Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumThe Disturbing Sound of a Human Voice
By Ed Yong
In the summer of 2017, the mountain lions, bobcats, and other residents of the Santa Cruz Mountains were treated to the dulcet tones of the ecologist Justin Suraci and his friends, reading poetry. Some of the animals became jittery. Others stopped eating. A few fled in fear.
Suraci, whos based at the University of California at Santa Cruz, wasnt there to see their reactions. He and his colleagues had strung up a set of speakers that would regularly play recordings of human speech in an area where people seldom venture. And they found that, the quality of the poetry aside, even the gentlest of human speech can make wild animalseven top predatorsunnerved and watchful, in ways that shake entire food webs. Its the clearest demonstration yet that we are among the scariest of animalsa super-predator that terrifies even the carnivores that themselves incite terror.
...
His team has shown that they certainly do. In an English forest, the researchers played the sounds of various carnivores to local badgers. The badgers ignored the sounds of wolves entirely and were mildly concerned by the growls of wolves and bears. But they were profoundly disturbed by human speech, even the genteel tones of some BBC documentaries and a reading of The Wind in the Willows.
Next, the team wanted to see whether a larger carnivore would behave similarly. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, they placed speakers at sites where mountain lions had killed large prey and were regularly returning to feed. When the cats approached, the team played either talking humans or croaking frogs. The frogs didnt faze them. The human voicesincluding those of Rachel Maddow and Rush Limbaughmade them flee more than 80 percent of the time. We thought it would be funny to play political commentators, says Suraci. But when we had to score the videos, and listen to Rush Limbaugh all the time, it wasnt very enjoyable.
...https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/humans-predators-mountain-lions-landscape-of-fear/594187/?lctg=65a5cf6750d57dd73f085735
lastlib
(24,964 posts)I had to plug my ears at the very sound! If I couldn't shut it off, I had to flee the space.
Jim__
(14,489 posts)2naSalit
(93,132 posts)To talk while hiking so the bears can hear you and leave the area. Bells are not advised. Human sounds do it, along with some pepper spray just in case.
markodochartaigh
(2,221 posts)In areas with both black and grizzly bears one should know the difference in their poop. Black bear poop has bits of squirrel fur and berries in it. Grizzly bear poop has little bells in it and smells like pepper spray.
Elessar Zappa
(16,044 posts)Good one!
Elessar Zappa
(16,044 posts)We had a ton of cougars and black bears so Id just talk loudly as I ran.
efhmc
(15,024 posts)That what many campers do.
Harker
(15,135 posts)Dem2theMax
(10,366 posts)Humans disturb me as well.
I would much rather spend my time with animals.
Especially dogs.
nuxvomica
(12,941 posts)I have set up owl and hawk decoys, foil pinwheels, and foil streamers on the side of my house to keep away a little downy woodpecker that has been attacking my siding since last summer but none of this stuff works. Maybe I should just put a wireless speaker out there and talk when I hear him pecking.
JoseBalow
(5,519 posts)I'd be curious to see that comparison.
I couldn't get past the paywall
Lulu KC
(4,730 posts)Speaks volumes!