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> Avoidance is the safest strategy, she said. "These big cats are shy—they tend to avoid human contact as much as they can. They're really extreme introverts of

> Avoidance is the safest strategy, she said. "These big cats are shy—they tend to avoid human contact as much as they can. They're really extreme introverts of the animal kingdom." There are lots of large predators that "avoid human contact". I think the reason for that is not some intrinsic physical thing, but because humans have historically hunted and killed these large predators. However, as humans stop killing these predators, how long until they lose their fear of humans and see us as prey?

bombcar 4y ago
Small children can be seen as prey; adult humans are actually quite large as animals go, and standing upright makes them appear even larger [67] - groups make it even more so. However, encouraging animals to be "scared" of humans is good, because large predators that get used to humans often have to be put down. [67] https://www.reddit.com/r/me_irl/comments/op4u1q/me_irl/ https://www.reddit.com/r/me_irl/comments/op4u1q/me_irl/
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 4y ago
  But leopards can hunt far larger prey than humans. From Wikipedia: > The largest prey killed by a leopard was reportedly a male eland weighing 900 kg (2,000 lb).[92] > It is able to take large prey due to its powerful jaw muscles, and is therefore strong enough to drag carcasses heavier than itself up into trees; an individual was seen to haul a young giraffe weighing nearly 125 kg (276 lb) up 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) into a tree
  - bombcar 4y ago
    They can but it's relatively abnormal; just like I'm sure someone somewhere has been mauled to death by a housecat.
- nescioquid 4y ago
  Learning to coexist with the animals, as the article mentioned, is probably the best approach. I once read an article about tiger attacks in India and a brilliant tactic people developed: wearing a mask on the back of the head. Cats are ambush predators and will attack from behind. Apparently having a "face" on the back of your head is a good deterrent against cat attacks. Growing up near Glacier Park, we were given a great deal of wilderness survival instruction starting in elementary school (this was back in the '70s and '80s). I spent a fair bit of time tramping through the woods alone as a child, making noise so as not to startle the bears as taught. When I did occasionally come upon a bear, it wasn't fussed and continued on doing what it was doing. The odd report of a mauling elicited sympathy but there seemed to be a tacit assumption that the poor fellow screwed up somehow. In all that time, I never so much as caught a glimpse of a cat, though they were surely around. Predators getting used to humans happens when they come to depend on humans. Glacier Park learned from the "Night of the Grizzly" episode by keeping the bears out of food waste and considering feeding the bears a serious no-no. Animals that were unable or unwilling to return to their normal survival strategies were relocated or put down, though the major change was educating people and changing their behaviors. However, if you've got big cats in your backyard, I imagine that population is already stressed.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
bergenty 4y ago
I think the reason is adult humans are too large to be easy prey. Yes, they do go after prey that size sometimes but not normally because the cost benefit probably doesn’t work out.
dkarl 4y ago
> how long until they lose their fear of humans and see us as prey? If you're asking about individuals, it already happens that individual animals target humans for predation. If you're asking about genetic change in populations, it probably won't happen, because we identify and kill the rare individuals that attack humans.
drewcoo 4y ago
> because humans have historically hunted and killed these large predators I don't recall any cats in my history classes. Maybe they got their education some other way.
jamal-kumar 4y ago
Once in a while it happens and people sometimes even have the fortitude to kill the puma with their bare hands. Here's a recent account [1] I've always lived in areas with big cats that end up wandering into the city or town once in a while. Usually it just ends in a ketamine dart and a bunch of videos on social media. I think I actually hear about a lot more attacks in North America than in Central America for whatever reason. I get the sense that they're actually more of a risk to small children, pets, and livestock. If you're out hiking what I've heard a few times is that if you smell something that's a lot like a "wet dog" smell in the middle of nowhere then you better get the bear spray in your hand in case you end up on some cat's menu choices. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umBbQvnShaA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umBbQvnShaA
colechristensen 4y ago
Many humans could fight a mountain lion and win. There are circumstances when they will attack but in general we’re too big to be prey.
- johndhi 4y ago
  ... what? I don't think so

bombcar 4y ago

Small children can be seen as prey; adult humans are actually quite large as animals go, and standing upright makes them appear even larger [67] - groups make it even more so. However, encouraging animals to be "scared" of humans is good, because large predators that get used to humans often have to be put down. [67] https://www.reddit.com/r/me_irl/comments/op4u1q/me_irl/ https://www.reddit.com/r/me_irl/comments/op4u1q/me_irl/

RcouF1uZ4gsC 4y ago
But leopards can hunt far larger prey than humans. From Wikipedia: > The largest prey killed by a leopard was reportedly a male eland weighing 900 kg (2,000 lb).[92] > It is able to take large prey due to its powerful jaw muscles, and is therefore strong enough to drag carcasses heavier than itself up into trees; an individual was seen to haul a young giraffe weighing nearly 125 kg (276 lb) up 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) into a tree
- bombcar 4y ago
  They can but it's relatively abnormal; just like I'm sure someone somewhere has been mauled to death by a housecat.
nescioquid 4y ago
Learning to coexist with the animals, as the article mentioned, is probably the best approach. I once read an article about tiger attacks in India and a brilliant tactic people developed: wearing a mask on the back of the head. Cats are ambush predators and will attack from behind. Apparently having a "face" on the back of your head is a good deterrent against cat attacks. Growing up near Glacier Park, we were given a great deal of wilderness survival instruction starting in elementary school (this was back in the '70s and '80s). I spent a fair bit of time tramping through the woods alone as a child, making noise so as not to startle the bears as taught. When I did occasionally come upon a bear, it wasn't fussed and continued on doing what it was doing. The odd report of a mauling elicited sympathy but there seemed to be a tacit assumption that the poor fellow screwed up somehow. In all that time, I never so much as caught a glimpse of a cat, though they were surely around. Predators getting used to humans happens when they come to depend on humans. Glacier Park learned from the "Night of the Grizzly" episode by keeping the bears out of food waste and considering feeding the bears a serious no-no. Animals that were unable or unwilling to return to their normal survival strategies were relocated or put down, though the major change was educating people and changing their behaviors. However, if you've got big cats in your backyard, I imagine that population is already stressed.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

bergenty 4y ago

I think the reason is adult humans are too large to be easy prey. Yes, they do go after prey that size sometimes but not normally because the cost benefit probably doesn’t work out.

dkarl 4y ago

> how long until they lose their fear of humans and see us as prey? If you're asking about individuals, it already happens that individual animals target humans for predation. If you're asking about genetic change in populations, it probably won't happen, because we identify and kill the rare individuals that attack humans.

drewcoo 4y ago

> because humans have historically hunted and killed these large predators I don't recall any cats in my history classes. Maybe they got their education some other way.

jamal-kumar 4y ago

Once in a while it happens and people sometimes even have the fortitude to kill the puma with their bare hands. Here's a recent account [1] I've always lived in areas with big cats that end up wandering into the city or town once in a while. Usually it just ends in a ketamine dart and a bunch of videos on social media. I think I actually hear about a lot more attacks in North America than in Central America for whatever reason. I get the sense that they're actually more of a risk to small children, pets, and livestock. If you're out hiking what I've heard a few times is that if you smell something that's a lot like a "wet dog" smell in the middle of nowhere then you better get the bear spray in your hand in case you end up on some cat's menu choices. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umBbQvnShaA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umBbQvnShaA

colechristensen 4y ago

Many humans could fight a mountain lion and win. There are circumstances when they will attack but in general we’re too big to be prey.

johndhi 4y ago
... what? I don't think so