Which animals cause the most deaths in Australia? Horses
March 16, 2024 7:53 AM Subscribe
Which animals cause the most deaths in Australia?
Horses: 172 total deaths between 2001 and 2017, many of them from falling off a horse.
After horses, from most total deaths to least total deaths:
Cows, Bulls and other bovine animals (mostly farm workers or car accidents): 82 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Dogs: 53 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Kangaroos (by causing car accidents or motorbike accidents): 37 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Snakes: 37 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Bees: 31 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Sharks: 27 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Crocodiles: 21 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
After horses, from most total deaths to least total deaths:
Cows, Bulls and other bovine animals (mostly farm workers or car accidents): 82 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Dogs: 53 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Kangaroos (by causing car accidents or motorbike accidents): 37 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Snakes: 37 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Bees: 31 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Sharks: 27 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
Crocodiles: 21 total deaths between 2001 and 2017.
No drop bears?
posted by rory at 8:06 AM on March 16 [9 favorites]
posted by rory at 8:06 AM on March 16 [9 favorites]
An acquaintance is permanently paralyzed from a fall from a horse, and that was when I learned how common it was (everywhere, not just Australia) for that accident to happen. I fell off a pony once and then the beast deliberately stepped on me, but the fall wasn't far enough to do me in now was his weight sufficient.
posted by Peach at 8:10 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]
posted by Peach at 8:10 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]
all of the cassowaries must have been too busy in their day jobs as pullers of chariots
posted by lalochezia at 8:12 AM on March 16 [26 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 8:12 AM on March 16 [26 favorites]
Not that blue-ringed octopus that is so cute but also so lethal that when it bites you you barely have time to react before the venom stops your hea
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:26 AM on March 16 [13 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:26 AM on March 16 [13 favorites]
US figures also have farm animals at the top. A list by percentages. Deadliest wild animals in North America, excluding insects.
posted by Brian B. at 8:32 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]
posted by Brian B. at 8:32 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]
Animals don't cause car accidents. Vehicle drivers cause car accidents.
posted by srboisvert at 8:52 AM on March 16 [8 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 8:52 AM on March 16 [8 favorites]
A deer ran into the side of my car once.
posted by Peach at 8:54 AM on March 16 [5 favorites]
posted by Peach at 8:54 AM on March 16 [5 favorites]
Australian animals are so deadly even the horses are poisonous.
posted by rikschell at 9:01 AM on March 16 [16 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 9:01 AM on March 16 [16 favorites]
notice how the tricky humans left humans off the list of animals
posted by MonsieurPEB at 9:11 AM on March 16 [23 favorites]
posted by MonsieurPEB at 9:11 AM on March 16 [23 favorites]
The horse statistic is a favorite of mine because horseback riding turns out to be more dangerous than riding a motorcycle. Gives me a great response to the inevitable question “isn’t that dangerous?”
posted by dbx at 9:16 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]
posted by dbx at 9:16 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]
Australian animals are so deadly even the horses are poisonous.
So, Australians die from eating horses?
posted by signal at 9:39 AM on March 16 [7 favorites]
So, Australians die from eating horses?
posted by signal at 9:39 AM on March 16 [7 favorites]
For anyone confused about DBX's comment (which is unlikely but I like explainerating) - 710 horse related deaths per year in the US vs 6000 motorcycle related deaths per year in the US doesn't mean motorcycles are more dangerous.
We have to calculate "deaths per mile per year" or "deaths per hour of exposure per year". A lot more people are on motorcycles than horses.
Super side note derail - this is why the deaths by guns vs deaths by vehicles thing seems bad at first with regards to children... but it's actually far far worse.
We should calculate "deaths per minute of exposure" for each and we'd find that guns cause exponentially more deaths than vehicles do.
posted by Wetterschneider at 9:40 AM on March 16 [4 favorites]
We have to calculate "deaths per mile per year" or "deaths per hour of exposure per year". A lot more people are on motorcycles than horses.
Super side note derail - this is why the deaths by guns vs deaths by vehicles thing seems bad at first with regards to children... but it's actually far far worse.
We should calculate "deaths per minute of exposure" for each and we'd find that guns cause exponentially more deaths than vehicles do.
posted by Wetterschneider at 9:40 AM on March 16 [4 favorites]
Animals don't cause car accidents. Vehicle drivers cause car accidents.
Because of the way that they leap/bound on two spring loaded legs with a tail for balance, kangaroos can come out in front of a car
a) with no warning - they move very fast, and they can spring out from trees in front of a car very suddenly
b) from weird directions and weird trajectories.
They don't move like deer do.
Even careful, sober drivers who are driving the speed limit and paying very close attention to the road can be taken by surprise by sudden kangaroos - especially at sunset/dusk, night, and dawn, when they are most active.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:52 AM on March 16 [10 favorites]
Because of the way that they leap/bound on two spring loaded legs with a tail for balance, kangaroos can come out in front of a car
a) with no warning - they move very fast, and they can spring out from trees in front of a car very suddenly
b) from weird directions and weird trajectories.
They don't move like deer do.
Even careful, sober drivers who are driving the speed limit and paying very close attention to the road can be taken by surprise by sudden kangaroos - especially at sunset/dusk, night, and dawn, when they are most active.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:52 AM on March 16 [10 favorites]
Sudden Kangaroos is my next band name
posted by gottabefunky at 9:54 AM on March 16 [10 favorites]
posted by gottabefunky at 9:54 AM on March 16 [10 favorites]
Bang, goes another Kanga off the bonnet of the van
posted by supermedusa at 9:55 AM on March 16 [4 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 9:55 AM on March 16 [4 favorites]
also surprised at lack of spoods
posted by supermedusa at 9:55 AM on March 16
posted by supermedusa at 9:55 AM on March 16
Meanwhile, the box jellies quietly swim away, hoping nobody notices.
posted by gimonca at 10:01 AM on March 16 [4 favorites]
posted by gimonca at 10:01 AM on March 16 [4 favorites]
I have a collection of "animal warning" signs from my trip to Australia, mostly about crocs, that I enjoy showing people to perpetuate the common assumptions. In the middle of them, I've slipped one in from a place near Cairns that says CAUTION: FALLING MANGOES.
posted by gimonca at 10:03 AM on March 16 [7 favorites]
posted by gimonca at 10:03 AM on March 16 [7 favorites]
Seems strange adding "deaths because driven into" for animals?
