Re: People killed by animals

i was watching a segment on t.v. the other day, and the question was... "what animal (in the U.S.) kills more people every year than any other by far?"


i thought it was a dog, but it turns out it's a deer! there are more deer attacks and deer accidents than many animals combined.

i had no idea that deer would attack humans, i knew Elk would, but BAMBIE? lol

so yesterday when i was in Yosemite, i was taking a photo of a valley deer. this thing was so used to humans, that i bet i could have gotten right up to it.. i was about 20 feet from my car, and about 40 feet from the buck. .. a passerby stopped to take a photo of it too, and as she started to approach it, i told her that bucks have antlers, and if they feel threatened, they will attack you... she was shocked and had no idea and backed up. she planned on walking right up to it had i not said anything.

live and learn.

I remember last June I was in my campsite, and there was a deer grazing a few feet from my tent. I wasn't that concerned, but I thought maybe making some sort of presence known would scare it away from my campsite. They were does, and weren't all that threatening. They weren't impressed when I started wildly swinging my hiking poles.

They might also not have made a distinction between different types of ungulates, like deer, moose, or elk. I've heard of elk or moose referred to as essentially varieties of deer. I'd think attacks by deer are rare, but if it's combined death from vehicle accidents, I could understand. Last July (August?) I saw a deer get crunched by a pickup, and I imagine that it could have done someone worse to a smaller vehicle with a lower windshield.

The following hints that the first California fatality from a deer attack was a little before October of 2005, in San Diego County. Apparently someone got gored in the mouth after startling a deer.

http://www.ranchomurieta.com/localnews/wildlife050906.html



Post Edited (10-28-07 15:05)

I remember a man being killed by a deer in the park. He decided to pet one and it reacted by kicking him. I've never had one display any signs of aggression but I've never tried to pet one either. This guy was another story:

they are definitely talking about car fatalities from a deer

As a kid I remember my folks taking me to Angel Island where I fed some deer chocolate. Back then, it was probably illegal but not quite as actively discouraged as it is now. Living the Berkeley Hills brought a new perspective. While the visitors loved seeing deer, my mom thought of them as four-legged vermin that were constantly eating her flowers and fruit trees.



Post Edited (10-29-07 00:15)

When I was at the Grand Canyon a few years ago the Ranger Program focused on the need to be cautious around all wildlife. The ranger told how a parent instructed his young child to pet "bambi" so he could have a "kodac moment". The buck gored and killed the child.

I keep a respectful distance from deer.

On top of all of this, deer have very sharp hooves, and are not afraid to use them. Like all critters, they deserve respect and the most understanding a person can muster.

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Wilderness forever,
Bruce Jensen

I was at Estes Park in Colorado last fall and visited the elk herds during the rut. You don't even want to get close to those big boys.



Post Edited (10-29-07 08:23)

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Old Dude

mrcondron wrote:

> I was at Estes Park in Colorado last fall and visited the elk
> herds during the rut. You don't even want to get close to
> those big boys.

http://mfile.akamai.com/27176/wmv/nationalpark.download.akamai.com/27176/prod/yell/photosmultimedia/video/wildlifesafety/256/chalfant_elk_256.asx

mountain lions are the only ones i worry about when i'm hiking or whatever cuz i've seen reports about how they sort of randomely attack people

Lucrativ wrote:

> mountain lions are the only ones i worry about when i'm hiking
> or whatever cuz i've seen reports about how they sort of
> randomely attack people

You very unlikely to ever even see a mountain lion let alone being attacked by one. In all my years of hiking I have never seen anything other than tracks. The only mountain lion I have seen in the wild was from the car near Big Bear.

But I did get to see a smaller cousin recently:



http://yosemitephotos.net/main.php?g2_itemId=5395

Nice picture of Rufus (Lynx Rufus, that is)!

too funny y_p_w !

I've heard of squirrels hiding in the trees and jumping onto people trying to get their nuts.

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Everything I know I learned from

that's gotta hurt! who woulda thunk?

I've been seeing more mountain lions the last few years here in the SF Bay Area.

Many years ago, our first sighting was at Sunol Regional Wilderness up in the McGuire Peaks area; at a rather large distance, he looked like a big rubber band running along the hillside...what a flexible animal!

More recently, we've been seeing them late at night while driving home from astronomy events in the hills.

In 25 years of extensively hiking Bay Area trails, I have never had cause to be afraid of one.

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Wilderness forever,
Bruce Jensen

Some of the visitors, especially to the valley, seem to think it's just a petting zoo and that if it wasn't safe, they wouldn't "have" the animals there.

