Wild animals are more scared of human voices than lion snarls or even gunshots, shocking study finds

In South Africa's Greater Kruger National Park, home to a substantial lion population, a study reveals that mammals display greater fear towards human voices compared to lion snarls, dog barks, or gunshots associated with hunting. Despite lions being formidable group-hunting predators, humans are identified as more lethal killers according to recent global research.

A comprehensive experiment involved observing 19 mammal species' reactions to recordings of human voices, lion vocalisations, barking dogs, and gunshots. The recordings, featuring the four most spoken languages in the region (Tsonga, Northern Sotho, English, and Afrikaans), were played at conversational volumes. Custom waterproof systems with cameras and speakers were strategically placed at waterholes to record wildlife interactions.

The study encountered challenges in safeguarding the equipment from hyenas and leopards, but the team persevered, accumulating 15,000 recordings over months. Analysis of these videos revealed that animals were twice as likely to flee waterholes upon hearing human voices compared to lion or hunting sounds. Remarkably, 95% of the analysed species, including giraffes, leopards, hyenas, zebras, warthogs, impalas, elephants, and rhinos, exhibited a stronger aversion to humans.

The authors emphasise the deeply ingrained and pervasive fear of humans in wild animals, raising the possibility of leveraging this fear for conservation purposes. The study explores the potential use of a custom sound system to deter endangered animals from known poaching grounds in South Africa, with successful outcomes observed in deterring rhinos.

The study's findings have been detailed in Current Biology.