I mean, it's a thing, people die because of driving into animals but those deaths probably belong in the "killed because of car" column?
posted by Zumbador at 10:04 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]
I mean, it's a thing, people die because of driving into animals but those deaths probably belong in the "killed because of car" column?
posted by Zumbador at 10:04 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]
No spiders?
"There were no deaths confirmed to have involved a spider bite"
Spider related deaths are very rare in Australia since anti-venom became readily available.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:09 AM on March 16 [7 favorites]
"There were no deaths confirmed to have involved a spider bite"
Spider related deaths are very rare in Australia since anti-venom became readily available.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:09 AM on March 16 [7 favorites]
Horses are said to be more dangerous than a motorcycle, but motorcycles terrify me. At least my horse tries not to fall down or go over a cliff! If I can stick with a horse, they take care of me. I trained colts and for 25 years never had a wreck. The old timers said that if you don't have a wreck, you're not putting much time on a horse.
My first wreck was on a gentle old kid's horse. Cowboys say those are the ones that get you, because you aren't paying attention. Rearing, bolting, shying, and spooks never unseated me, but bucking was never my forte. That one resulted in ribs, collar bone, and a collapsed lung. Not too bad. The last wreck was equipment failure off a mule I was training. Not the mule's fault, she was very apologetic, but I broke my back and learned that the new-fangled expensive blankets were trash. The hottest new technology these days is not necessarily safe. I also learned "Too old to break horses (mules)? Hold my beer!" isn't probably the best attitude anymore. I was wearing a helmet for that one luckily, as it didn't survive the rocks. I started wearing one about 20 years ago, and I hate them every day, but I grit and wear it.
Australian cowboys still break and train the wild brumbies, and I don't believe they wear helmets, just as the western cowboys do not. Cowboy hats look cool, but helmets save lives. Cowboys are usually good riders, but working livestock in the backcountry is a dangerous operation.
I commented to my farrier last time we met, that the old style wild 'sevannha' horses were rank and hard to handle, but they grew up in rough country running long distances and were foot-sure and canny. The high-bred ones now are easy to handle but grow up in raked pastures, live in stalls, and are not as savvy, catty or agile.
Riders also are different than 40 years ago. There are lots of 'bar-stool cowboys' more at home on a 4-wheeler, and many, many new (and scary!) pleasure riders with their first horse. So many people can't handle a horse, even on the ground. They don't have the moves or the timing to work a horse. Many horses now have horrible manners. Not to mention that wet saddle blankets are what make a good horse, and so many people ride once a week, or less. This is the time even my older horse will get the 'spring ya-yas". If he's not worked hard, he's a ding-a-ling.
What Aussies don't talk about is their dangerous sheep!
posted by BlueHorse at 10:13 AM on March 16 [17 favorites]
My first wreck was on a gentle old kid's horse. Cowboys say those are the ones that get you, because you aren't paying attention. Rearing, bolting, shying, and spooks never unseated me, but bucking was never my forte. That one resulted in ribs, collar bone, and a collapsed lung. Not too bad. The last wreck was equipment failure off a mule I was training. Not the mule's fault, she was very apologetic, but I broke my back and learned that the new-fangled expensive blankets were trash. The hottest new technology these days is not necessarily safe. I also learned "Too old to break horses (mules)? Hold my beer!" isn't probably the best attitude anymore. I was wearing a helmet for that one luckily, as it didn't survive the rocks. I started wearing one about 20 years ago, and I hate them every day, but I grit and wear it.
Australian cowboys still break and train the wild brumbies, and I don't believe they wear helmets, just as the western cowboys do not. Cowboy hats look cool, but helmets save lives. Cowboys are usually good riders, but working livestock in the backcountry is a dangerous operation.
I commented to my farrier last time we met, that the old style wild 'sevannha' horses were rank and hard to handle, but they grew up in rough country running long distances and were foot-sure and canny. The high-bred ones now are easy to handle but grow up in raked pastures, live in stalls, and are not as savvy, catty or agile.
Riders also are different than 40 years ago. There are lots of 'bar-stool cowboys' more at home on a 4-wheeler, and many, many new (and scary!) pleasure riders with their first horse. So many people can't handle a horse, even on the ground. They don't have the moves or the timing to work a horse. Many horses now have horrible manners. Not to mention that wet saddle blankets are what make a good horse, and so many people ride once a week, or less. This is the time even my older horse will get the 'spring ya-yas". If he's not worked hard, he's a ding-a-ling.
What Aussies don't talk about is their dangerous sheep!
posted by BlueHorse at 10:13 AM on March 16 [17 favorites]
Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretty nasti...
posted by credulous at 11:03 AM on March 16 [12 favorites]
posted by credulous at 11:03 AM on March 16 [12 favorites]
Animals don't cause car accidents. Vehicle drivers cause car accidents.
A deer ran into the side of my car once.
I had something like 14 deer strikes in 2 years doing delivery routes across rural Montana at night, and the one that pisses me off the most is the one where I saw the deer, slowed WAY down, crawled past it, got to where I thought I was ahead of it, pushed down HARD on the gas to accelerate away from it, and the fucking deer leapt at the front of my van, caught its antlers in the deer guard, and then its body slammed around into the passenger door.
I did literally EVERYTHING right to avoid killing this deer, and it decided that its time had come anyway.
posted by hippybear at 11:28 AM on March 16 [9 favorites]
A deer ran into the side of my car once.
I had something like 14 deer strikes in 2 years doing delivery routes across rural Montana at night, and the one that pisses me off the most is the one where I saw the deer, slowed WAY down, crawled past it, got to where I thought I was ahead of it, pushed down HARD on the gas to accelerate away from it, and the fucking deer leapt at the front of my van, caught its antlers in the deer guard, and then its body slammed around into the passenger door.
