Don’t Get Eaten: The Dangers of Animals That Charge or Attack

Abstract

The Mountaineers Books has produced 2 vol.mes in a series dedicated to staying healthy and safe in the outdoors. The first of this series, Don’t Get Sick—The Hidden Dangers of Camping and Hiking, by Buck Tilton, MS, and Rick Bennett, PhD, was released last year and was met with favorable reviews (see review by editor Robert L. Norris in Wilderness Environ Med. 2003;14:151). The new books are both well-written and informative additions to the series. The goal of Don’t Get Eaten, as mentioned in the introduction, is to help the reader “avoid conflicts and confrontations with potentially dangerous North American land mammals.” This goal is accomplished in 9 chapters that discuss potential encounters with animals ranging in size from the grizzly to the javelina. Each chapter starts with a hypothetical scenario and goes on to review relevant facts and safety strategies. The author's attempts to dispel myths about animal attacks are particularly welcomed and provide a balanced perspective to the work. Dedicated to the prevention of bites and stings from dangerous reptiles and insects, Don’t Get Bitten is written in a similar format and is equally informative. The potential hazards of dangerous reptiles, spiders, scorpions, and a variety of other insects are discussed clearly and concisely. The brief reviews of bite and sting treatments in each of the 8 chapters are especially relevant to the wilderness medical provider. In summary, these small books are highly informative and would be of value to anyone with an interest in wilderness medicine. They are enjoyable to read, educational, and at times entertaining. The reader looking for a detailed and referenced review of each species could find the books to be too concise and lacking in specifics. Yet, their small size makes them ideal for outdoor reading and travel, and for their size, these volumes provide an outstanding review of the basics of animal injury, prevention, and treatment.