List of large carnivores known to prey on humans

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Tiger by Adolphe Philippe Millot (Nouveau Larousse illustre, c. 1900) Adolphe Millot mammiferes A (19-Tiger).jpg
Tiger by Adolphe Philippe Millot ( Nouveau Larousse illustré , c. 1900)

This is a list of large carnivores known to prey on humans.

Contents

The order Carnivora consists of numerous mammal species specialized in eating flesh. This list does not include animal attacks on humans by domesticated species (dogs), or animals held in zoos, aquaria, circuses, private homes or other non-natural settings. To prey on means "to seize and eat (something) as prey," and according to Merriam-Webster, synonyms include stalk, chase, hunt, pursue, and destroy. [1]

Statistically, attacks on humans by wild carnivores are an extremely rare cause of death—even in regions with high levels of human-wildlife interaction and relatively high absolute numbers of attacks [2] —the topic remains one of great fascination [3] to contemporary humans unused to or uncomfortable with being vulnerable to the larger food web. [4]

Documented carnivore attacks on humans do appear to be increasing in frequency [5] for a variety of reasons including human population growth, animal habitat loss, [3] and declining populations of traditional prey species. [6]

List

This article contains dynamic lists that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Animal common nameAnimal scientific nameLocation of fatal attacks (continent)Location of fatal attacks (country, region)Article
American black bear [7] [8] Ursus americanusNorth AmericaCanada, [9] United States [9] Bear attack
Brown bear [10] [11] [12] Ursus arctosAsia, Europe, North AmericaItaly, Canada, [9] China, [9] Japan, [9] Kazakhstan, [9] Kyrgyzstan, [9] Mongolia, [9] Norway, [9] Romania, [9] Russia, [9] Sweden, [9] United States, [9] Yugoslavia [9] Bear attack
Cougar [13] [14] Puma concolorNorth America, South AmericaCanada, [9] Chile, [9] United States [9] Cougar attack
Coyote [15] [a] Canis latransNorth AmericaCanada, [16] United States [16] Coyote attack
Dingo [17] [b] Canis dingoAustraliaAustralia Dingo attack
Golden jackal [18] Canis aureusAsiaIndia [18]
Grey wolf [17] [c] Canis lupusAsia, Europe, North AmericaAfghanistan, [9] Canada, [9] China, [9] Estonia, [9] France, [9] India, [9] Iran, [9] Italy, [9] Latvia, [9] Lithuania, [9] Poland, [9] Russia, [9] Slovakia, [9] Spain, [9] United States [9] Wolf attack
Jaguar [19] [6] Panthera oncaCentral America, South AmericaBrazil [20]
Leopard [13] [21] Panthera pardusAfrica, Asia [21] India, [21] Nepal, [9] South Africa, [9] Uganda [9] Leopard attack
Leopard seal [22] [d] Hydrurga leptonyxAntarctica
Lion [13] [21] Panthera leoAfrica, AsiaTanzania, [21] Zambia [13] Lion attack
Polar bear [23] Ursus maritimusCanada, [9] Norway, [9] United States [9] Bear attack
Sloth bear [9] Melursis ursinusAsiaIndia [9] Bear attack
Spotted hyena [13] Crocuta crocutaAfricaUganda [9]
Striped hyena [9] Hyena hyenaAsiaIndia [9]
Tiger [13] [21] Panthera tigrisAsiaIndia, [21] Nepal [21] Tiger attack

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ↑ As of 2023, there have been two documented fatalities from coyotes. [16]
  2. ↑ Dingo attacks are rare and when they occur, they generally are on children. For example, a dingo was responsible for the death of Azaria Chamberlain, a nine-week-old baby girl. The incident generated significant controversy as Azaria’s mother was incorrectly implicated in her death and later exonerated.
  3. ↑ Per Löe-Röskaft, most wolf fatalities are due to rabies transmission.
  4. ↑ Only one human fatality caused by a leopard seal has been documented to date.

