Nancy Dickmann - Fighting to Survive Animal Attacks: Terrifying True Stories

a substance that is released in the body causing the heart to beat faster and giving more energythe triangle-shaped area where a river deposits mud, sand, and pebblesa long period of weather with little or no rainfallskill, creativity, and resourcefulnessa department in a hospital where patients who need constant care and observation are treateda medical apparatus consisting of tubes and a needle that allows fluids to be injected directly into a patients bloodstream; short for intravenousa colorless gas in the air that people and animals need to breathea person who hunts or fishes illegallya piece of equipment that allows divers to breathe air from an air tanka tight wrapping designed to prevent a major loss of blood from a woundthe act of transferring blood or other fluids into the veins of a person who needs itthe small bones that surround and protect the spinal corda large, destructive fire that spreads quickly over woodland or brush

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Nancy Dickmann has written more than 150 nonfiction books for children, specializing in science and history. Before becoming an author, she worked for many years as an editor and publisher of childrens books.

For people living in big cities, who rarely see anything more frightening than a squirrel or a pigeon, its easy to forget how fierce nature can be. Each year thousands of people around the world are killed by animals. Millions more are injuredbut they survive.

People often go out into the wilderness for fun activities, such as hiking, camping, mountain biking, or surfing. In addition, a growing world population means our cities and towns are spreading into areas that used to be wild. This puts humans and animals closer together. And the natural world can be a wild and dangerous place!

Only a few animal species, including lions, tigers, and sharks, hunt humans for food. Other large animals, such as hippos and elephants, also attack and kill people, but not to eat them. Smaller animals can dangerous too! Snakes, scorpions, bees, and even ants are all responsible for deaths. Animals dont even have to be wild to be dangerouspet cats and dogs bite millions of people each year.

Some animals kill people indirectly by spreading disease. When they bite people, tsetse flies can pass on a disease known as sleeping sickness. It kills thousands of people each year. A mosquito bite may be itchy and annoying, but it can also be deadly. A bite from an infected mosquito can pass on malaria or dengue fever, which kill hundreds of thousands of people each year.

Many animal attacks are a case of self-defense and happen when animals are surprised. They may be protecting their territory or their babies. Animals have different ways of protecting themselves. Jellyfish and scorpions can sting, while snakes bite and horses kick. Attacks also happen when food is scarce. When an animal is hungry and desperate, it is more likely to take risksincluding attacking humans.

Although animal attacks are often reported on the news, the risk of being killed by an animal is very, very low compared to the chances of dying from disease or in a car accident. Most people survive animal attacks. Read on to discover some of the most thrilling stories of people who escaped with their lives!

For 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton, it was supposed to be just another fun morning out on the ocean. On October 31, 2003, she went surfing with her best friend, Alana. Alanas father and younger brother were with them. They were looking forward to catching some waves. But no one realized that morning would change Bethanys life forever.