>>2509182It’s hard to get statistics on this, because most attacks don’t happen in any kind of wilderness. It’s usually dogs, which are found around people.
Are we talking severity, likelihood, or what? Because bees can kill some unfortunate people with a few stings, and there’s like a billion bees in the US. There are also plenty of sharks in the shallow waters of the Gulf Coast, and lots of swimmers. I’ve seen a few, and one time I saw what was either a huge barracuda or a piece of drift wood like two feet away (I ran instead of staying to investigate).
The South has alligators, and when I was young and stupid I tangled with them on three occasions. Twice because they needed to be removed and once because it was funny. They were small but the smaller ones have more energy.
Supposedly feral hogs are dangerous too. I’ve run into pigs dozens of times and they always just run away, sometimes streaking like I was out to get ’em. I don’t believe the “sow with piglets” thing either, as I’ve seen sows trample their children to escape. But they’re pretty big and could definitely do some damage.
There are 5 species of venomous snakes in my state (technically 7 but 2 don’t count). The only ones you’ll generally see are water moccasins/cotton mouths, which are everywhere. Copperheads are everywhere as well, but they’re very tame (I’ve stepped on one and he just slithered away) and their venom is very mild. I mean, it’ll probably fuck you up but not as bad as a rattle snake or coral snake.
I’ve heard that there are a lot of deer attacks but that must just be a short seasonal thing. They always run away. Plus hunters go looking for them, so that probably doesn’t help.
