Scared of sharks? Man, and his best friend, a greater risk
From Ann Kellan
CNN
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Despite the hype, fatal shark attacks are extremely rare.
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(CNN) -- When you read about a dangerous beast attacking a person, it's hard not to imagine just how horrible it would be. But what are your chances of being killed by a wild animal?
Any time there's a shark attack, or someone injured by a big cat in the United States, it's big news. But consider this, you are more likely to get hit by lightning than killed by a bear, lion or shark. And man's best friend is most likely to attack.
"You have a much greater risk of being attacked by a dog," said David Ropeik, author of "Risk," a book that says when a predator attacks a human, it makes headlines because of "the dread factor."
The many "Jaws" movies for example, built suspense around the horror of being eaten by a shark. So does the news media.
"Simply put, would you rather die of a heart attack or a shark attack?" said Ropeik. "So what scares us, kind of enthuses or excites the media that it might be an exciting story that resonates with people. And, yes, they do play those stories up because of that factor."
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While it's probably a good idea to keep a distance from animals we call "man-eaters," what we really should be worrying about, is us, according to Ropeik.
"Most of the risks that are really a threat to you are not from animals, they are from your fellow citizens, and humans, and government and so forth," he said.
Medical staffs in hospitals, for example.
"We should be concerned about medical errors, not the kind when a doctor leaves a scissors in you, or cuts off the wrong arm, but nurses not washing their hands and spreading infections, prescriptions not filled out accurately. Medical errors are attributed to causing as many of a 100,000 deaths a year in North America," Ropeik said.
"Being overly concerned about going in the water or taking a walk in the woods, and less concerned about the things that human society can do to you could be dangerous to your health."
After all, people kill more people than animals do. For example, in 2000, more than 15,000 Americans were murdered, while three people, on average were killed by bears, and one person in 2000 was killed by a shark.
Media coverage doesn't always reflect those odds. Just recently when surfer Bethani Hamilton lost her arm from a shark bite, the media had a feeding frenzy.
Newspapers and television stations, including CNN, all covered the story repeatedly for days.
And when Roy Horn of "Siegfreid and Roy" was attacked by one of his pet tigers on the Las Vegas stage, the story was covered by the national news media for weeks.
So the next time you hear or read about a ferocious animal attack, remember, a lot of it is just hype.