I did literally EVERYTHING right to avoid killing this deer, and it decided that its time had come anyway.
posted by hippybear at 11:28 AM on March 16 [9 favorites]
Yeah this feels like pretty unfair comparisons. If you sit on a horse, you might fall off and get hurt. Well how safe is it to sit on a shark? Or a snake? If you sit on a kangaroo how much more likely are you to get hit by a car?
posted by aubilenon at 11:32 AM on March 16 [10 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 11:32 AM on March 16 [10 favorites]
What Aussies don't talk about is their dangerous sheep!
Large numbers of people died around sheep in medieval and early-modern times. Often, the cause was drowning: you dipped your sheep in the local river or pond, and probably couldn't swim.
I'd like to see a breakdown of fatalities around horses per activity and skill level. I ride dressage at a very novice level, and that's in large part because I'm wary of the risks of learning to jump big fences or ride out on hard surfaces, having landed on my head on a trail ride once.. I was concussed but the helmet probably saved me from much worse.
posted by GeorgeBickham at 11:33 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]
Large numbers of people died around sheep in medieval and early-modern times. Often, the cause was drowning: you dipped your sheep in the local river or pond, and probably couldn't swim.
I'd like to see a breakdown of fatalities around horses per activity and skill level. I ride dressage at a very novice level, and that's in large part because I'm wary of the risks of learning to jump big fences or ride out on hard surfaces, having landed on my head on a trail ride once.. I was concussed but the helmet probably saved me from much worse.
posted by GeorgeBickham at 11:33 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]
The problem with raw statistics presented like this is that without knowing how many people work with horses or how many people work with cattle, there is no way to tell which animal is more dangerous.
posted by Lanark at 11:43 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]
posted by Lanark at 11:43 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]
Humans (by homicide 2001-2017): 4160
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 11:55 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 11:55 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]
so lethal that when it bites you you barely have time to react before the venom stops your hea
That's the thing about blue ringed octopus venom, though: it doesn't stop your heart, it paralyzes skeletal muscle, which includes your diaphragm. You remain fully conscious and fully aware of being utterly unable to move or breathe.
If you get bitten by a blue ringed octopus, your only hope is that somebody near you knows this and is willing and able to keep administering artificial respiration for as long as it takes the ambos to turn up or the toxin to metabolize, whichever happens first.
Humans (by homicide 2001-2017): 4160
Humans (by driving, 2001-2017): 24406
posted by flabdablet at 12:07 PM on March 16 [7 favorites]
That's the thing about blue ringed octopus venom, though: it doesn't stop your heart, it paralyzes skeletal muscle, which includes your diaphragm. You remain fully conscious and fully aware of being utterly unable to move or breathe.
If you get bitten by a blue ringed octopus, your only hope is that somebody near you knows this and is willing and able to keep administering artificial respiration for as long as it takes the ambos to turn up or the toxin to metabolize, whichever happens first.
Humans (by homicide 2001-2017): 4160
Humans (by driving, 2001-2017): 24406
posted by flabdablet at 12:07 PM on March 16 [7 favorites]
without knowing how many people work with horses or how many people work with cattle, there is no way to tell which animal is more dangerous.
I can tell you for sure that our mare goes a bit mad every spring; one year, she destroyed three six-foot hardwood fence palings with a single kick. I am very wary around her back end if she's been at all frisky and I certainly don't believe that RUN AT IT, SHOUTING would be sound advice around her in that state.
posted by flabdablet at 12:18 PM on March 16 [3 favorites]
I can tell you for sure that our mare goes a bit mad every spring; one year, she destroyed three six-foot hardwood fence palings with a single kick. I am very wary around her back end if she's been at all frisky and I certainly don't believe that RUN AT IT, SHOUTING would be sound advice around her in that state.
posted by flabdablet at 12:18 PM on March 16 [3 favorites]
“No one knows, incidentally, why Australia's spiders are so extravagantly toxic; capturing small insects and injecting them with enough poison to drop a horse would appear to be the most literal case of overkill. Still, it does mean that everyone gives them lots of space.”—Bill Bryson
posted by Melismata at 12:54 PM on March 16 [5 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 12:54 PM on March 16 [5 favorites]
... why Australia's spiders are so extravagantly toxic; capturing small insects and injecting them with enough poison to drop a horse...
No wonder Australian horse are dangerous, they're afraid someone's going to inject them with spider venom!
posted by BlueHorse at 1:42 PM on March 16 [5 favorites]
No wonder Australian horse are dangerous, they're afraid someone's going to inject them with spider venom!
posted by BlueHorse at 1:42 PM on March 16 [5 favorites]
They assume any humans riding them are giant spiders and that's why all the deaths.
posted by hippybear at 1:44 PM on March 16 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 1:44 PM on March 16 [4 favorites]
I think in Australia the humans resemble regular-sized spiders.
posted by aubilenon at 2:14 PM on March 16 [4 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 2:14 PM on March 16 [4 favorites]
no dingos?
The CDC.
"During 2000–2017, a total of 1,109 deaths from hornet, wasp, and bee stings occurred, for an annual average of 62 deaths. Deaths ranged from a low of 43 in 2001 to a high of 89 in 2017.
the deaths from bees, hornets, wasps is like five times the morbidity rate of all the animals listed, from australia, in the report.
posted by clavdivs at 2:22 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
The CDC.
"During 2000–2017, a total of 1,109 deaths from hornet, wasp, and bee stings occurred, for an annual average of 62 deaths. Deaths ranged from a low of 43 in 2001 to a high of 89 in 2017.
the deaths from bees, hornets, wasps is like five times the morbidity rate of all the animals listed, from australia, in the report.
posted by clavdivs at 2:22 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
The Land of Driders.
posted by clavdivs at 2:25 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 2:25 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]
"Australian animals are so deadly even the horses are poisonous."-- rikschell
"So, Australians die from eating horses?."-- signalNot Australian humans, but our dogs are at risk.posted by krisjohn at 3:19 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]
Seems strange adding "deaths because driven into" for animals?
