A Map of 107 Deadly Rattlesnake, Copperhead, & Cobra Bites in the U.S.

You can find snakes on almost every continent in the world. As a result, human beings are bound to cross paths with a snake or two. Most of the time, nothing comes from these interactions. Yet occasionally, you might stumble across a venomous snake at the wrong time. The resulting bites can be deadly.

There have been 107 such bites in the U.S., most occurring in July as cold-blooded reptiles become more active in the warmer weather. Decreasing the odds of survival is the cost of treatment. Anti-venom costs around $2,500 per vial. One victim received eight vials of antivenom, yet still died. Even if you survive your first bite, your chances of doing so a second time decrease dramatically.

Of these deadly snake bites, one species has been the source of more bites than any other, including many of the youngest victims, which you can explore on the map below.

View Fatal Snake Bites in the U.S. in a full screen map

Deadliest Snake: Fatal Rattlesnake Bites

Timber Rattlesnake

Of the 107 fatal U.S. snake bites on the map, Rattlesnake bites account for nearly 80% of deaths, with Copperheads and Cobras as the next most. Let’s slither into the subspecies statistics of these deadly Rattlesnake bites:

  • Rattlesnake (no subspecies noted) – 53 fatal bites
  • Timber Rattlesnake – 16
  • Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake – 7
  • Western Diamondback Rattlesnake – 3
  • Southern Pacific Rattlesnake – 2
  • Prairie Rattlesnake – 2
  • Mojave Rattlesnake – 2

Unspecified Rattlesnake bites aside, the subspecies with the most death toll is the Timber Rattlesnake. Sixteen people in the U.S. have been bitten and subsequently died from these bites. Most took place in either Georgia (4) or West Virginia (3), seeing as Timber Rattlesnakes mostly reside in the Eastern U.S.

Several Timber Rattlesnake victims were bitten during church service, during “snake handling,” when snakes are voluntarily passed around among the congregants. Though laws exist to prevent this religious rite, one man was bitten as recently as 2015 during a religious service at a Pentecostal Church in Jenson, Kentucky. He refused treatment and died in his brother’s home. Three others also died under similar circumstances, all at the hands—or fangs—of the Timber Rattlesnake.

Additionally, there are seven deathly Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake bites, along with Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (3), Southern Pacific, Prairie, and Mojave Rattlesnake (2 each). For more on the other common though not as prevalent snake bites, check out the map. Otherwise, we’re moving on to the youngest victims, of which all but one were bitten by Rattlesnakes.

Youngest (& Oldest!) Victims to Venom

Snakes don’t have eyelids, so they needn’t blink. Even with this never-ending gaze, they can’t discern a victim’s age. Those bitten and killed by snakes in the U.S. range from just a year old to 80. Let’s take a closer look at the youngest victims on the table below.

Name Age Gender Subspecies State Year Additional information
Donald Bebis 1 male Rattlesnake MT 1965 15-month-old Don Bebis was playing in the yard at his home in Cat Creek, Montana, when he was bitten on both legs on August 4, 1965.
Karen Perry 1 female Rattlesnake CA 1953 15-month-old Perry was playing in the backyard of her home in Tujunga, California, when she was bitten on the hand by a “pencil thin,” 18-inch long rattlesnake.
Peyton Hood 1 female Western Diamondback Rattlesnake TX 2010 Accidentally stepped on baby Western Diamondback while climbing down ladder at Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas. The snake struck her main artery. She was rushed to the hospital, but died within a few hours.
Derek Lema 2 male Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake FL 2000 Lema was bitten in the thigh by a rattlesnake while helping his father, Victor Lema, in their Lakewood Ranch, Florida, backyard.
Frank Benham 2 male Prairie Rattlesnake CO 1903 Benham died from a rattlesnake bite in Adams County, Colorado, 17 miles north of Deer Trail.
James Ananias Brannon 2 male Rattlesnake TX 1882 Brannon died from a rattlesnake bite received while lying on a blanket in Texas.
John Charles Goss 2 male Rattlesnake PA 1941 Bitten beneath the right knee while at a picnic near the city reservoir alongside the Willow Creek Highway in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
Reba Ann Cooper 2 female Rattlesnake TX 1940 The daughter of a rancher, Cooper was bitten by a rattlesnake on a ranch near Rocksprings, Texas.
Gregory Lee Hall 3 male Copperhead AL 1976 Bitten on the right hand by a copperhead he picked while playing near his home in Jacksonville, Alabama, on May 31, 1976.
Brayden Bullard 4 male Timber Rattlesnake FL 2014 Bitten while planting watermelons in his backyard in Bryceville, Florida. He was rushed to the hospital, but died 2 weeks later.
Helen Moomey 4 female Rattlesnake ND 1915 Moomey died from a rattlesnake bite she received while playing with friends near her house in Billings County, North Dakota.  The prairie rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in North Dakota.

Of the young victims, all but one were bit by Rattlesnakes. Three-year-old Gregory Lee Hall passed away from a Copperhead snake bite in Alabama. However, most of these tragic occurrences took place in Texas and Florida. Three children died from a Rattlesnake bite in the Lone Star State, while three passed away from snakes in Florida.

