Animals Fear Humans More Than Lions In South Africa's Wild: Study

Despite lions' power, speed, and capacity for pack hunting, a recent study found that animals on the African savanna are more afraid of people than lions. Lions should be the most feared since they are the largest land predators and hunt in packs, according to conservation biologist Michael Clinchy of Western University in Canada.

"Normally, if you're a mammal, you're not going to die of disease or hunger. The thing that actually ends your life is going to be a predator, and the bigger you are, the bigger the predator that finishes you off," says co-author Michael Clinchy, also a conservation biologist at Western University. "Lions are the biggest group-hunting land predator on the planet and thus ought to be the scariest, and so we're comparing the fear of humans versus lions to find out if humans are scarier than the scariest non-human predator."

But after studying more than 10,000 wildlife reaction recordings, scientists discovered that 95% of the animals were more afraid of human noises than lion roars. The idea that animals would grow acclimated to people if they weren't killed is refuted by this widespread and deeply ingrained fear of humans.

The research team from Western University played recordings of various sounds to animals at waterholes in South Africa's Greater Kruger National Park. Even in a protected area known for its large lion population, animals reacted more strongly to human sounds, showing humans are seen as a significant threat.

"We put the camera in a bear box, not because there are bears out in South Africa, but because of the hyenas and leopards that like to chew on them," says first author Liana Y Zanette, a conservation biologist at Western University in Canada. "One night, the lion recording made this elephant so angry that it charged and just smashed the whole thing."

"I think the pervasiveness of the fear throughout the Savannah mammal community is a real testament to the environmental impact that humans have," says Zanette. "Not just through habitat loss and climate change and species extinction, which is all important stuff. But just having us out there on that landscape is enough of a danger signal that they respond really strongly. They are scared to death of humans, way more than any other predator."