Ditto for "deaths because falling off" for horses.
posted by fairmettle at 3:48 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
Ditto for "deaths because falling off" for horses.
posted by fairmettle at 3:48 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
Makes sense, I have never once fallen off a spider.
posted by RobotHero at 3:54 PM on March 16 [5 favorites]
posted by RobotHero at 3:54 PM on March 16 [5 favorites]
Well, this has been five of what precious few minutes I have for the rest of my life flushed down the shitter.
posted by y2karl at 5:03 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
posted by y2karl at 5:03 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
Well I've had friends break backs falling off horses and one friend got her spleen kicked to mush, but my first reaction was are the horses in Australia venomous now?
posted by BrotherCaine at 5:17 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
posted by BrotherCaine at 5:17 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
Poisonous animals in New Zealand*
*Not that many plus 3 of them are invasive spiders native to Australia, to boot. But Kiwis do host horses, so there is that.
posted by y2karl at 5:25 PM on March 16
*Not that many plus 3 of them are invasive spiders native to Australia, to boot. But Kiwis do host horses, so there is that.
posted by y2karl at 5:25 PM on March 16
Deer are everywhere around here. I have lived in this area for 25 years. Everyone has a deer and vehicle story. Sadly they never end well for the deer, the vehicle and too often the driver. My story is slightly unusual. I have a motorcycle riding friend who needed to take his bike into the shop. Naturally he was "friends with a guy" who was 20 miles away down the Sprain Brook Parkway. I was going to follow him in my pickup. We loaded the ramps into the back of my truck in case his bike died on the way. Because we both had to go to work afterwards, we lit out at 5:00am. Figured it would be empty on the roads which would help if his bike had issues.
Off we go. It was dark, but the rode was empty. Things are going well. Doing 60 maybe 65 on the empty dark highway. Riding the middle lane. I am about 15 car lengths behind him. Out of nowhere, a deer ran into the him and the side of the bike, the deer's antlers got caught in his forks or his handle bars, it was hard to determine. I jam on my breaks so I do not hit him. He is down, obviously, sliding with his bike and a deer across the highway. We all come to a stop. Me about 5 feet behind them. I decided to leave my car in the middle of the highway to protect him and to hopefully warn others to the situation. I run out to see if he is, well, alive. He has the bike and the deer on top of him. "Joey, you ok?" "No I am not fucking ok. Get this beast off of me." Well that was a good sign I thought. He's talking and cursing.
As luck would have it, the next vehicle to come by was a police car. He stops, puts on his flashing blue and reds and runs over. "what happened," he asked. At which point Joey says again, "GET THIS FUCKING BEAST OFF OF ME!" The deer seemed to be alive, but was not moving much. It had antlers that were tangled up in the front of the bike. It was large. Much credit here goes to officer friendly. He looks at me and says, "Let's grab his antlers and see what we can do before I have to shoot it." I am thinking, "Sure, right behind you on that one." He grabs the antlers, does a quick twist and the deer got up and semi-bolted all in a split second. (The deer was limping if that is what an injured deer does when it is not quite hopping/walking right.) It also had a nasty case of road rash. There was fur stuck in the bike too.
Anyway, we got the bike off of Joey's leg. Miraculously, he was wearing leathers and had only a mild case of road rash and a torn ligament in his knee and issues with his ankle but was otherwise fine. His bike could not be resuscitated. At the end, after the highway was cleared and I was standing on the side of the road with the officer, he just said, "Well that is one I will be telling for the rest of my career." and he lit a cigarette, took a deep drag and walked away. Joey is still pissed we didn't shoot the deer because he said he wanted the head and antlers for his mantle.
My animal through my car window story is also a little unusual. I am driving on Clark St in Chicago near the Weiner Circle. I am going maybe 15 mph. There are pedestrians, bicyclists, everything in the area. It was one of those first nice spring days where you wonder where all these thousands of people who you did not see all winter came from. It was about 5pm. I am heading north about to make a turn into the driveway/parking garage of my building. All of a sudden a parked car pulls out in front of me. I jam on my brakes. Next thing I hear a crash of glass and shards of glass are all over me and my car. I did not hit the other car. I look in my rearview mirror and there is a cyclist through my back window half in my backseat. "Are you okay?" He just screams, "It was not your fault. That guy almost killed us." "Us?" I am thinking to myself, you. His front wheel hit my back bumper and he went over the handle bars into my window/car. He then climbs out the way he came in, shards of glass all over him and starts charging at the other driver. I am running late. I had a first date that night and needed to shower and go pick her up.
I walk over to the the situation of the old man driver cowering from the screaming cyclist. "Everything ok here?" I ask. The cyclist just says to me, "I am an insurance adjuster. You have nothing to worry about." That is not what I meant, but ok. "Can I go?" "Yes". I drove around the assembled gawkers, the other car and turned into my building. I was running so late that after a quick shower, I grabbed a few beach towels and went back to my car to go pick up my date. There was no way to clean up all the shards of glass. I brushed off all I could from the passenger seat, put down two beach towels, threw the other one over the back seat and went to pick her up. Everything my mother taught me about making a good first impression was about to be tested. When she got into the car, she just asked, "Is this something I should ask about or never speak about again? Which one?" Reader, that date, that woman, later became my wife.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 5:28 PM on March 16 [14 favorites]
Off we go. It was dark, but the rode was empty. Things are going well. Doing 60 maybe 65 on the empty dark highway. Riding the middle lane. I am about 15 car lengths behind him. Out of nowhere, a deer ran into the him and the side of the bike, the deer's antlers got caught in his forks or his handle bars, it was hard to determine. I jam on my breaks so I do not hit him. He is down, obviously, sliding with his bike and a deer across the highway. We all come to a stop. Me about 5 feet behind them. I decided to leave my car in the middle of the highway to protect him and to hopefully warn others to the situation. I run out to see if he is, well, alive. He has the bike and the deer on top of him. "Joey, you ok?" "No I am not fucking ok. Get this beast off of me." Well that was a good sign I thought. He's talking and cursing.
As luck would have it, the next vehicle to come by was a police car. He stops, puts on his flashing blue and reds and runs over. "what happened," he asked. At which point Joey says again, "GET THIS FUCKING BEAST OFF OF ME!" The deer seemed to be alive, but was not moving much. It had antlers that were tangled up in the front of the bike. It was large. Much credit here goes to officer friendly. He looks at me and says, "Let's grab his antlers and see what we can do before I have to shoot it." I am thinking, "Sure, right behind you on that one." He grabs the antlers, does a quick twist and the deer got up and semi-bolted all in a split second. (The deer was limping if that is what an injured deer does when it is not quite hopping/walking right.) It also had a nasty case of road rash. There was fur stuck in the bike too.
