Texas roars to No. 1 on wild list of states with biggest risk of being killed by an animal

HOUSTON, Texas — Fear the deer. While Bambi and her pals may look adorable, deer contribute heavily to Texas’ ranking as the No. 1 state for deaths caused by animals.

A data analysis by Outforia, a website dedicated to outdoor adventures, shows Texas recorded 520 human deaths caused by animals from 1999 to 2019. That works out to 26 such deaths each year. Outforia pulled the data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

California ranks second, with 299 deaths during the 20-year period, even though California is the most populous state in the country, followed by Texas.

Outforia identifies brown bears, sharks, snakes, black bears, and alligators as causing the most deaths in animal attacks since 1970. However, other types of animals likely have triggered more human deaths in Texas, partly because bears aren’t all that common in the Lone Star State. Plus, not all fatal confrontations with animals can be classified as “attacks.”