FACTS

1. Humans are now responsible for causing changes in the environment that hurt animals and plant species. We take up more space on Earth for our homes and cities. We pollute habitats. We illegally hunt and kill animals. We bring exotic species into habitats.
2. Wildlife causes numerous human injuries and fatalities by attacking or biting people, colliding with vehicles, striking aircraft, and serving as vectors or reservoirs for zoonotic diseases. Only a small fraction of human– wildlife interactions result in human injury or death.
3. Millions of dollars are spent yearly in treating individuals stung or bitten by animals.
4. Injuries caused by animals are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths worldwide each year Unfortunately, many cases are poorly documented, and many patients die before obtaining medical care.
5. Zoonotic infections, diseases transmitted between vertebrate animals and man, affect millions of people yearly and are responsible for numerous deaths.
6. In the United States, an evaluation of fatalities from animal attacks which has looked at the wide spectrum of animals involved, or which encompasses the entire country has not been published in more than 25 years.

STATS

• Injuries resulting from encounters with animals are a major, yet poorly recognized, public health problem. It is estimated that 1-2 million animal bites occur each year in the United States.
• Each year, thousands of people are injured when their vehicle collides with a wild animal.
• (2.4% of drivers annually), Montana (1.7%), Pennsylvania (1.5%), Iowa (1.5%), South Dakota (1.4%), and Wisconsin (1.3%). An estimated 29,000 people in the United States were injured yearly in a DVC, and 200 people lost their lives.
• The CDC (2016) estimated that 6,000–8,000 people are bitten by a venomous snake each year, and Forrester et al. (2018) found that 6 snakebite victims die annually in the United States.
• The American Association of Poison Control Centers was an association of 61 poison control centers, which covered 300 million U.S. residents. They received annually an average of 6,803 calls from snakebite victims and 1,050 calls from victims of another reptile.
• Moose–vehicle collisions are at least 640 human injuries and 6 fatalities annually. Each year, there are between 89 million and 340 million bird–vehicle collisions in the United States.
• There have been 2 fatal wolf attacks recently in North America. Kenton Joel was a 22-year-old engineering student and was killed during 2005 while hiking in northern Saskatchewan. The other victim was Candice Berner, a 32-year-old schoolteacher, who was killed during 2010 while jogging in Alaska.