Anyway, we got the bike off of Joey's leg. Miraculously, he was wearing leathers and had only a mild case of road rash and a torn ligament in his knee and issues with his ankle but was otherwise fine. His bike could not be resuscitated. At the end, after the highway was cleared and I was standing on the side of the road with the officer, he just said, "Well that is one I will be telling for the rest of my career." and he lit a cigarette, took a deep drag and walked away. Joey is still pissed we didn't shoot the deer because he said he wanted the head and antlers for his mantle.
My animal through my car window story is also a little unusual. I am driving on Clark St in Chicago near the Weiner Circle. I am going maybe 15 mph. There are pedestrians, bicyclists, everything in the area. It was one of those first nice spring days where you wonder where all these thousands of people who you did not see all winter came from. It was about 5pm. I am heading north about to make a turn into the driveway/parking garage of my building. All of a sudden a parked car pulls out in front of me. I jam on my brakes. Next thing I hear a crash of glass and shards of glass are all over me and my car. I did not hit the other car. I look in my rearview mirror and there is a cyclist through my back window half in my backseat. "Are you okay?" He just screams, "It was not your fault. That guy almost killed us." "Us?" I am thinking to myself, you. His front wheel hit my back bumper and he went over the handle bars into my window/car. He then climbs out the way he came in, shards of glass all over him and starts charging at the other driver. I am running late. I had a first date that night and needed to shower and go pick her up.
I walk over to the the situation of the old man driver cowering from the screaming cyclist. "Everything ok here?" I ask. The cyclist just says to me, "I am an insurance adjuster. You have nothing to worry about." That is not what I meant, but ok. "Can I go?" "Yes". I drove around the assembled gawkers, the other car and turned into my building. I was running so late that after a quick shower, I grabbed a few beach towels and went back to my car to go pick up my date. There was no way to clean up all the shards of glass. I brushed off all I could from the passenger seat, put down two beach towels, threw the other one over the back seat and went to pick her up. Everything my mother taught me about making a good first impression was about to be tested. When she got into the car, she just asked, "Is this something I should ask about or never speak about again? Which one?" Reader, that date, that woman, later became my wife.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 5:28 PM on March 16 [14 favorites]
Well, this has been five of what precious few minutes I have for the rest of my life flushed down the shitter
It's Australia, they can take it and while I would dare be lost in New Zealand without the embassy council on SAT phone or more preferably, New Zealand coast guard and their coast guards not like our coast guard.
I know the implication of the complicated impetus, bandied, tangled, jeering at death or laughing with statistics.
Florida. With-in the space of 15 minutes I almost ran over in armadillo got startled by alligator down by the St James and saw a manatee going by with propeller scars on its back, bugs that have a flight radius of a coke bottle and I still imagine how rough it must have been for Henri Mouhot
I see dead deer 2x a week, it's tough, you gotta break and anticipate. imagine seeing a kangaroo in the road man I'd be hitting the nearest light pole and the insurance companies, they make a killing.
posted by clavdivs at 6:41 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]
It's Australia, they can take it and while I would dare be lost in New Zealand without the embassy council on SAT phone or more preferably, New Zealand coast guard and their coast guards not like our coast guard.
I know the implication of the complicated impetus, bandied, tangled, jeering at death or laughing with statistics.
Florida. With-in the space of 15 minutes I almost ran over in armadillo got startled by alligator down by the St James and saw a manatee going by with propeller scars on its back, bugs that have a flight radius of a coke bottle and I still imagine how rough it must have been for Henri Mouhot
I see dead deer 2x a week, it's tough, you gotta break and anticipate. imagine seeing a kangaroo in the road man I'd be hitting the nearest light pole and the insurance companies, they make a killing.
posted by clavdivs at 6:41 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]
Australia has a reputation for being home to some of the world's most dangerous animals. Thousands of hospital admissions are attributable to contact with bees, hornets, wasps, spiders, snakes, ticks, ants and marine animals each year in Australia (1).
However, deaths as a result of these interactions remain relatively rare, particularly in comparison to deaths associated with other species.
As Wetterschneider pointed out earlier in the thread, the raw numbers are meaningless without taking into account the amount of time spent around these animals.
Like, only 37 snake deaths compared to 172 horse deaths, but if you looked at the ratio of deaths to time humans spend with those animals, the snakes are bound to be much deadlier.
Also, I grew up riding horses, spent tons of time around them - I feel like all experienced horse people know that horse riding is inherently risky. You're balancing on a flimsy (in the case of English) saddle, on top of a 1,000+ lb animal, that is easily spooked by any number of things, and may also just decide they don't feel like dealing with you that day.
But I'd still take my chances with a horse over a venomous snake. B/c if I spend 5 minutes on horse back, the odds of that horse killing me are much lower than 5 minutes in close proximity to the venomous snake.
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:50 PM on March 16 [3 favorites]
However, deaths as a result of these interactions remain relatively rare, particularly in comparison to deaths associated with other species.
As Wetterschneider pointed out earlier in the thread, the raw numbers are meaningless without taking into account the amount of time spent around these animals.
Like, only 37 snake deaths compared to 172 horse deaths, but if you looked at the ratio of deaths to time humans spend with those animals, the snakes are bound to be much deadlier.
Also, I grew up riding horses, spent tons of time around them - I feel like all experienced horse people know that horse riding is inherently risky. You're balancing on a flimsy (in the case of English) saddle, on top of a 1,000+ lb animal, that is easily spooked by any number of things, and may also just decide they don't feel like dealing with you that day.
But I'd still take my chances with a horse over a venomous snake. B/c if I spend 5 minutes on horse back, the odds of that horse killing me are much lower than 5 minutes in close proximity to the venomous snake.
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:50 PM on March 16 [3 favorites]
Dog-related deaths resulted from biting (49.1%), falls (41.5%) and vehicle incidents (9.4%).
