We all love wildlife, and many of us are pet owners. Some houses will have multiple pets across a variety of species, while zoos around the globe remain some of the most popular tourist destinations out there. But while for the most part people and animals coexist peacefully, oftentimes that’s not the case.

It’s an unfortunate fact that mankind has caused untold damage to wildlife over centuries, but humans themselves have also suffered thousands of attacks every year from wild predators in North America that often lead to fatalities. We've taken a break from casino sites to dig into the statistics.

Some US states are more susceptible to animal attacks than others. Naturally, areas with higher populations will post higher figures, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they are more dangerous areas to live in. We looked at the most recent statistics for animal attacks for each state in the USA and tallied the odds of perishing by the animal attack in each region. This information was gathered through CDC and Wikipedia data over a 23-year span.

Most Dangerous States to Live In

While Texas has the greatest number of animal fatalities, it actually doesn’t have the highest odds of being attacked and killed by an animal. That title belongs to Georgia, with a population of around 3.7 million people and a total of 164 animal attacks since 2000 meaning residents there have a 22,500/1 chance of being meeting their fate at the hands of another creature.

And while California, the most populated state in the US, had the second most animal attacks over the studied span, their odds of 120,000/1 were the most favorable out of each of the top 15 states. Texas, being the second biggest state, had much lower odds of 51,900/1, meaning residents there are far more likely to cross paths with a vicious predator than most other states.

Other States with the shortest odds of death by animal attack included Oklahoma, with 100 attacks on a 3.98 million population equaling odds of 39,800/1 just edging out Tennessee whose 6.97 million residents have seen 173 deaths over the same period (40,200/1).

Biggest Killers - Deer, Bees and Dogs

While the most vicious animals like bears and sharks do claim their fair share of deaths in the US every year, some more common animals are far likelier to lead to fatalities statistics have shown.

• Deer, 120-200 people per year - Deer account for an estimated 120-200 fatalities annually due to animal encounters.
• Bees/Wasps/Hornets, 56 people per year - Approximately 56 people lose their lives each year due to attacks by bees, wasps, or hornets.
• Dogs, 30-50 people a year - Fatalities caused by dog-related incidents range from 30 to 50 annually.
• Livestock, 20 people a year - Livestock incidents lead to the deaths of about 20 people per year.
• Spiders, 7 people a year - Spider bites result in approximately 7 fatalities annually.

Methodology

In our quest to unveil the United States' most perilous states in terms of animal attacks, we performed a comprehensive analysis that delved into documented instances of human fatalities caused by wildlife. Our examination utilized 23 years of data from various sources on the web including Wikipedia, CDC, and Statista. We hope this data will not only shed light on the states posing the highest risks but also cast a spotlight on the specific creatures within each state that have proven to be the most dangerous to human life.