Here’s a crazy but true statistic: selfies are now a bigger cause of death in the world than shark attacks.

Shark attacks are extremely rare: only about 5 people die from them every year around the globe. By comparison, there have already been 12 confirmed cases of people accidentally getting killed while trying to take a selfie.



That’s an eye-opening figure reported today over at The Telegraph, which writes that most of the selfie-related deaths have been due to people falling. The second most common? Getting hit by a moving vehicle while trying to snap a photo.

Other risky selfie takers are barely just surviving, or the figure would be even higher. Some are getting bitten by rattlesnakes while trying to take a selfie with them. Others are getting flipped into the air by wild bison.

No wonder Russia launched a country-wide “Safe Selfie” campaign back in July to warn its citizens of engaging in risky selfie behavior. Perhaps other countries will soon follow suit.

Image credits: Shark header photo by Jeff Kubina