Talk:Man-eater

This entire article reads like it was written by lawyers defending maneating animals in court.

Jarwulf (talk) 07:32, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

It surprises me that bears are neglected. All bears except the panda have the means with which to kill people, and they are unfussy eaters.

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Basic Question

I can't figure out if man-eater is supposed to refer to a species or an individual. I have a feeling the article is also confused about this.--24.85.68.231 (talk) 04:52, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

The article's wording seems to claim that it is ``species`` that eat humans, rather than individual animals. Jim Corbett would say otherwise - at least in the case of jungle cats, man-eaters only become such when they've no other option. Bondjimbond (talk) 13:58, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

It's clear that many species of animal have no chance to kill and eat people either because they either are non-predators (example: the horse) or because they would do so if they had the size (snapping turtle) but lack such size and would never make the man-eater list. Except perhaps for some crocodiles and snakes, no species of large predator is an indiscriminate killer of humans. For species capable of killing and eating humans the range of likelihood is from highly likely (probably the Nile and saltwater crocodiles) to extremely unlikely (the domestic dog). But even at that, even with practically no tendency to see humans as prey, the domestic dog can be as deadly as a cat of like size. Even without any desire or opportunity for a dog to eat someone who invades its territory or attacks some human, dog, or cat for which it has affection. The distinction between a predatory animal that can kill people but not eat them and one that actively seeks humans as prey may be a quibble.

If it is "species", even the domestic dog qualifies for its abilities and its broad range of prey that includes animals larger than humans . If it is "individual", then the danger that a dog poses as a potential man-eater is practically nil. Pbrower2a (talk) 19:19, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

African Army Ant?

Wasn't that just in the movies? And what about "species of bony fish"? 80.123.210.172 (talk) 18:20, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

Document the predatory attack if you wish inclusion, as I did with the Ayers Rock dingo. What you see in movies is hardly proof of reality.

I could suggest dogs because they (1) can kill people and have done so, and (2) as unfussy eaters, dogs would surely eat human flesh in an extreme case. Thus if a dog's owner died of natural causes and the corpse of the deceased owner were not removed and neither were the dog, one can imagine the once-loyal pet devouring the corpse once the dog could no longer expect to be fed, then such would hardly qualify as man-eating. A domestic cat, an animal that could not kill a person through a predatory attack, would do much the same. Such is scavenging and not predation.

But one would need to prove that the dog killed a person as prey and ate that person's flesh in whole or part. Such are the elements of man-eating.

I can think of animals that have the capacity to kill and eat people yet apparently don't:

Giant Pacific octopus

Giant otter

Orca

many true whales

Elephant seal

Giant bass

Snow leopard

some sea turtles

Show that these hunt and kill humans for food and you get to add them to the list of man-eaters. That also applies to dogs.

Make no mistake: the domestic dog is one of the most powerful predators, and it had better be a friend, or at least indifferent. As an enemy or enemies a large dog or dogs in a pack can be as dangerous as a big cat -- witness Diane Whipple, killed by Presa canario/mastiff mixed-breed dogs. Paul from Michigan (talk) 04:19, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Man Himself

There are many well documented cases of individuals (Geoffrey Dahmer, Ed Gein, etc.) who have killed and eaten other humans. Not to mention places in New Guinea and elsewhere where cannibalism was practiced into the 19th century and possibly into the 20th century. --Weetoddid (talk) 07:03, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Wolves do eat people

Sources;

Child-lifting wolves in Hazaribagh India

Historical data on the presence of the wolf and cases of maneating in central Padania

The Danger of Wolves to Humans

Hunter hunted, Gray wolf p.69

Dogs -- under extreme circumstances

Dogs have, in view of their ability to overpower people and their unfussy appetites for meat, the capacity to kill and eat people. Examples are to be found in Nazi concentration camps, in which guards partially starved dogs before setting them loose upon helpless prisoners then killed by the dogs and at least partially eaten by the dogs. At least one Nazi concentration camp guard, Irma Grese, was shown to have set dogs against live prisoners among other crimes against humanity.

Rumors have it that Uday Hussein, son of the dictator Saddam Hussein, arranged for the secret police of Iraq to arrest a young woman who spurned his advances. The unfortunate woman was subjected to attack by half-starved dogs who killed and partially consumed her body.

Such are extreme circumstances more the culpability of humans of unusual cruelty than of dogs themselves.

Dogs ordinarily have some respect for humans, but after extreme abuse (well-fed dogs, like other predators of similar ability, power, and size are as deadly as those of similar size if provoked) even they could attack humans as food. Feral dogs who often live on the brink of starvation and have no respect for humans, easily fit the criteria that make a big cat, hyena, bear, or alligator a potential man-eater. Pbrower2a (talk) 20:06, 12 December 2010 (UTC)

Hippopotamus

I saw a special on National Geographic (I think) about hippopotamuses and their relation to humans in areas of Africa, and it was mentioned that recently they discovered that hippopotamuses will sometimes, though very rarely, eat an animal they kill, including humans. It even had eyewitness accounts from some scientist talking about how he watched a hippo eat his friend after it attacked their boat. I can't seem to find it via google though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.106.235.18 (talk) 17:45, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Hippos don't humans, unlike the other animals mentioned here. They're purely territorial.--99.101.160.159 (talk) 18:56, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

Shark Attack

why is the hammerhead not mentioned? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.101.160.159 (talk) 18:57, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

Document a predatory attack by even one hammerhead shark upon people, as I did with the dingo of Ayers Rock, and you can at the least refer to it in the main text. This is not an article on 'potential' (for that even dogs would suffice), 'rumored', or 'reputed' man-eaters. Pbrower2a (talk) 06:10, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

Piranha

Shouldn't Paranha(s) be listed? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.97.39.161 (talk) 01:25, 26 January 2012 (UTC)