“Man is a wolf to man,” wrote the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. And given the atrocities we inflict upon each other, it certainly cannot be ignored. I have a particular fear of it, even though the chances of it happening are extremely low.
A group led by Giulia Bombieri of Trento, the MUSE Science Museum in Italy, has assessed attacks on humans by various large predators around the world in recent decades, what provokes the attacks and how many are deadly. I investigated Taka. Bombieri and her colleagues announced their findings on January 31st. PLOSbiology.
In total, the team has compiled over 5,000 attacks over the last 70 years. A total of 12 predator species were involved, including several species of bears, wolves, coyotes, lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, and cougars (also known as pumas). Scientists have also characterized the types of attacks. For example, whether it is a targeted attack by hunting animals for food, an accidental encounter, the result of a mother protecting her child, or a reaction to the presence of a dog.
Of the regions surveyed, South Asia proved to be the most dangerous, recording more than half of the attacks. South America, on the other hand, had the fewest number of attacks, despite being home to her two potentially dangerous cat species, jaguars and pumas. Overall, the most lethal attacks occurred when these predators were foraging. In these cases, more than 90% of his victims died. South Asia had the highest number of attacks. Tigers, wolves, and leopards rarely hunt humans in this area, but will prey on them when they have the chance. The Sundarbansher mangroves of India and Bangladesh have been hotspots for tiger attacks on people engaged in fishing and gathering forest products.
Research shows that these gratuitous attacks are more common in poorer countries. In highly developed countries, people encounter predators mainly during leisure activities. Joggers awaken hunting instincts in cougars, dog walking induces territorial behavior in coyotes, hikers accidentally get between a mother bear and her offspring, or startle a male bear roaming the forest. increase. Though unwitting encounters with black and sloth bears are particularly frequent in South Asia, deliberate attacks by hungry bears are rare.
Incidents in Europe have mostly involved bears (brown bears in this case) as well, but wolf attacks are very rare and most often involve scenarios involving dogs or injured animals, or Both occur in areas where dogs are more common. A new study finds that despite a steady rise in predator attacks in North America and Europe, almost half of such incidents are chased after leaving a child unattended, a dog unattended, or a dangerous animal shot. It corroborates previous research showing that it was caused by dangerous human behaviors such as shaving. (Previous studies have shown that ungulates, wasps, mosquitoes, spiders, snakes, dogs, and even snails are responsible for far more human deaths than large carnivores on a global scale.) It has also been pointed out that
Bombieri and her colleagues say attacks in low-income areas, including numerous incidents in South Asia, mostly involve people living in close contact with natural areas that protect large carnivores. pointing out. They accidentally cross paths with wild animals in search of firewood, wild honey, or herbs, or are deliberately hunted as prey. This risk will increase with population growth in this region of Asia and Africa.
This article was originally science spectrum Reproduced with permission.
