While in pursuit of the trying to find that ammo-can hidden in the woods, many geocachers have come face to face with wildlife. The vast majority of time it is a peaceful encounter, and one or the other backs away. Rarely injuries have occurred. I don’t recall hearing about anyone being mauled by a bear -- but it is possible. Most of the time, mosquito bites or ticks or spider bites are the result of hiking in the woods or blazing your own trail through the brush.

Animals can cause injuries by various mechanisms that include bite, sting, crush, gore, stomp, buck off, fall on, peck or scratch. A study was conducted by Ricky L. Langley MD, MPH and published in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine which reviewed epidemiologic data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The time period included in the study was 1991 to 2001.

They reviewed fatal injuries resulting from animal encounters in the United States. Not included in this report are animal-vehicle collisions and zoonotic infections (Lyme disease, West Nile Virus, etc.). Estimates put animal-vehicle collisions at approximately 200 a year.

All human fatalities and causes of death are reported annually to the National Center for Health Statistics. They are reported using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition (ICD-9) or the 10th edition (ICD-10). A weakness in the ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes are that they are organized there are only a few animal specifically named and many are grouped under "Other" or "Unspecified"

Between 1991 and 2001, 1,943 persons were reported fatally injured by animals. This was further broken down to 759 deaths related to venomous animals and 1,184 for non-venomous animals.

						No. of 			% of
Animal						Deaths			Fatalities
Other, specified				846			43.5
Hornet, Bee, Wasp				533			27.4
Dog						208			10.7
Spider						66			3.4	
Snake						57			2.9
Scorpion					5			0.26
Centipede					5			0.26
Rat						3			0.15
Venomous Marine Animal				2			0.10
Various other unspecified categories		228

The No. 1 killer was "Other" numbering 846 deaths. Unfortunately there is no good breakdown of this catch-all category. Many of the large animals such as bears, sharks, cows and horses are included in this "Other". Therefore, the actual number of fatalities caused by a specific species is no known for many animals.

What should be No. 1 (and would be if the "Other" category could be broken down better) are hornets, wasps and bees. 53.3 persons are killed each year by these little pests. I’ve been stung several times while geocaching and fortunately, it’s only been a painful experience for me. However for those that are sensitive, a sting is a very serious matter. Within minutes their throat starts to swell and they may begin to have trouble breathing. If they don’t receive immediate treatment with Epinephrine (Adrenaline) such as in an Epi-pen, there is a chance they may die.

Most people are afraid of snakes; however spiders caused fatalities over the 10-year span. A good staff or trekking pole can be used not only to scare off snakes on the ground but to move tree branches and brush aside to avoid spiders in these locations.

It was also noted in this study that males accounted for 72.4% of all fatalities and females 27.6%. By race, whites had a higher percentage (91%) of fatalities than other racial groups. Fatalities broken down by age group revealed that dogs were responsible for most of the deaths in the 0 to 9year-old group. 10 to 19-year-old were most often fatally wounded by "Other" In the 20-64 year-old group hornets, bees and wasps were the most common cause of fatalities. The cause in the over 65-year-old group was "Other" but closely followed by hornets, bees and wasps.

By region, the southern part of the United States has the largest percentage of animal-related fatalities. This may be due to the warmer weather increasing insect populations in the south and colder weather limiting the spread of venomous animals to higher latitudes. Warmer weather also increases the likelihood that children will play outdoors year-round, thus increasing their chance of exposure to animals.

Unfortunately, the weakness of this study is that no individual death certificates or reports were available to verify fatalities reported.

Finally, advances in anti-venom therapy and hymenoptera desensitization therapy will likely help prevent fatalities and lessen adverse effects in the future. Continuing education of individuals and families is important. National parks, which protect our natural resources and can serve as a haven to protect endangered species, may offer opportunities to view potentially dangerous wildlife in a controlled environment.