Fun with statistics

Hello Everyone, 

I stayed in a marshy state park last night, an hour or so north of Portland. I mention the marshy part because I encountered an old nemesis for the first time on this trip: mosquitoes. 

A big advantage of traveling in the cooler months is that you don't have to deal with this menace. Tonight I'm camping in the Mount Baker national forest and while there are fewer mosquitoes, by most accounts there are more bears. Which raises the question: what is the most dangerous animal I'm likely to encounter?

On a purely numbers basis, it's no contest. Mosquitoes have killed more people throughout history than any other animal and continue to kill more than pretty much every other animal combined. But that is a little like quoting the famous statistic, that you are more likely to die in a car accident on the way to the airport than in a plane crash, to someone already in a plane. Context is important. Mosquitoes kill by spreading malaria, which isn't at the top of my danger list here in Washington state. 

But then you get to the bear statistics and it's even more confusing. They are clearly fearsome, but don't actually kill many people. As a side note, I respect their laziness in this matter. But again, just because they don't often eat people doesn't mean they never eat people. And I'm in bear country, with delicious looking thighs.

So, what's the most dangerous animal here? I'm afraid I went with a trick question. Malaria is eradicated and bears don't have the right to bear arms. The answer is people. 

Wes