26 years of animal encounter data

The U.S. States Where Animal Encounters Are Most Deadly

Outforia analyzed 26 years of CDC mortality data to see where animal-related deaths are recorded most often, and what the rankings mean for people heading onto trails, campsites and open spaces.

Explore the rankingsRead the methodology
Most deaths

Where the most fatal animal encounters happened

The totals view shows where animal-related deaths have been recorded most often over time. Larger states tend to rise here, so treat this as the raw-count trail map before comparing rates.

Per 10m residents

Where fatal encounters are most common per person

The rate view adjusts for population size, highlighting where fatal encounters are more common relative to residents rather than simply where more people live.

Explore the data

Search and compare every state

Search every state, then switch between raw totals and population-adjusted rates. Lower-bound labels appear where CDC suppresses a recent state count below 10.

View ranking by:

Rows marked as lower bound include a CDC-suppressed 2021 to 2024 state count. Delaware and the District of Columbia remain fully suppressed, so exact state totals are not shown.

Safety tips

How to reduce your risk around wildlife

Fatal animal encounters are rare, but a few trail-ready habits can lower the risk further when hiking, camping or exploring unfamiliar areas.

Give wildlife room.On the trail, do not approach, feed or corner wild animals, even when they appear calm. Use zoom for photos and back away slowly if an animal changes its behavior.
Take stings seriously.Before heading out, people with known allergies should carry prescribed medication, avoid scented products where possible and seek urgent help after severe reactions.
Supervise dog interactions.Children should be supervised around unfamiliar dogs. Avoid reaching over fences, disturbing dogs while eating or approaching animals without the owner's permission.
Watch where you step and reach.In snake, spider or scorpion habitats, use a flashlight at night, wear suitable footwear and avoid putting hands into logs, rock gaps or hidden spaces.
Store food properly outdoors.At camp, keep food and scented items sealed and away from sleeping areas. Follow local bear, raccoon and wildlife storage rules.
Know the local risks.Check park guidance before you go. Advice can change by season, trail, weather, region and recent wildlife activity.
Methodology

How this analysis was built

Outforia reviewed CDC WONDER mortality records for deaths where the underlying cause was linked to animal-related external cause codes. The 1999 to 2020 figures come from CDC WONDER's Underlying Cause of Death table for 1999 to 2020, and the 2021 to 2024 update comes from the newer Underlying Cause of Death, 2018 to 2024, Single Race table. Only 2021 to 2024 from the newer table was added, so the overlapping years 2018 to 2020 were not counted twice.

The ICD-10 codes included were W53, W54, W55, W56, W57, W58, W59, W64, and X20 through X29. These cover broad categories such as dogs, other mammals, reptiles, marine animals, insects, spiders, snakes and other venomous animals. To validate the dataset change, Outforia checked the overlap period: the newer table's 2018 to 2020 implied total was 757 deaths, matching the older table's 2018 to 2020 total for the same codes.

States were ranked by total deaths and by deaths per 10 million residents. Rates were calculated by dividing deaths by summed annual population across the same years, then multiplying by 10,000,000. CDC suppresses exact death counts below 10, so suppressed state or category rows are labelled rather than estimated. The data is suitable for state comparisons, but not for exact species-level claims.