Wild Animal Encounters Aren’t Confined To The Wilds Anymore

Wildlife attacks on humans appear to be on the increase.

Twenty years ago, people felt lucky just glimpsing a mountain lion in the wild. Attacks or even close encounters were rare.

Exact numbers are hard to come by, yet the numbers that are available and the anecdotal news accounts indicate wildlife attacks are on the rise.

In the late 1980s, lion sightings and problems became increasingly common. In Montana, for instance, cougars were seen under boat docks or passing through rural yards midday. They were met on urban walk-paths, and pets were mauled or killed. In 1989, a 4-year-old boy was fatally attacked while playing in his back yard.

Between 1989 and 1995, state officials recorded 122 direct human mountain-lion conflicts, plus 123 incidents connected to lions preying on livestock. The state responded with an aggressive program that boosted lion-hunting quotas and control policies. Problem animals or those that lingered near residential areas were destroyed. By 1995, the number of conflicts was cut in half, although potential for trouble still exists.

Cougar attacks have troubled other Western regions, including British Columbia and California.

Alligators have also made news. These potentially large and snappish reptiles are abundant within their range and incidents with humans are common, though seldom fatal. More dramatic and frightening than usual, though, was an attack last June when a 7-year-old boy fell from his bike into a canal in Everglades National Park, and was immediately pounced on by a large gator.

The boy’s parents jumped into the water and were able to wrestle the child from the reptile’s jaws. The boy was hospitalized for puncture wounds to his shoulder and chest.

Attacks by species not normally associated with violence toward humans have also been reported. For instance, bison in Yellowstone Park have caused more human injuries than all other species combined, including bears.

In the last 15 years, more than 56 people have been injured and two killed by these seemingly placid beasts. Adult bison stand 5-1/2 feet at the shoulder and weigh between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds.

When provoked - and nearly all attacks result from provocation, often when someone approaches too close in hopes of getting a good photo - bison can charge in a surprisingly fast burst of about 20 mph. People have been butted, thrown into the air, gored and trampled.

Many wildlife experts agree on the reasons wild-animal attacks are seemingly on the rise. One is provocation. The other seems to be the astounding rate at which humans are encroaching on wildlife habitat.

Summer homes, subdivisions, heavily trafficked parks, diverse and intense outdoor recreation - these all put people and wild animals into increased, and increasingly tense, contact.

Such contact can cause animals to lose their innate fear of humans. These desensitized animals - including many national park and campground bears - are widely considered the most dangerous animals of all.