National Parks dangers

San Francisco Chronicle/SF Gate/Kurtis L. Alexander, 8/17/15. "What are the top causes of death in National Parks?"

Surprise bear family encounter, out of here.

"Last week, two teenagers camping at Yosemite were tragically crushed when a tree fell on their tent — which, as it turns out, is not a very common way to die at a national park. Deaths are a fact of life in the national park system. However, despite a rash of misfortune this month that included a man being fatally mauled by a grizzly bear at Yellowstone and a French couple dying of heat exhaustion at White Sands National Monument, statistics show the nation’s 408 national park sites are relatively safe spots.

About 150 people die each year in a national park, according to the latest federal data, tracked between 2007 and 2013 — a relatively small number considering the parks see nearly 300 million visitors annually. The biggest causes of death, according to the federal figures, are drownings and vehicle accidents — things that kill people outside of parks, too.

In the latest 7-year period, the number of people that died of snake bites, a danger more associated with the wilderness, was the same number that died from eating a hot dog: one.  Just six people died from wildlife encounters during the period. Four were caused by grizzly bear maulings, and one was caused by a mountain goat attack."   Read article. 

Related, national parks.  Most dangerous: Travel Pulse Destination and Tourism/Patrick Clarke, 8/17/15, "Statistics show US National Parks not as dangerous as perceived." .... "Citing statistics from the National Park Service, CNN reported that wildlife was only responsible for killing six people at national parks from 2007 to 2013. And of those six deaths, just four were attributed to grizzly bears, with the others the result of a mountain goat and a snakebite. Over the same time span, a total of 1,025 people died at national parks, with a majority of the deaths being caused by everyday threats like crashes and falls."    Backpacker/Shey Kiester and Mackenzie Murphy, 2012 statistics."The 6 most dangerous National Parks." 1) Grand Canyon, 2) Lake Mead, 3) Yosemite, 4) Mt. Rainier, 5) Denali, 6) Yellowstone.   Most visited:  CNN/Mark Morgenstein, 8/11/15. "Despite recent deaths, national parks generally safe," includes 20 photographs of most visited national park sites, 2014.  Caption, #1. "Golden Gate National Recreation Area.. was the most popular Park Service site for the second year in a row."

Note photograph from  ABC News, 5/9/15, bear video, 2:12 minutes, and more, "Watch black bears chase visitors in Yellowstone National Park." 

Posted by Kathy Meeh