The lion remains one of the greatest symbols of ferocity. The roar of the king of the savannah (for years mistakenly called the king of the jungle) causes panic among humans... But really, in the African savanna, what are the animals most afraid of (that is, giraffes, zebras, antelopes ...) from the lion's roar or from the human voice?
A team led by Liana Y. Zanette, a conservation biologist at Western University, in London (Ontario, Canada), has carried out a curious study in which the fear reaction of various species of large mammals that They live in the Greater Kruger National Park (South Africa) to various sounds.
The results of this research, published in the journal Current Biology (October 5, 2023), leave no doubt about the species that is perceived as the "super predator"... And it is not the lion, as would be said in a news article entitled to capture the reader's attention.
In order not to fall into this type of clickbait trap and force you to read the news until the end to know the answer, we reproduce the main part of the conclusions signed by Professor Zanette and five other researchers from Canada, South Africa and the United States: " Fear of humans significantly exceeded that of lions across the entire savannah mammal community. As a whole (across 4,238 trials), wildlife were twice as likely to run away and 40% more likely to leave the premises. drinking water points in response to human voice than lion roar. 95% of species fled more from humans than lions (significantly in giraffes, leopards, hyenas, zebras, greater kudu, warthog and impala) "Rhinos and elephants also left the water faster."
Those responsible for the new study have released some of the videos that show the reaction of various species to human voices:
"We generally think that the top of the food chain are the large carnivorous predators," Zanette recalls in statements published by Cell Press, the publishing group of Current Biology. According to Michael Clinchy, co-author of the study and also a biologist at Western University, “the lion [African, Panthera leo] is the largest terrestrial predator that hunts in groups and should therefore be the most terrifying of animals, so "We're comparing the voices of humans with that of lions to find out if humans are scarier than the scariest non-human predator." Zanette, Clinchy, and their colleagues watched how 19 different mammal species reacted to a series of recordings, including human voices, lion vocalizations, dog barking, and gunshots.
The human voice clips, which were at conversational volume levels, came from radio or television recordings of people speaking the four most widely used languages in the region, including Tsonga, Northern Sotho, English and Afrikaans. The dogs and gunshots were to represent sounds associated with human hunting, and the lions' vocalizations, selected with the help of the lion expert, were to signal the presence of the top natural predator in the region, indicates the Cell Press information summary.
To observe and record the animals' behavior in response to the recordings, the authors used automated systems that include a camera trap (which is triggered by the presence of animals) and a speaker, and have enough battery life to record all day. and the night for many months. The study was conducted in the dry season and the systems were placed next to wells or ponds to capture recordings of all animals coming to drink. At the end of the experiment, the team had 15,000 videos to examine.
"There is this idea that animals will get used to humans if they are not hunted, but we have shown that this is not the case," says Clinchy. "Fear of humans is deep-rooted and pervasive, so it's something we need to start thinking seriously about for conservation purposes."
The team is now investigating whether their custom sound systems can be used to deliberately drive endangered species, such as the southern white rhino, away from known poaching areas in South Africa. So far, efforts to keep rhinos away from certain areas by using human voices have been successful.
"I think the pervasiveness of fear throughout the savanna mammal community is a true testament to the environmental impact that humans have," Zanette says. "Not just through habitat loss, climate change and species extinction, which are important things. But the simple fact of having us in that landscape is enough of a danger signal for them to respond very strongly. They are very afraid of humans, much more than any other predator."