Uh, first of all, what does "vehicle incidents" mean? Did a dog run in front of a car and someone swerved to avoid it? B/c that is the fault of the human who let the dog run free. Did the human leave the dog unrestrained in the car and get distracted and crashed? Again, 100% human fault.
And falls, so I guess that's older people tripping and falling over a dog? Or possibly the dog jumping up on a human and knocking that person over? The latter is more reasonable to attribute to the dog, but should it really be counted as "dog killing a person" if someone trips over a dog and dies?
Again, dogs 53 deaths and crocodiles 21, but I'd definitely rather take my chances with the dog.
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:55 PM on March 16
Uh, first of all, what does "vehicle incidents" mean? Did a dog run in front of a car and someone swerved to avoid it? B/c that is the fault of the human who let the dog run free. Did the human leave the dog unrestrained in the car and get distracted and crashed? Again, 100% human fault.
And falls, so I guess that's older people tripping and falling over a dog? Or possibly the dog jumping up on a human and knocking that person over? The latter is more reasonable to attribute to the dog, but should it really be counted as "dog killing a person" if someone trips over a dog and dies?
Again, dogs 53 deaths and crocodiles 21, but I'd definitely rather take my chances with the dog.
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:55 PM on March 16
RE: Spider deaths, if I were on a horse and saw a clock spider nearby, I would fall off while racing to get away.
posted by pangolin party at 6:59 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]
posted by pangolin party at 6:59 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]
In the United States, dogs are absolutely #1 in terms of animal fatalities and it's not even close. Domestic ungulates (horses and cows) are collectively #2, but i'm not sure of the breakdown between those two.
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:51 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:51 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
this has been five of what precious few minutes I have for the rest of my life flushed down the shitter
Clockwise, though.
I spend 5 minutes on horse back, the odds of that horse killing me are much lower than 5 minutes in close proximity to the venomous snake.
In physical contact with the venomous snake, maybe. But more of us spend more time in reasonably close proximity to snakes than most are comfortable contemplating. Australia's snakes are very good at quietly minding their own business, which is their preferred mode of living.
If you're in Australia and you actually see a snake, your best option is generally just to stop and let it get on with whatever it's doing until you don't see it any more. If it's heading directly toward you, take a few steps sideways and let it slide on by.
If you're outdoors in Australia and you don't want to see a snake, walk kind of thuddy and you probably never will. They're sensitive to ground vibration and will almost always stay well out of your way.
The most reliable sign that snakes are about is a sudden and otherwise inexplicable drop in mouse sightings.
posted by flabdablet at 4:11 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
Clockwise, though.
I spend 5 minutes on horse back, the odds of that horse killing me are much lower than 5 minutes in close proximity to the venomous snake.
In physical contact with the venomous snake, maybe. But more of us spend more time in reasonably close proximity to snakes than most are comfortable contemplating. Australia's snakes are very good at quietly minding their own business, which is their preferred mode of living.
If you're in Australia and you actually see a snake, your best option is generally just to stop and let it get on with whatever it's doing until you don't see it any more. If it's heading directly toward you, take a few steps sideways and let it slide on by.
If you're outdoors in Australia and you don't want to see a snake, walk kind of thuddy and you probably never will. They're sensitive to ground vibration and will almost always stay well out of your way.
The most reliable sign that snakes are about is a sudden and otherwise inexplicable drop in mouse sightings.
posted by flabdablet at 4:11 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
I like the way that dogs are #3 on that list, cats do not appear, yet we call dogs “loyal” and cats “assholes.”
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:32 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:32 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
As a city born and bred person... horses kind of freak me out. I can't say I fear them, but they are enormous animals. I have no desire to be around them.
posted by SoberHighland at 8:56 AM on March 17
posted by SoberHighland at 8:56 AM on March 17
Lucky for you, then, that the chance of having one suddenly fall in your lap off the glare screen in your car is pretty small.
I wonder if the spider death stats include car crashes from panicked reactions to their having done that.
It happened to little ms flabdablet while we were out on a driving lesson. She indicated, braked, pulled over and stopped, checked her mirrors, head checked, opened her door, got out of the car, found where the spider (a fair-sized huntsman) had crawled to on her leg, brushed it off herself and then freaked out for a solid two minutes.
I have never been prouder of her, nor felt so vindicated in my approach to both driving lessons and having spiders in the house.
posted by flabdablet at 9:14 AM on March 17 [8 favorites]
I wonder if the spider death stats include car crashes from panicked reactions to their having done that.
It happened to little ms flabdablet while we were out on a driving lesson. She indicated, braked, pulled over and stopped, checked her mirrors, head checked, opened her door, got out of the car, found where the spider (a fair-sized huntsman) had crawled to on her leg, brushed it off herself and then freaked out for a solid two minutes.
I have never been prouder of her, nor felt so vindicated in my approach to both driving lessons and having spiders in the house.
posted by flabdablet at 9:14 AM on March 17 [8 favorites]
As a city born and bred person... horses kind of freak me out.
So I grew up going to summer camps that had horses, and also there were horse places around my home town in southern NM where you could rent a horse for an hour and go riding along the Rio Grande.
I haven't been on or even near a horse in decades, but they are really delightful animals who seem to be perfectly happy to carry you around for a while. I don't know if there are horse places near you, but if there are, I encourage you to go visit one, even if it's just to visit the animals and feed them some treats or something.
posted by hippybear at 9:29 AM on March 17
So I grew up going to summer camps that had horses, and also there were horse places around my home town in southern NM where you could rent a horse for an hour and go riding along the Rio Grande.
I haven't been on or even near a horse in decades, but they are really delightful animals who seem to be perfectly happy to carry you around for a while. I don't know if there are horse places near you, but if there are, I encourage you to go visit one, even if it's just to visit the animals and feed them some treats or something.
posted by hippybear at 9:29 AM on March 17
I went to a "horse camp" for two summers in Arizona.
You were assigned a horse, had to learn how to saddle it and such. And then we would take trail rides during the day on "our" horse. My horse was Lad.
