Studies have found that wildlife around the world fears humans, the ‘super predator’, more than other well-known predators like lions, leopards, bears, and wolves. The most recent research in Australia, conducted by Western University and the University of Tasmania, reveals that marsupials in the country are more afraid of humans than they are of foxes and dogs.
According to the research paper titled “Fear of the Human ‘Superpredator’ in Native Marsupials and Introduced Deer in Australia,” published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Australian marsupials are well aware of the threats humans pose.
Researchers investigated the fear response of four native marsupial species (eastern grey kangaroo, Bennett’s wallaby, Tasmanian pademelon, common brushtail possum) and a non-native mammal (fallow deer) by exposing them to recordings of predator vocalisations (human, dog, Tasmanian devil, wolf) and non-threatening sounds (sheep). The results were clear: the marsupials were most afraid of humans, fleeing 2.4 times more often than when exposed to any other predator. They were also significantly more vigilant in responding to human sounds. This research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that wildlife around the world views humans as the top threat.
“These results greatly expand the growing experimental evidence that wildlife worldwide perceives humans as the planet’s most frightening predator,” said Zanette, a renowned wildlife ecologist. “The very substantial fear of humans demonstrated here and in comparable recent experiments can be expected to have dramatic ecological consequences because other new research has established that fear itself can reduce wildlife numbers and that fear of humans can cause cascading impacts on multiple species throughout entire landscapes.”
As per the press release, to conduct their experiment, the team deployed hidden automated camera-speaker systems that, when triggered by an animal passing within a short distance (approximately 10 metres, or 30 feet), filmed the response to humans speaking calmly, dogs barking, Tasmanian devils snarling, wolves howling, or non-threatening controls, such as sheep bleating.
“Global surveys show humans kill prey at much higher rates than other predators, making humans a’super predator,’ and the profound fear of humans being revealed in wildlife everywhere is wholly consistent with humanity’s unique lethality,” said Zanette. “Humans are ‘the invisible killer’ insofar as we do not often think of ourselves as a major predator, let alone the most dangerous, but wildlife clearly think differently and recognise us for what we are.”
