Patterns of wild carnivore attacks on humans in urban areas

Giulia Bombieri,José Vicente López-Bao,José M Fedriani,Vincenzo Penteriani,Pedro José Garrote,María Del Mar Delgado,Luca Francesco Russo

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-36034-7

Giulia Bombieri, José Vicente López-Bao + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36034-7

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Abstract

Attacks by wild carnivores on humans represent an increasing problem in urban areas across North America and their frequency is expected to rise following urban expansion towards carnivore habitats. Here, we analyzed records of carnivore attacks on humans in urban areas of the U.S. and Canada between 1980 and 2016 to analyze the general patterns of the attacks, as well as describe the landscape structure and, for those attacks occurring at night, the light conditions at the site of the attacks. We found that several behavioral and landscape-related factors were recurrent elements in the attacks recorded. The species for which the attack locations were available (coyote and black bear) attacked in areas with different conditions of landscape structure and artificial light. Specifically, black bears attacked more frequently in areas with abundant and aggregated vegetation cover and scarce buildings and roads, while coyotes attacked in a broader range of landscape conditions. At night, black bears attacked in generally darker areas than coyotes. By providing a comprehensive perspective of the phenomenon, this study will improve our understanding of how effective strategies aimed at reducing the frequency of risky encounters in urban areas should be developed.

Highlights

Recent years have witnessed an increase in conflicts between humans and wild carnivores in North American urban areas (i.e., populated places, defined by the U.S Geological Survey as “a place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population”)[1,2]
Following what found in previous studies on other kinds of conflicts[4,5,18], we hypothesized that species which are mostly forest-obligate and generally avoid humans will mainly attack under landscape conditions characterized by high vegetation cover and the fewest human infrastructures, whereas we expected landscape structure to not be relevant for those species which are known to reside in urban environments and tolerate human presence
ROYALTY FREE STOCK PHOTOS, www.123rf.com, Image ID 69859949, copyright cuttsnaturephotography, https://www.123rf.com/stock-photo/a_portrait_showing_the_expressive_eyes_of_a_large_black_bear_(ursus_americanus)_in_the_mountians.html?&sti=mz65utjpox4ztzb2zg|&mediapopup=69859949). We found that those attacks that occurred at night took place in areas with a relatively low amount of artificial light, with black bear attacks occurring in dark areas

Summary

Introduction

Recent years have witnessed an increase in conflicts between humans and wild carnivores in North American urban areas (i.e., populated places, defined by the U.S Geological Survey (https://www.usgs.gov/) as “a place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population (city, settlement, town, village)”)[1,2]. Following what found in previous studies on other kinds of conflicts[4,5,18], we hypothesized that species which are mostly forest-obligate and generally avoid humans will mainly attack under landscape conditions characterized by high vegetation cover and the fewest human infrastructures, whereas we expected landscape structure to not be relevant for those species which are known to reside in urban environments and tolerate human presence For those attacks occurring at night, we explored whether (and how) light conditions might influence the occurrence of an attack. We hypothesized that a higher number of attacks will occur in dark areas

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Results

Conclusion