In the parking lot at work a couple weeks ago, before the snow, after a food giveaway...
She asked me to look up what to do if you encounter a bear, cougar, or rattlesnake. Basically, back away slowly.
Yearly, 1,610 people die from animal-related injuries in the US.
For comparison--some 80,000 (+/-) people die every year from motor vehicles (38,659 in 2017, the first year guns outkilled cars) and firearms (39,773).
Farm animals and other non-wild animals kill far more humans every year than scary predators or venomous snakes.
You're more likely to be killed by a cow or a bee than a bear or a snake, but far more likely to die via car.
From Science Daily:
The most common nonvenomous encounter group... is 'other mammals,' which includes cats (!), horses, cows, other hoof stock [are cats "hoof stock"?], pigs, raccoons, and other mammals. ...The majority of deaths associated with "other mammals" occur on farms, and horses and cattle account for 90 percent of farm accidents."
I looked it up and wild/farm cats carry all sorts of diseases. Marz is in more danger from these half-wild farm cats than a rattlesnake.
But the kitten!
I see lots of non-domesticated animals in the city--bald eagles, raccoons, squirrels of course... More, since winters are warmer. A friend reports an opposum lives in the garage next door--they didn't use to come this far north.
