While thousands of people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States each year, deaths are uncommon, according to the authorities.

A hiker suffered a fatal snake bite in Tennessee after picking up a Timber rattlesnake near the beginning of a trail in Savage Gulf State Park, officials said.

An estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About five of those people die as a result of the bite, but more would die if they did not seek medical care, according to the CDC.