As for the oldest victim, an 80-year-old man was killed in Armuchee, Georgia, when he ironically tried to avoid killing a Timber Rattlesnake he found in his garage. As he tried to move the snake with a broom, he fell on top of it. The resulting bite killed him after 30 hours and eight antivenom vials.

You can see the other oldest victims on the map when you group by “Age” and opt for the 80 – 64 range. Speaking of Texas, Florida, and Georgia, let’s move on to location—not just of the youngest or oldest victims—but every snake bite fatality on the map.

Florida, Texas, & Where Snakes Bite

Luckily for some (and not so much for others), venomous snakes aren’t found everywhere in the U.S. The majority of fatal snake bites occur in Texas, West Virginia, along with other southern states. However, Floridians deal with the most deadly bites. In total, 13 have been killed by snakes in the Sunshine State, including 11 Rattlesnakes, one coral snake, and one unknown.

Never too far behind Florida is, of course, Texas with 10 Rattlesnake bites and one cobra bite that ended in death. Joining Florida in the Southeast are West Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, and Alabama with seven fatal bites each. These states all have warm weather in common, which is when snakes become more active.

Similar insights often become apparent when you map your data—and especially when you enable Heat View, a feature BatchGeo Pro users have in common with some snakes.

Of course, snakes aren’t the only animal that can take down a human. We’ve mapped Every US Shark Attack Fatality Since 1900 for along with Bear Attack Statistics of North America.

Or make a Heat View map of your own at batchgeo.com.

Two Ways to Make an Airtable Map

Do you know that one friend who never stops talking about their favorite activity? That’s us with spreadsheets. Excel and Google Sheets are reliable ways to store data and their data analysis features seem never-ending.

But sometimes you need something more. Enter spreadsheet-database hybrids like Airtable, which pairs a spreadsheet with database column types along with calendar, gallery, Kanban, and other views. Essentially, Airtable is all about providing its users a variety of data visualization options… including maps.

So we’ll show you two different ways to turn your Airtable base’s geographical data into a visual map using Airtable’s Map app or our online mapping tool. Along the way, we’ll highlight the pros and cons of each method. Let’s get started.

1. Use Airtable’s Map App with a Google Maps API Key

As an Airtable user, you can use the spreadsheet-database hybrid’s own Map app to plot your base’s geographical points on a map. The benefits of doing this with Airtable’s app include remaining in the same platform as your data, without the need for a new tool. However, in order to create a map of your base, you need to have a working Google Maps API key.

If you don’t know what an API key is or you just want an easier way, skip to the second way to turn an Airtable base into a map.

With that in mind, let’s jump into the most important step of getting started with Airtable’s Map app.

Get Your Google Maps API Key

First off, you’ll want to grab your Google Maps API key. You can re-use the same one if this isn’t your first time setting up a map app. Otherwise, here are the basic steps to get a Google Maps API key:

  1. Create a Google Cloud project
  2. Enable billing for your project
  3. Enable the Google Maps JavaScript and Geocoding APIs
  4. Create a Google API key

Whew! It’s a lot of jumping through the Google interface, but you’ll only have to do this once. Unless your usage is very high, you’ll likely never be charged. However, Google makes you add a payment option.

You’ll need to keep that API key handy for when you set up the Map app in Airtable.

Set up the Airtable Map App

Now that you have your Google Maps API key, you’ll want to prepare your data and add the Map app so you can add your key. To do so:

  1. In your Airtable base, add a single line text field for addresses or latitude and longitude coordinates
    1. Note: you’ll need to format your coordinates in either DMS (degrees, minutes, and seconds: 44° 27’ 37.72368″ – 110° 49’ 41.295″) or DD (decimal degrees: 44.4604788, -110.8281375)
  2. You’ll also want to include an empty second single line text field for the Map app’s use. You can then hide this field because you don’t need to do anything with it
  3. Next, click Apps located in the upper right-hand corner of your Airtable base
  4. Select Add an app, search, and then add “Map”
  5. Opt to Get started and enter your Google Maps API key
  6. Determine the correct Table, View, Location field, and Geocode cache. Then, Save the settings

You can further customize your Airtable map by changing the marker color, size, and shape of your Airtable map, along with three map themes in Settings.

As with setting up the API key, there are quite a few steps to get your Airtable Map working. Let’s have a look at a simpler approach to getting your Airtable data on a Google Map.

2. API Key-Free Online Mapping Tool

Even the most devout Airtable user may not wish to go to the trouble of obtaining an API key and preparing your base to use the built-in Map app. So for an Airtable map alternative with no API key required, you can try our online mapping tool. And since we can skip the steps of adding an API key, we can get right into preparing your data and adding it to BatchGeo:

  1. Just like the previous method, you’ll want to ensure any location information in your Airtable base has its own single line text fields
    1. The best formats for latitude and longitude coordinates include decimal degrees: 44.4604788, -110.8281375
  2. Then, download your Airtable base as a CSV
  3. Open your web browser and navigate to batchgeo.com
  4. Drag and drop your downloaded file to the location data box, then click Map Your Data and watch as the geocoder performs its process
  5. Check to make sure you have the proper location data fields available under “Validate and Set Options”
  6. Select Show Advanced Options to customize marker labels, colors, shapes, and map styles
  7. After any updates, click Make Map. When you’re done, Save & Continue

View Sales Map from Airtable Base in a full screen map

Unlike an Airtable Map, when mapping with BatchGeo, your additional data will be suggested for grouping, allowing you to sort any map by that data, such as Sales, Representative, Sale count, and Rev per sale from your Airtable base. Export your Airtable to CSV, then make your own groupable Airtable map today at batchgeo.com.

