More About Snakes

All this snakey talk got me doing a little more research on snakebites. Here is what I found out:

• 90-100% of reported snakebites occur between April and October, NOT in February.


• The national average for snakebite-related deaths is only four per year, with Texas, Florida, and Georgia being the states where snakebites occur the most frequently.  
  


• The vast majority of snakebites (is that one word, or two?) occur on the hand, NOT on the ankle or leg, which explains the next fascinating fact:
  


• The most common profile of a bite victim is a young intoxicated male. (Duh.)
  


• The ratio of male to female vicitims is 9:1.  That means most of my five-female, one male family is safe, lol.
  


• Many adult venomous snakes deliver "dry bites" containing no venom, since they prefer to warn larger animals away without wasting the venom they need for their next meal. They know a human is too big to eat.
  


• In this country, more people die from being hit by lightning each year than from being bit by a venomous snake.


• Injuries and fatalities caused by dogs, cats and horses also vastly outnumber problems caused by snakes!

So.  This last little tidbit puts us in a much safer environment than some of our friends here, PlainJane and Cherryblossoms.  Ha ha!