Canadian scientists from the University of Western Ontario conducted a study that shed light on who the real monster of the savannah is.
The answer was both predictable and surprising: human.
Researchers played recordings of the voices of various animals and human speech in the African savanna and observed the reactions of the animals. Result: 95% of animals left their places in fear when they heard human voices. Mail.ru reports this with reference to Current Biology (CurBio).
Fear of man is ingrained in the wild. It turned out to be so strong that even lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes, leopards, hyenas, zebras and warthogs preferred to flee, leaving bodies of water, rather than meet people.
“There is a belief that animals will become accustomed to people if they are not hunted”, - says lead author of the study, ecobiologist Michael Clinchy. “But our results prove otherwise.”
The study also revealed interesting nuances. For example, a recording of a lion's roar angered one elephant so much that he found and trampled scientific equipment.
Scientists warn that the problem of relationships between people and wild fauna will only get worse as people increasingly take over natural areas.