Animal dangers in Australia

Australian Geographic recently dug out a coronial report on animal-related deaths in Australia. The bar chart below shows average annual deaths for the period 2000–2010. Venomous snakes, like the one pictured above, only kill an average of 1.7 people each year (compared to about 1,600 motor vehicle deaths for the same period – almost 1,000 times as many).

The greatest animal-related dangers are actually falling off a horse (5.5 deaths per year) or motor vehicle accidents (MVA) involving collisions with animals on the road (also 5.5 deaths per year). The widespread fear of sharks and snakes in Australia reflects the extensive media coverage of the relatively few incidents which actually occur.

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