The deer is the deadliest animal in America.
That’s the conclusion of an analysis of CDC data from LCB, which broke down the types of animals most uniquely likely to kill you in your state — with larger mammals, mostly deer, coming out on top in most states:
Still, death by animal remains pretty rare in America: The odds of an animal killing you are one in nearly 1.4 million.
Within those odds, however, deer are more likely to cause deaths than other animals — more than dogs, bears, sharks, and alligators combined, according to the LCB analysis. (One inventive solution to the deer problem: helping reestablish the cougar population to kill a lot of deer.)
But you shouldn’t worry too much about murderous deer mauling you and your family.
According to the analysis, “Deer are the deadliest animal in the United States — but deer-related fatalities most often stem from accidents, not vicious attacks.” It added, “Due to rapid urban development, the deer’s natural habitat is shrinking, causing them to share more space with humans, where they often wander into oncoming traffic and cause car crashes. Deer-related crashes are a growing problem across the country that has led to sterilization programs and culling in the Northeast, even in the star-studded Hamptons.”
For more, including international figures, check out the full analysis at LCB’s website.