New Study Shows Montana is a Massive Hotspot for Animal Attacks

Living in a state with as much wildlife as Montana made me wonder what the odds were of getting attacked by a wild animal here. I mean, we just had a wild mountain lion roaming around Billings neighborhoods not too long ago (and who knows where it's meandering now?).

Well, it turns out that the odds of an animal attack are quite high in Montana, but we don't come in at first (you can put down the makeshift armored bear suit). While this result isn't so surprising, it certainly doesn't change the fact that it's unsettling. Let's see where Montana ranks on this list.

Obviously, mammals are the main animal that could - or would - attack you in Montana.

The study from BetOhio.com found that your odds of getting attacked by an animal in Montana is 1 in 31,232, the second-highest odds in the United States. However, Montana doesn't even come close to the states with the most attacks in a year. That (dis)honor goes to Texas with 559 attacks in 2021.

Also unsurprisingly, the majority of all animal attacks in Montana are attributed to mammals. Bears have attributed 11 deaths in the last 50 years in Montana, and that's not to mention all the other mammals such as cougars and mountain lions that even folks within Billings city limits can't avoid. Like I said earlier, we get cougars on our back patios here in the Magic City.

Don't worry about getting attacked by a fish or an arthropod in Montana, though.

Nearly every single state in this study has mammals as the top attacking animals. However, there are some notable differences. The first is that Hawaii is the only state that has fish as the main attackers. Also, take notice of the three states that actually had no animal attacks in 2021; North Dakota, Vermont, and New Hampshire are where you'll want to be if you don't want to get attacked by animals.

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Have you ever had an encounter with a dangerous animal? Tell us about it online. Hopefully, everyone stays safe out there.