| Title | Study Finds Half of Attacks On People by Large Carnivores in the Wild Due to Risky Behavior | |
| Date | Saturday February 06 2016, @11:33AM | |
| Author | cmn32480 | |
| Topic | ||
| from the don't-be-stupid dept. | ||
A team of researchers from several countries in Europe and Canada has found that approximately half of all attacks on humans by large carnivores in the wild can be attributed at least in part, to risky behavior by those that have been attacked. In their paper published in Scientific Reports [open, DOI: 10.1038/srep20552], the team describes the study they carried out, their results and their hope that better education will prevent more such attacks from happening in the future.
To learn more about attacks on humans by large carnivores, which included several types of bears, wolves, coyotes and cougars, the team searched wildlife databases that held such information for attacks in North America, Russia, and three European countries—they discovered that over 697 reported attacks occurred over the time span 1955 to 2014. They also found that the number of attacks each year has been rising steadily. The databases also held information regarding the circumstances surrounding the attacks which allowed the team to sort and count various scenarios. The group also conducted research regarding human activities in the wild and found that the number of people venturing into remote areas has been rising rapidly during the same time frame.
In studying their data, the researchers found that roughly half of the documented attacks they studied occurred during what they describe as risky human behavior, e.g. leaving children alone in wilderness areas, walking a dog without a leash, or tracking a game animal that has been shot and wounded. They theorize that the steady increase in the number of such incidents is likely due to the growth in numbers of wildlife due to conservation efforts, and the rise in the number of people entering areas where wildlife live.
Moose attack more people every year than bears and wolves combined.
| Links |
printed from SoylentNews, Study Finds Half of Attacks On People by Large Carnivores in the Wild Due to Risky Behavior on 2024-04-20 01:23:19