At the end of the session, there was a rodeo-type event. I'm in the chute ready to barrel race. Lad takes like three steps out, and then realizes there is no horse in front of him. Lad was a trail horse. And he reared up and I went off. Long before there were helmets and such.
Next summer I did their "survival skills" class instead of the horse part. Just will never trust those giant beasts. Not to even mention the kicking.
posted by Windopaene at 10:10 AM on March 17 [1 favorite]
You were assigned a horse, had to learn how to saddle it and such. And then we would take trail rides during the day on "our" horse. My horse was Lad.
At the end of the session, there was a rodeo-type event. I'm in the chute ready to barrel race. Lad takes like three steps out, and then realizes there is no horse in front of him. Lad was a trail horse. And he reared up and I went off. Long before there were helmets and such.
Next summer I did their "survival skills" class instead of the horse part. Just will never trust those giant beasts. Not to even mention the kicking.
posted by Windopaene at 10:10 AM on March 17 [1 favorite]
flabdablet my mom is convinced I'm going to die in a car accident when a spood comes down the line in my face. I think I'd rather have a horse fall in my lap.
my mom is wrong though. I'm going to die when I encounter a mountain lion in the wild and try to pet it.
posted by supermedusa at 10:31 AM on March 17 [4 favorites]
my mom is wrong though. I'm going to die when I encounter a mountain lion in the wild and try to pet it.
posted by supermedusa at 10:31 AM on March 17 [4 favorites]
Imagining my own high speed death resulting from the very same event that little ms flabdablet dealt with so creditably is exactly what prompted me, at the age of 20, to devise my own graduated exposure protocol to treat my own overwhelming arachnophobia.
It worked, and I've been the pick up the huntsman and take it outside guy ever since.
One of the interesting things I learned about huntsman spiders is that their fangs are horizontally opposed (closeup picture), which makes them physically incapable of delivering a deep bite to anything that doesn't fit between them, which includes pretty much every human body part except loose skin folds.
I've handled hundreds of huntsman spiders and never had a bite. I would never risk doing the same with a Sydney funnelweb (closeup of fangs); glass jar every time for those bastards.
posted by flabdablet at 10:49 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
It worked, and I've been the pick up the huntsman and take it outside guy ever since.
One of the interesting things I learned about huntsman spiders is that their fangs are horizontally opposed (closeup picture), which makes them physically incapable of delivering a deep bite to anything that doesn't fit between them, which includes pretty much every human body part except loose skin folds.
I've handled hundreds of huntsman spiders and never had a bite. I would never risk doing the same with a Sydney funnelweb (closeup of fangs); glass jar every time for those bastards.
posted by flabdablet at 10:49 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
hahahaha like I would ever click on one of those photos in a million billion years. I too suffer from "overwhelming arachnophobia" and have not opted for "treatment". I don't even live in a place with anything as terrifyingly large as the Huntsman (we do have tarantulas out in the hills ugh). just no. I can't. it's not about them being venomous or the bite hurting. it's just giant furry eight-legged freaks. you would hear my screams in Australia.
posted by supermedusa at 11:00 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 11:00 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
My first step was acquiring an absurdly cute blue stuffed plushie spider with floppy legs and a silly happy face, a lot like Woolly. Took a few weeks for the yelping and shuddering and gasping at the sight of it to stop, but it did, and that told me I was on the right track and encouraged me to keep going.
posted by flabdablet at 11:17 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 11:17 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
awwww Woolly is super cute
posted by supermedusa at 11:23 AM on March 17
posted by supermedusa at 11:23 AM on March 17
Wooly reminds me of those pieces from the old child's game Cootie, which involved assembling an insect. The friendly colors help a lot at making it less scary.
posted by hippybear at 11:35 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 11:35 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
The trick with graduated exposure is to pick a next step that you know intellectually is acceptably safe but takes you emotionally just a little way along the path toward a genuine attack of the howling fantods, and then keep practising that step until it adds itself to your existing repertoire of non-scary skills.
The beauty of designing your own graduated exposure process is that it completely frees you from the pressure of other people's expectations about how fast you ought to be progressing. You don't even need to tell anybody else what you're doing!
It also means you get to skip a whole lot of often-unhelpful advice about what your next step should be. You are the expert on being you, and therefore best placed to judge what will work for you and what won't.
That said, working with non-realistic fluffy toys designed for tiny children is often a useful place to start because, as hippybear points out, they're coded non-scary by design. Also, most of us have already formed an attachment to one or more of them at some point in our lives, and that can act as a useful emotional anchor for new ones.
posted by flabdablet at 12:16 PM on March 17 [2 favorites]
The beauty of designing your own graduated exposure process is that it completely frees you from the pressure of other people's expectations about how fast you ought to be progressing. You don't even need to tell anybody else what you're doing!
It also means you get to skip a whole lot of often-unhelpful advice about what your next step should be. You are the expert on being you, and therefore best placed to judge what will work for you and what won't.
That said, working with non-realistic fluffy toys designed for tiny children is often a useful place to start because, as hippybear points out, they're coded non-scary by design. Also, most of us have already formed an attachment to one or more of them at some point in our lives, and that can act as a useful emotional anchor for new ones.
posted by flabdablet at 12:16 PM on March 17 [2 favorites]
Damn, I thought Australia had spiders big enough to ride. Saturday morning cartoon like "Spider Riders" and tachicoma's with more legs and less of the inside vs outside.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:55 PM on March 17
posted by zengargoyle at 3:55 PM on March 17
I continue to find it hilarious that Americans are creeped out by our mostly shy snakes and spiders while they have BEARS and MOUNTAIN LIONS just wandering around the place nonchalantly considering whether humans have pissed them off enough for today.
posted by nickzoic at 4:35 PM on March 17 [3 favorites]
posted by nickzoic at 4:35 PM on March 17 [3 favorites]
In the eastern half of the US, we have black bears and coyotes, who just wander around trying new and different ways to steal human food (and occasionally small pets). It's the western half of the country where the grizzlies and mountain lions occasionally just eat people. Oh and then there's the south, with the alligators, but they're really only going to eat you if you put yourself directly in their way.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:16 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]
posted by hydropsyche at 5:16 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]
Australians have been known to fight crocodiles with frying pans.
posted by y2karl at 9:12 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]
posted by y2karl at 9:12 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]
And some women cyclists pinned down a mountain lion with a cyclocross bike last month.
posted by puffinaria at 9:22 PM on March 17 [2 favorites]
posted by puffinaria at 9:22 PM on March 17 [2 favorites]
now that's a pan.
posted by clavdivs at 9:27 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 9:27 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]
you actually hear the whap.
best get off my lawn video ever.
posted by clavdivs at 10:36 PM on March 17
best get off my lawn video ever.
posted by clavdivs at 10:36 PM on March 17
That's his pet crocodile, Casey, who had come out of the river away from her usual spot because a bigger croc had decided that spot was his.
