Starting from school, we are told about the exclusivity of man, calling him the "crown of creation." In some ways this is indeed so, but in some animals people do not cause absolutely any awe.
In particular, there are some dangerous animals, attacks on people from which are often found. In such cases, opinions are divided: someone speaks of “monsters thirsting for human flesh, ” while someone recalls that a person himself often provokes an aggressive attitude towards himself.
So who is right? Let's get it right. We will decide that we will consider "acts of aggression" only from the side of mammals (and sharks), since the same poisonous jellyfish can not be consciously unfriendly towards people.
So what kind of animals are these? Attacks on humans often occur from lions, tigers, sharks, buffalos, rhinos, elephants … In short, the list goes on and on. In our forests, you risk getting into the diet of a bear, wolf or lynx.
As for the bears, in the summer they attack only when the person himself provokes them. The classic case is an animal wounded on a hunt, which will consciously take revenge on a person. The situation is similar with the trot, but the “terrible gray wolves” are most often simply afraid of people.
But in winter, everything is somewhat different. As for the same bears, they are sleeping at this time of the year. The “clubfoot bear” that came out of the den in winter is a terrible beast that will attack any living creature from hunger. A wolf pack and a lynx may be guided by hunger, but these animals, whose attack on people is extremely rare, often avoid a person.
The fauna of hot countries is another matter. Experienced travelers say that with elephants should be extremely careful. Of course, domesticated representatives of the species in 99% of cases are completely harmless, but among their wild relatives there are often individuals wounded by poachers. Such animals, attacking people who in ordinary cases do not commit, can be a real disaster.
Thus, Indian elephants wounded by humans sometimes devastated entire villages, simply trampling the entire population under cover of night. There are similar stories with Indian tigers. For example, the construction of entire railway lines was sometimes delayed due to the fact that cannibal tigers terrorized the workers.
What is the reason for the attack of wild animals on people in this case? Unlike hungry bears, wounded elephants and other victims of hunters, striped predators become cannibals due to … old age!
The fact is that it is very difficult for an old tiger to catch a large beast, and virtually absent fangs and blunt claws somehow do not contribute to a successful hunt. Man is a different matter. He is careless, cannot run fast, is prone to panic. In a word, it is an ideal target for attack.
So what is the reason for the attack of animals on people: are they guided by some kind of aggression towards humans or by simple hunger? Surely hard to say. Despite the “horror stories” spread by the media about such cases, fewer people die from wild animals than in road accidents.
Each such case is unique. Most often, attacks are made by wounded animals, as well as animals who are "lucky" to get acquainted with a hunting trap. Exceptions are only cannibal tigers and connecting rod bears, for which a person is walking breakfast or lunch.
