Deadliest Animal In Utah Is Bambi?

It was one of those things that show up in your social media feeds, and when you see it you know it's what they call click bait, something designed to keep you scrolling. But I fell for it. It was called the “deadliest animal in every state.”

So, when I got to Utah on the list the result...well I don't think it's going to go that far in enhancing our image as a tough and rumble state. According to Explored Planet, the most deadly animal in the state of Utah is the....deer. That's right, Bambi.

Look, I get it. As I recently wrote, we have a lot of deer on the highway especially this time of year, and deer-vehicle collisions happen and can cause a fatality. But, according to the write up in Explored Planet,

“while most deer won't approach another human unless they are struck by a car, the deer in Utah are a lot tougher. Some are even known to take down hunters.”

Who knew? I did have a friend tell me one time that as a cocky youth he thought he could grab a hold of a doe and teach it a lesson. A few minutes later as he laid crumpled on the ground, he remembers the deer turning around and giving him a disdainful snort as she turned and left. That's the story he told me.

But still, deer is our most deadly animal? In some places, particularly urban or densely populated areas, having a relatively non-aggressive animal like a deer as the deadliest animal might be seen as an indication that the state or region doesn't have as many dangerous wildlife species compared to areas with large predators like bears, wolves, or big cats.

And of course we do have bears, wolves, and big cats in Utah but apparently they don't have the same interaction with human kind. So we're stuck with deer.

I mean, couldn't we get something a little more intimidating? Tennessee has the brown recluse spider. Missouri and Georgia have venomous snakes as the most deadly animal. California has to deal with rattlesnakes as its most deadly animal. Illinois has to stay away from the Zombie Coyote, a particular favorite for Halloween.

Even Colorado has a more intimidating deadliest animal with the cougar. I guess there hasn't been a scary Cougar in the Provo area for several years now.

But in Utah, it's the deer. But we're not alone. Deer was also listed as the deadliest animal  in Minnesota and Indiana. I was also surprised at how many states had dogs listed as the most deadly. And the most interesting “deadliest animal” on the list to me was in Kentucky where domestic cows were considered the most deadly. So I guess it could worse.