Nine News covers it.
posted by flabdablet at 10:50 PM on March 17
Nine News covers it.
posted by flabdablet at 10:50 PM on March 17
Just because the guy gave the crocodile a nickname, it's still more than one step beyond than keeping a redneck spider in a mason jar. He had it removed to protect him and his dog after all. It's not like they go outside after dark where they live as it is, I suspect.
posted by y2karl at 5:47 AM on March 18
posted by y2karl at 5:47 AM on March 18
I'm sorry, I just do not think that "falling off of a horse" is an "animal-caused death." Maybe if the dyee is a toddler who was plonked on top of the horse without their consent. But people who climbed onto the horses of their own free will and later fell to their deaths? Not the horses' fault.
The whole premise of TFA is a category error.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 6:30 AM on March 18
The whole premise of TFA is a category error.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 6:30 AM on March 18
He had it removed to protect him and his dog
If I understand correctly (and granted, hardcore Territorians are a little hard to understand correctly) the crocodile he had removed was Fred, the bigger interloper who had usurped the favourite riverbank basking spot of Casey, the smaller crocodile and longstanding island resident.
Casey, not Fred, was the one who got the smack on the nose from the frying pan after moving to a new basking spot unnervingly close to a path used by the island's human residents. Casey had also been the recipient of a similar whack from a similar pan some years earlier.
The news story doesn't name the dog.
posted by flabdablet at 6:53 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]
If I understand correctly (and granted, hardcore Territorians are a little hard to understand correctly) the crocodile he had removed was Fred, the bigger interloper who had usurped the favourite riverbank basking spot of Casey, the smaller crocodile and longstanding island resident.
Casey, not Fred, was the one who got the smack on the nose from the frying pan after moving to a new basking spot unnervingly close to a path used by the island's human residents. Casey had also been the recipient of a similar whack from a similar pan some years earlier.
The news story doesn't name the dog.
posted by flabdablet at 6:53 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]
now that's a pan.
Casey is lucky that it was a relatively flimsy non-stick aluminium pan instead of a properly rigid cast iron one with twice the heft. Cast iron pans don't get dents, they give them.
posted by flabdablet at 6:58 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]
Casey is lucky that it was a relatively flimsy non-stick aluminium pan instead of a properly rigid cast iron one with twice the heft. Cast iron pans don't get dents, they give them.
posted by flabdablet at 6:58 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]
keeping a redneck spider in a mason jar
Now I'm imagining a spider sitting under a tree with beers in two hands, wrenching on a rusty pickup truck with another two while playing both the guitar and banjo parts from Deliverance with the other four. Did you mean redback?
posted by flabdablet at 7:06 AM on March 18 [4 favorites]
Now I'm imagining a spider sitting under a tree with beers in two hands, wrenching on a rusty pickup truck with another two while playing both the guitar and banjo parts from Deliverance with the other four. Did you mean redback?
posted by flabdablet at 7:06 AM on March 18 [4 favorites]
That is what I wrote. So don't blame me, blame fucking Autocorrect, The Enemy of Us All.
posted by y2karl at 10:01 AM on March 18
posted by y2karl at 10:01 AM on March 18
MetaFilter: you actually hear the whap
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:23 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:23 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]
Someone "falls off" a horse and it's the horse's fault? Nooo......
posted by bricoleur at 8:57 PM on March 18
posted by bricoleur at 8:57 PM on March 18
The linked document doesn't actually refer to death caused by animals, but to deaths involving animals. Which makes a lot more sense.
Like, only 37 snake deaths compared to 172 horse deaths, but if you looked at the ratio of deaths to time humans spend with those animals, the snakes are bound to be much deadlier.
I'd wager a small-to-medium amount the average Australian spends far more time in close proximity to snakes than to horses. Snakes are everywhere, except perhaps the most concreted-over of urban environments. As flabdablet says, snakes are extremely shy and almost always want to ease on past you and not get involved with an animal many times larger than they are. They're also very good at detecting us clumsy humans coming so, as long as you don't actually step on or very near them, you won't even know they're there. Most snakes here are largely harmless anyway, but the ones that aren't, well, you very much don't want to mess with them even though antivenoms are readily available.
posted by dg at 11:51 PM on March 18 [1 favorite]
Like, only 37 snake deaths compared to 172 horse deaths, but if you looked at the ratio of deaths to time humans spend with those animals, the snakes are bound to be much deadlier.
I'd wager a small-to-medium amount the average Australian spends far more time in close proximity to snakes than to horses. Snakes are everywhere, except perhaps the most concreted-over of urban environments. As flabdablet says, snakes are extremely shy and almost always want to ease on past you and not get involved with an animal many times larger than they are. They're also very good at detecting us clumsy humans coming so, as long as you don't actually step on or very near them, you won't even know they're there. Most snakes here are largely harmless anyway, but the ones that aren't, well, you very much don't want to mess with them even though antivenoms are readily available.
posted by dg at 11:51 PM on March 18 [1 favorite]
Like, only 37 snake deaths compared to 172 horse deaths, but if you looked at the ratio of deaths to time humans spend with those animals, the snakes are bound to be much deadlier.
Yeah, in terms of fatalities per mile traveled upon, horses are one of the safest animals out there.
posted by aubilenon at 1:13 PM on March 20
Yeah, in terms of fatalities per mile traveled upon, horses are one of the safest animals out there.
posted by aubilenon at 1:13 PM on March 20
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posted by humbug at 8:05 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]