People getting dangerously close to bears has become an all too common headline lately.
We know bears have the ability to kill a human in certain situations, but deadly bear attacks aren't common at all.
"People are more of a threat to bears than bears are to humans," Phil Coclough, Director of Animal Care, Conservation and Education with Zoo Knoxville, said.
According to the CDC, from 2001- 2013 bears only accounted for one death a year in the US. That's not a statistic you should take lightly. Provoking an animal is incredibly dangerous and getting too close is unsafe for you and for the bear.
Research shows you should be more aware of the things you come into contact with in your everyday life.
Here's a story of the top 10 scariest animals from NBC News.
Venomous snakes and lizards killed six people a year in that same time frame. Dogs killed 28 people a year.
The biggest killer in the U.S. from 2001-2013 were bees, wasps and hornets, killing 58 people a year.
"It's really easy to avoid that. Use bug spray and check your body if you've been out in the woods," Coclough said.
When you expand the scope and look at the entire world you might be surprised to find out what animal accounts for the most human deaths.
"Mosquitos kill more people on earth than any other animal on the planet," Coclough said.
According to the World Health Organization, mosquitos kill around 1 million people a year from Malaria and Dengue fever and those are just two of the life threatening diseases they can carry.
Even though being killed from a bear attack is rare, don't take this story as an excuse to pet one. Park regulations require you to stay 50 yards away from bears at all times.