Free Willy Mapped: List of Captive Orcas

World Orca Day comes each year on July 14th. The day celebrates wild killer whales mostly abundant in the cold waters of Antarctica, Norway, and Alaska. But it also includes the 103 orcas—living and deceased—held in captivity.

At the time of writing, 59 captive killer whales are alive around the world, one is classified as “escaped,” and 43 have died in captivity since the first orca was captured in 1961.

We’ll dive into where most of the list of captive orcas are located, how many are held in various SeaWorlds, and the most common breed and origin of the world’s captive killer whales.

You can sort captive orcas by gender, breed, origin, age, status, cause of death, and more on the map below.

View Mapped List of Captive Orcas in a full screen map

Where Most Orcas in Captivity Are Located

Of the 103 captive killer whales on the map, nearly 60% are or were located in one of eight places—and not all are SeaWorld. So let’s dive into the list of captive orcas and where most reside.

  • SeaWorld San Diego – 14 orcas
  • Washington U.S. – 10
  • SeaWorld Orlando – 9
  • Loro Parque, Spain – 8
  • SeaWorld San Antonio – 6
  • Kamogawa Sea World – 5
  • Marineland of Antibes – 4
  • Chimelong Ocean Kingdom – 4

While not all are SeaWorld, it’s still the top location. In fact, all three U.S. SeaWorld locations have held or currently hold at least six killer whales. Of course, San Diego (the first location, which opened in 1964) has held the most.

SeaWorld’s Captive Killer Whales

As for the SeaWorld orcas names: Corky II (the longest-held captive orca in the world and largest female in captivity), Ikaika, Kalia, Keet, Makani, Nakai, Orkid, Shouka, and Ulises (the oldest and largest male in captivity) reside there at the time of writing. Amaya, Baby Shamu ll, Kandu, Kasatka, and Winston lived there prior to their death.

SeaWorld Orlando houses Makaio, Malia, Nalani, Trua, and Katina (Kandu 6) currently, and was the home of Kalina (Baby Shamu), Kayla, Taima, and the infamous Tilikum of Blackfish. San Antonio’s SeaWorld whales names include Kamea, Kyuquot, Sakari, Takara, and Tuar, along with the deceased Kyara.

Very little is known about the 10 orcas that were captured and later died near Washington state, though all were between September 1962 and August 1970. Let’s move on to different waters: breed and origin of these captive killer whales.

Twelve Breeds of Orcas

Many are surprised to learn there are different types of orcas. But within the waters of the world and among the many different species of ocean life swim killer whales of various breeds.

As 62 of the world’s captive orcas were captured or rescued from the wild, different breeds of killer whales can be found in the same tanks at SeaWorld and other marine parks. So let’s see which breeds we’re actually seeing when we visit these parks.

Breed Number of captive orcas
100% Icelandic 33
100% Russian Transient 21
Unknown (Southern Resident?) 10
100% Southern Resident 5
75% Icelandic – 25% Southern Resident 4
100% Japanese 4
87.5% Icelandic – 12.5% Southern Resident 3
50% Icelandic – 50% Southern Resident 2
50% Icelandic – 50% Northern Resident 2
100% Russian 2
100% Northern Resident 2
100% Argentinian Transient 2

The table above shows the breeds of more than one captive orca. Most (~87%) of the world’s captive orcas are Icelandic, Russian, or Southern (from Washington state’s Puget Sound) Resident—or at least some part of the three.

When describing orca breeds, Resident typically indicates those that eat fish while those that eat seals, sea lions, and other mammals are deemed Transient.

Notable captive Icelandic whales include Keiko (Free Willy) along with Tilikum and Katina from SeaWorld Orlando.

Of the Russian variety are Tyson and Nukka now located in Zhuhai, China’s Chimelong Ocean Kingdom. In fact, all four of the park’s killer whales are 100% Russian Transient. Southern Residents Winston and Kandu were kept at SeaWorld San Diego.

This leaves 13 captive killer whales of another breed such as Japanese, Northern Resident, or Argentinian Transient.

Orcas’ Origins into Captivity

Where these whales came from before captivity is also of interest. Two of the world’s most famous orcas: Free Willy‘s Keiko and Blackfish‘s Tilikum were wild-captured. But the same can’t be said for all of the 103 killer whales on the map. Here’s a breakdown:

  • Captured: 60 killer whales
  • Captive born: 41
  • Rescued: 2

Whether whales are your favorite or not, here are four more animal maps to check out:

Whether these animals are on the land, in the sea, or stored in your spreadsheets, you can easily map their locations with BatchGeo. Create a map for free.