. WAY, WAY down on the list is bear (right next to centipede.) The average Northeast hiker should be (IMHO) 1) terrified of road side deer and moose, 2) concerned with bees and stinging insects, 3) Aware of dogs, and 4) Not remotely concerned with the possibility of being attacked by a bear. I'm not saying anyone should abandon proper food handling and storage, but that applies equally regarding bear, racoon, pine martin and mice.

 

[Paradox]

Treponema pallidum used to terrify me.

Okay...for the purposes of this poll and thread, my definition of "Deadliest" is simply "the animal that we are most likely to be killed by" in North America. Clearly it's deer and moose via collision. Next on the list would be by dog attack. WAY, WAY down on the list is bear (right next to centipede.) The average Northeast hiker should be (IMHO) 1) terrified of road side deer and moose, 2) concerned with bees and stinging insects, 3) Aware of dogs, and 4) Not remotely concerned with the possibility of being attacked by a bear. I'm not saying anyone should abandon proper food handling and storage, but that applies equally regarding bear, racoon, pine martin and mice.

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"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself!" FDR
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[DreamFarmer]

Okay, so now lets decide of all the deadly critters, which one tastes the best !

 

[Little Rickie]

Okay, so now lets decide of all the deadly critters, which one tastes the best !

Hot dogs!!!

 

[Puma concolor]

Respect and Awe, certainly. But your fear would be misplaced, based on the numbers.

Ah, but fear is a good thing as long as it is rational and doesn't paralyze you. Fear associated with grizzlies and cougars is certainly rational. I would also suspect the total number of deaths by grizzlies is somewhat underestimated. People disappear in the backcountry and the cause of death is sometimes never determined.

Here is a good story I recently stumbled across from the NY Times from a few years ago regarding hikers who vanish in the Beartooth Range in Montana.

Meanwhile, I do not fear dogs or deer.

 

[nartreb]

Clearly it's deer and moose via collision.

Yes, thanks to deer. IIRC, annual fatal deer collisions in the US: 150. Fatal dog attacks: around 30. Fatal moose collisions: around 10 (and I think the moose death count includes Canada).

I think the numbers would go way down if drivers in the US were required to take a driving course. I hit a deer at high speed (it jumped in front of me from bushes on the highway median) and suffered not a bruise. But I know of cases of serious injury (broken neck) where the driver drove off the road trying to swerve.

 

[nartreb]

your fear [of grizzlies] would be misplaced, based on the numbers.

Incorrect. Think of it in terms of deaths per second of proximity. During the past few years I've seen deer within leaping range almost once a week while driving; I've seen bear a handful of times in my life. In other words, in my lifetime so far deer have had something like 50 times as many opportunities to kill me. For the population at large, I bet the deer:bear exposure ratio is much higher. As the deer:bear death rate is about 50:1, you should fear bear at least as much as deer - and any prolonged bear encounter should make you nervous indeed.

 

[Puma concolor]

Thanks nartreb. That's what I was trying to say in my post back on page 2.

 

[bubba]

...I would also suspect the total number of deaths by grizzlies is somewhat underestimated. People disappear in the backcountry and the cause of death is sometimes never determined.

So my preference for NE hiking is very rational!! Luckily I've learned to dodge deer fairly well (i.e. - I've missed more than I've hit, and none have proven fatal) Driving last night around dusk on country roads in bow season was like driving in an obstacle course of wildlife - not to mention human joggers and mail-getters!

 

[DSettahr]

I thought it would be more interesting to just look at animals, aka the recent Bear threads. Depending on the list, and again excluding humans, bees and lightning kill more hikers than animals do, I believe.

Since when are bees not animals?

 

[Chip]

Incorrect. Think of it in terms of deaths per second of proximity. During the past few years I've seen deer within leaping range almost once a week while driving; I've seen bear a handful of times in my life. In other words, in my lifetime so far deer have had something like 50 times as many opportunities to kill me. For the population at large, I bet the deer:bear exposure ratio is much higher. As the deer:bear death rate is about 50:1, you should fear bear at least as much as deer - and any prolonged bear encounter should make you nervous indeed.

I know what you're saying. Analysis might still prove me right, even on your and Puma Concolor's terms, however. As an example; when we were hiking and camping in the Tetons and Yellowstone we saw a number of bear (black and brown). Even there, I'm sure my chances of being killed by collision with deer or moose was substantially higher than being killed by a bear. Or let's say you live in Anchorage, where grizzlies and moose basically live in town with you, I don't have the numbers handy, but I think my point would stand up. There's no contest in the northeast.

 

[Chip]

Since when are bees not animals?

Ever since I made up the poll parameters !

Deer collisions still kill 3 times as many people as bees, though.

 

[Chip]

Incorrect. Think of it in terms of deaths per second of proximity.

I agree that if you are locked in a room with a hungry grizzly and I am locked in a room with a hungry deer, you'll die and I'll enjoy venison tartare.

However "deaths per second of proximity" is a theoretical ideal which does not occur. If it did occur, you guys would certainly be correct.

My point remains the same: there is no rational need for a hiker to fear bear. Cars, trees, deer, bees and lightning will kill all of us before anyone here dies by bear - based on the stats.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Where I often hike now I keep a damn sharp eye out for rattlesnakes between April and October. I don't see them often, but when I do ... I can guarantee I'll be feeling the affects of the adrenaline rush for 3 or 4 hours.

"Nothing like the sound of an angry buzz in the morning" (with apologies to Robert Duval and Francis Ford Coppola).

 

[Snowflea]

I like snakes, but...

I live in SoCal now and run/hike in mountain lion & rattlesnake habitat. Though I haven't been lucky enough to see a cat yet, one was recently tracked in the Santa Monica Mountains, about 1/2 hour drive (on a very rare day) from downtown LA. While doing a night run in the Ojai mountains awhile back, we did hear one "screaming." That was a bit freaky.

But lately the rattlesnakes--which are out year round down here and which I encounter a couple of times a month, most recently two days ago--have been freaking me out more: a friend was bitten last spring on Mt. Diablo (Bay area) and almost lost his leg... to say nothing of the $427,000 hospital bill...

 

[ColdRiverRun]

But lately the rattlesnakes--which are out year round down here and which I encounter a couple of times a month, most recently two days ago--have been freaking me out more: a friend was bitten last spring on Mt. Diablo (Bay area) and almost lost his leg... to say nothing of the $427,000 hospital bill...

Woser, hefty bill. One of my favorite places to run is the Tongue mountain range in Lake George but I usually keep it to early to mid Spring and mid to late Fall for that very reason. Run at night time, who the hell does that?

 

[Little Rickie]

I think the chance of startling a snake is a lot higher while running than walking.

 

[jn316]

another reason to fear the deer

With Lyme Disease or other tick-borne illnesses you can lose your life while still being alive.
Where I once saw a graceful relative of Bambi I now see a vector.