Visitors do die within National Parks. Here is my tabulation for fatalities over the past couple of weeks, taken from the NPS Morning Report:
Twelve total fatalities - 3 in a plane crash, 1 suicide, 2 in motor vehicle accidents, 4 drownings, 2 falls (one while mountaineering). Also reported was successful use of bear spray by a NPS employee. This is a small sample, but I believe it is fairly representative. Falls and drownings are the preeminent hazards to visitors, year after year.
I am surprised that the NPS could accidently omit the recent Soda Butte bear attack - one dead, two serious - probably the most widely covered bear attack in many years.
(1 dead, 2 injured in bear attack at MT campground
The Associated Press - Matthew Brown - ‎Jul 28, 2010‎
COOKE CITY, Mont. — At least one bear rampaged through a heavily occupied campground Wednesday near Yellowstone National Park in the middle of the night, ...
Video: Bear Believed Responsible for Attack Is Caught The Associated Press
1 Dead, 2 Injured In Bear Attack At MT Campground CBS News
1 dead, 2 injured in bear attack at MT campground KTVQ Billings News
all 3,063 news articles »)
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