    References

    1. ↑ “Prey (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prey%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
    2. ↑ Tumram, Nilesh Keshav; Ambade, Vipul N; Dixit, Pradeep G (December 2017). "Human fatalities caused by animal attacks: A six-year autopsy study" . Medico-Legal Journal. 85 (4): 194–199. doi:10.1177/0025817217707166. ISSN   0025-8172. PMID   28443375. S2CID   206425951.
    3. 1 2 Bombieri, Giulia; Nanni, Veronica; Delgado, María del Mar; Fedriani, José M; López-Bao, José Vicente; Pedrini, Paolo; Penteriani, Vincenzo (2018-08-01). "Content Analysis of Media Reports on Predator Attacks on Humans: Toward an Understanding of Human Risk Perception and Predator Acceptance" . BioScience. 68 (8): 577–584. doi: 10.1093/biosci/biy072 . hdl: 10651/50533 . ISSN   0006-3568.
    4. ↑ Dunn, Rob (2012-10-15). "Anxious? Blame the Predators in Your Primate Family History". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
    5. ↑ Williams, Caroline (2002-07-22). "Biting back" . New Scientist. Vol. 175, no. 2353. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
    6. 1 2 Iserson, Kenneth; Francis, Adama (2015-03-23). "Jaguar Attack on a Child: Case Report and Literature Review". Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. 16 (2): 303–309. doi:10.5811/westjem.2015.1.24043. PMC   4380383 . PMID   25834674.
    7. ↑ Herrero, S.; Higgins, A.; Cardoza, J. E.; Hajduk, L. I.; Smith, T. S. (2011). "Fatal attacks by American black bear on people: 1900–2009". The Journal of Wildlife Management. 75 (3): 596–603. doi:10.1002/jwmg.72. S2CID   55078800.
    8. ↑ "Lone, predatory black bears responsible for most human attacks". Anchorage Daily News. 11 May 2011.
    9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Löe, Jonny; Röskaft, Eivin (August 2004). "Large Carnivores and Human Safety: A Review" . Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment. 33 (6): 283–288. doi:10.1579/0044-7447-33.6.283. ISSN   0044-7447. PMID   15387060. S2CID   37886162.
    10. ↑ "Yellowstone Park kills grizzly bear that ate hiker". BBC News. 14 August 2015.
    11. ↑ Dovbysh, Alexei (22 July 2008). "Russian bears trap geology survey crew". Reuters. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
    12. ↑ Harding, Luke (23 July 2008). "Bears eat two men in Russia's eastern wilderness". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
    13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yamazaki, Teddy; Bwalya (1999). "Fatal lion attacks on local people in the Luangwa Valley, Eastern Zambia". South African Journal of Wildlife Research . 29 (1). hdl:10520/EJC117062 . Retrieved 2023-01-25– via Sabinet African Journals.
    14. ↑ Chianese, Robert Louis (2017). "Perspective: Suburban Stalkers: The Near-Wild Lions in Our Midst" . American Scientist. 105 (5): 278–281. doi:10.1511/2017.105.5.278. ISSN   0003-0996. JSTOR   26532601.
    15. ↑ Gehrt, Stanley D.; Muntz, Erich M.; Wilson, Evan C.; Power, Jason W. B.; Newsome, Seth D. (2022-11-29). "Severe environmental conditions create severe conflicts: A novel ecological pathway to extreme coyote attacks on humans". Journal of Applied Ecology. 60 (2): 1365–2664.14333. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.14333 . ISSN   0021-8901. S2CID   253872509.
    16. 1 2 3 Baker, Rex O.; Timm, Robert M. (2016). "Coyote Attacks on Humans, 1970–2015" (PDF). Proc. 27th Vertebr. Pest Conf. (R. M. Timm and R. A. Baldwin, Eds.). University of California, Davis. p. 69–77.
    17. 1 2 Linnell, John D.C.; Kovtun, Ekaterina; Rouart, Ive (2021). Wolf attacks on humans: an update for 2002–2020. NINA Report 1942. Trondheim: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). hdl:11250/2729772. ISBN   978-82-426-4721-4. OCLC   1250628872.
    18. 1 2 Hossain, Alamgir (2019-06-24). "Jackals kill & 'feed on' 9-year-old boy in Murshidabad". Telegraph India .
    19. ↑ Drake, Nadia (2018-05-10). "The Jaguar Is Made for the Age of Humans". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
    20. ↑ Neto, Manoel Francisco Campos; Neto, Domingos Garrone; Haddad, Vidal (2011). "Attacks by Jaguars (Panthera onca) on Humans in Central Brazil: Report of Three Cases, with Observation of a Death". Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. 22 (2): 130–135. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2011.01.007 . ISSN   1080-6032. PMID   21396857.
    21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Packer, Craig; Shivakumar, Shweta; Athreya, Vidya; Craft, Meggan E.; Dhanwatey, Harshawardhan; Dhanwatey, Poonam; Gurung, Bhim; Joshi, Anup; Kushnir, Hadas; Linnell, John D. C.; Fountain‐Jones, Nicholas M. (March 2019). Toit, Johan (ed.). "Species‐specific spatiotemporal patterns of leopard, lion and tiger attacks on humans". Journal of Applied Ecology. 56 (3): 585–593. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.13311 . hdl: 11250/2582594 . ISSN   0021-8901. S2CID   92514788.
    22. ↑ Carrington, Damian (2003-07-24). "Inquiry into fatal leopard seal attack begins". New Scientist .
    23. ↑ Wilder, James M.; Vongraven, Dag; Atwood, Todd; Hansen, Bob; Jessen, Amalie; Kochnev, Anatoly; York, Geoff; Vallender, Rachel; Hedman, Daryll; Gibbons, Melissa (2017). "Polar Bear Attacks on Humans: Implications of a Changing Climate". Wildlife Society Bulletin. 41 (3): 537–47. doi:10.1002/wsb.783.

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