Fear of the human "super predator" pervades the South African savanna

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https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01169-7

Fear of the human “super predator” pervades the South African savanna

Liana Y. Zanette, Nikita R. Frizzelle, Michael Clinchy, Carson B. Keller, Sarah E. Huebner, Craig Packer

Published: October 05, 2023 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.089

Highlights

• Lions have been viewed as the world’s most fearsome predator, the “king of beasts”

• New global surveys show humans kill prey at much higher rates than other predators

• Fear of humans vs. lions was tested in iconic savanna mammals from elephants on down

• Fear of the human “super predator” far prevails over that of the “king of beasts”

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1. Short video:

Giraffe, leopard, hyena, zebra, kudu, warthog and impala running in response to hearing humans

Professor Liana Zanette

Sep 27 2023

Giraffe, leopard, hyena, zebra, kudu, warthog and impala were all significantly more likely to run from humans than from lions, in an experiment conducted in South Africa's Greater Kruger National Park, reported in a new paper published in Current Biology by Professor Zanette and colleagues, entitled “Fear of the human “super predator” pervades the South African savanna”.

Please visit www.lianazanette.com for details