Last week there was a cub climbing a tree near the bridge at Stoneman meadow, with mama down below. Several of us stopped along the path to watch and take photos, but of course there were the half dozen or so "special" folks who had to go down a footpath near to where the bears were. "To get a better shot" of course. They ended up way too close, and I was thinking of how patient mama was as she looked at them and did her best to ignore them. Finally a ranger drove up and told the fools to get out of there, and even at that he had to tell one guy 3-4 times...I wish he'd have handcuffed him and led him off, would have served him right.

Then a day later, a car stopped in the middle of the road west of El Cap, and a couple of others stopped behind, and they got their silly cameras out and went out after a bear. Sometimes I'm ashamed to be a photographer, and that was one of them. Again, a ranger drove up and told them to get moving, and again some were reluctant...despite their car blocking traffic and them being a nuisance to wildlife.

But regarding deer, I was hiking up Tenaya canyon near Snow Creek and ran across a herd of 6 fairly large bucks. I did take photos, but never moved a step closer from when I saw them, nor even considered trying to approach them.
http://www.pbase.com/roberthouse/image/65127876
Even at that, I was watching for any sign that they were annoyed at my presence. They definitely looked as though they deserved respect.

I guess people are just used to things like petting zoos, and also many really do think that if there was any danger, the animals wouldn't be "allowed" there.

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Gary
Yosemite Photo Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/roberthouse/yo

wow! those are some antlers Gary!

Old conversation but just had to say...I worked on a TV show once that involved the cast having close contact with animals and insects. We were often asked "Will it bite me?"

Our answer:

"I could bite you if properly provoked."

So yes, deer will hurt people if they feel threatened.

Quote
erinogirl123
So yes, deer will hurt people if they feel threatened.

They also jump in front of moving cars. That probably causes more people injuries than anything else.

Wow, this thread was from the dusty archives! Really old stuff here. I think I mentioned this before, but Frankly, I cannot find it so--->

There used to be a plaque or sign, I think on the north side of the valley not far from the Village stores, mentioning that the only human death in Yosemite from animals was due to a child being gored by a deer. Don't know if it is still there.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

Quote
Frank Furter
Wow, this thread was from the dusty archives! Really old stuff here. I think I mentioned this before, but Frankly, I cannot find it so--->

There used to be a plaque or sign, I think on the north side of the valley not far from the Village stores, mentioning that the only human death in Yosemite from animals was due to a child being gored by a deer. Don't know if it is still there.

Note to Eeek:
Please dust archives.

Quote
Frank Furter
There used to be a plaque or sign, I think on the north side of the valley not far from the Village stores, mentioning that the only human death in Yosemite from animals was due to a child being gored by a deer. Don't know if it is still there.

That was a five year old in 1977. I remember a man tried to pet a deer in the 80s and was killed. So that might be why the sign is gone.

I can't let anybody in my subdivision see this. Some of them actually believe we have herds of "aggressive" Eastern white tailed deer and will not allow small children to play outside unattended! If somebody told them we have killer crows they would believe it.

Might not be entirely unfounded. Habituated mule deer (blacktail deer) testosterone inspired bucks are rather aggressive and have challenged dogs and humans. Some have crashed into homes after seeing their reflections in windows.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

But not:

Not killed, but injured:


http://www.ananova.com/News/story/sm_3620295.html

Woman hit by falling moose head in bar

A New York woman is suing a bar - after she suffered concussion when she was hit by a falling moose head......

The story continues:
Loose moose or caribou boo?

http://gothamist.com/2009/12/31/foul_play_suspected_in_loose_moose.php

While the debate rages on over whether it was a moose or a caribou, another new twist has emerged in the case of the tumbling taxidermy that injured a woman at a Lower East Side restaurant in October. 32-year-old Raina Kumra made headlines yesterday when she filed a lawsuit against White Slab Palace, where a moose head crashed down on her during a party. To this day she suffers from chronic neck pain, anxiety, fatigue, dizziness and embarrassment. But now it seems the 150-pound moose head may have been tampered with before it fell!

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2009 09:26AM by Frank Furter.

Quote
Frank Furter
Not killed, but injured:


http://www.ananova.com/News/story/sm_3620295.html

Woman hit by falling moose head in bar

A New York woman is suing a bar - after she suffered concussion when she was hit by a falling moose head......

The story continues:
Loose moose or caribou boo?

http://gothamist.com/2009/12/31/foul_play_suspected_in_loose_moose.php

While the debate rages on over whether it was a moose or a caribou...

It rather depends on which photograph you believe shows the alleged culprit.
Perhaps the lawsuit can be modified to moosibou or cariboose.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2009 10:10AM by szalkowski.