Abstract
Attacks on humans by wild carnivores are a serious problem, especially where communities and carnivores share the same landscape. When people are injured or killed, community members commonly retaliate by killing the carnivores. Awareness of how to minimize the risk of attacks is important and dependent on an understanding of the circumstances surrounding previous attacks and communicating them back to society. A total of 180 households were randomly selected from both the Maasai and Sonjo tribes. Findings from this study are based on the reported incidences among the Maasai and the Sonjo tribes living in the eastern Serengeti. Because the Maasai tribe lives close to the Serengeti National Park, they reported a higher frequency of human attacks than the Sonjo tribe over the last 50 years. Most of the human attacks occurred in the wet season during the daytime while herding livestock. Young males from both tribes responsible for herding livestock were more vulnerable to attack by wild carnivores. Lions (Panthera leo) were responsible for most of the reported human attacks, followed by leopards (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). Currently, the trend in human attacks by carnivores is decreasing in both tribes. It was also established that in many incidences, carnivores escaped after attacking humans. Retaliatory killings for lions were most common among the Maasai, while retaliatory killings for hyenas were most common among the Sonjo. Factors associated with these retaliatory killings were as follows: both lions and hyenas feeding on a carcass, lions being fearless of humans, hyenas being frequently seen, and hyena’s tendency to run and look back. These findings provide insight into the circumstances surrounding human attacks in the eastern Serengeti and the fate of these carnivores. Key words: Attacks, injured, humans, killed, retaliatory killing, wild carnivore.
Highlights
IntroductionAttack on humans is a shocking phenomenon as it can lead to serious injuries and/or loss of human life (Löe and Røskaft, 2004; Packer et al, 2005; Quigley and Herrero, 2005; Thirgood et al, 2005; Gurung et al, 2008; Nyhus, 2010; Penteriani et al, 2016)
Most human attacks occurred while people were herding livestock rather than while performing other activities, and most of these human attacks occurred during the wet season, with no significant difference between the two tribes
This study reveals incidences of human attacks that have never been reported in the eastern Serengeti and provides insights into how such attacks occur and the characteristics of these attacks, including the time, season, people prone to these attacks, and the fate of these carnivores after attacking humans
Summary
Attack on humans is a shocking phenomenon as it can lead to serious injuries and/or loss of human life (Löe and Røskaft, 2004; Packer et al, 2005; Quigley and Herrero, 2005; Thirgood et al, 2005; Gurung et al, 2008; Nyhus, 2010; Penteriani et al, 2016). Human attacks provoke a strong response and are rarely tolerated by communities, who may call for immediate measures to address the problem animals (Packer et al, 2005; Gurung et al, 2008; Ikanda and Packer, 2008; Penteriani et al, 2016). While the Tanzanian government has devoted much effort to promote tourism (Turner, 2015), it has failed to solve local problems related to wildlife (Vedeld et al, 2012)
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