Most predatory animals can kill and eat humans if they are very hungry. But animals that deliberately hunt bipedal prey are rare.
We present you the top 10 most famous cannibals in history.
10. Sharks from New Jersey
The number of victims - 4 dead, 1 wounded.
Currently, the white shark is considered one of the largest sharks in the world, and is one of the most dangerous predators on the planet. However, in 1916, people were not too afraid of shark attacks. But in vain. Subsequently, it was the attack of sharks from New Jersey that inspired Peter Benchley to write the book Jaws, which was used to create the cult film by Stephen Spielberg.
The first victim named Charles Vansant was attacked in shallow water. Shark's teeth tore Vansant's femoral artery and tore his leg to shreds. The man lost a lot of blood and died before he could be taken to the hospital.
Five days later, another man, Charles Bruder, was attacked by a shark, but away from the coast. Initially, witnesses reported that they saw a red inverted boat, in fact, it was soaked in the blood of Bruder.
The following attacks did not occur at sea, but in a river near the city of Matavan. Two boys and a man named Stanley Fisher became victims. Although one of the boys was seriously injured, he was the only surviving victim.
Soon, a white shark was caught, from the stomach of which the remains of a person were removed. After that, white sharks and earned their reputation as cannibals. However, scientists still do not know how many predators then hunted people, and what species they belonged to.
9. Brown Bear from Sankebetsu, Japan
He killed 7 people.
At dawn in mid-November 1915, a giant brown bear appeared in the Ikeda family home in the village of Sankebetsu, about 11 kilometers off the west coast of Hokkaido. He took the corn gathered by people and fled. In those days, Sankabetsu was recently inhabited and wildlife invasion was not uncommon.
When the bear reappeared, they shot him, but failed to kill the beast. The next morning, people followed in the footsteps of the bear, but a blizzard forced them to turn back. They believed that the injured predator would no longer raid a settlement.
However, in December 1915, the bear broke into the home of the Ota family. He killed the farmer's wife and child. And a group of 30 hunters who set off to hunt down the bear, only managed to injure him.
For a short time (between December 9 and 14), an enraged connecting rod besieged the villages of Sankebetsu and Rokusen-sawa, lifting up seven peasants, including a pregnant woman. They managed to kill him only with the help of an experienced hunter Yamamoto Heykichi, who suggested that it was a bear nicknamed Kesagake, who had previously killed people.
After killing the monster, it turned out that his height was three meters and his weight was 380 kilograms.
8. Wolves from Turku
Killed 22 children.
Now Finland is a calm and safe country. However, at the end of the 19th century, a trio of wolves raged on its territory, which in the period from 1880 to 1881 killed and ate 22 children near the city of Turku.
The average age of the victims of these wolves was 5.9 years. Their attacks caused such concern among local residents that the local and national governments called for help from Russian and Lithuanian hunters, as well as the army. Wolves killed their last victim on November 18, 1881. On January 12, 1882, an old she-wolf was shot dead, and twelve days later, an adult male was poisoned. The third wolf disappeared without a trace.
7. Bear from Mysore
The number of victims is 30 people.
Bears sometimes see humans as prey, but the vast majority of bear attacks of all kinds are not cannibalistic in nature.
One example of cannibal bears is the beast from Mysore, which terrorized people around Bangalore, India, in 1957. As a result, the bear killed a dozen people and mutilated twice as much, although it ate only a few of its victims. Local residents believed that he avenged people for his murdered cubs.
6. Leopard from Rudraprayag
Killed and ate at least 125 people.
Leopards are beautiful, fast and graceful predators. But can they be considered one of the most terrible killer animals in the world? It turns out that this spotted monster, who terrorized the Indian district of Rudraprayag from 1918 to 1926, proved that.
By the way, the leopard is one of the oldest predators on Earth. Leopard bite marks were found in fossils of hominid bones, which indicates that these wild cats fed on our ancestors, who lived more than three million years ago.
5. Cannibal Lions from Tsavo
According to various sources, 28 to 135 people were killed.
The first, but not the last time, lions appear in the ranking of the most terrible cannibals in history.
This pair of large and ruthless males put their paws to the deaths of many workers building a bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya in 1898.
Lions came at night, burst into tents to people and killed them. The attacks continued for most of the year, with all attempts to defend themselves with fire and fencing failing.
In the end, after dozens of deaths (the exact number of deaths is unknown), two lions were shot dead and their remains exhibited at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
4. Zhevodansky beast
The total number of attacks is from 88 to 250 according to various sources.
The mystical story of this cannibal beast, which many considered a werewolf, is one of the most famous in French folklore.
Beginning June 1, 1764, a creature that has not yet been fully identified, launched a terror campaign against the inhabitants of the small province of Zhevodan in southern France.
The nature of the Beast's attacks was terrifying. Several reports indicated that the victim’s head and neck were usually the most damaged parts of the body, suggesting that the Beast purposefully methylated into this area of the body. People began to wonder if this wolf was hunting for pleasure. After all, if there was livestock next to a person, the Beast preferred to attack precisely a person.
Many hunters tried to track down and kill the Zhevodan beast. A huge number of wolves were exterminated in the province, but the cannibal attacks continued until 1767, when local hotel owner Jean Chastelle and a group of more than 300 hunters finally tracked down the creature. Later, rumors spread that Schastel used a silver bullet to kill the Beast.
The killed animal had an excessively large head with large fangs and a very elongated muzzle, as well as very long paws. Interest was also caused by the presence of a thin membrane capable of covering the eyeball. According to some cryptozoologists, the Zhevodan beast could be a relict saber-toothed tiger or an endusarch - a huge predator considered extinct.
3. Champavat Tigress
Killed 436 people.
Tigers are one of the scariest animals in the world. They are fast, strong, aggressive and not afraid to engage in mortal combat with a person. But the scariest cannibal tiger in history is the Champavat tigress, which hunted people in the area between Nepal and the Himalayas. This happened at the end of the 19th century.
Her attacks were so frequent and fatal that people called this animal the devil, and even the punishment of God. Many hunters tried to kill the Champavat tigress, but she was too fast and cunning.
Finally, the government of Nepal decided to put an end to this problem once and for all by sending soldiers in search of the killer tiger. And even the army failed to cope with the striped monster. However, the tigress was forced to leave the habitat and moved to India, where she continued her bloody hunt.
She became so bold that she began to attack during the day and wander around the village.
But even this cannibal ultimately found control in the person of hunter Jim Corbett, who (ironically) became one of the founders of the first programs for the conservation of tigers in the wild.
2. Lions of Nyombe
The death toll is 1.5 thousand people.
In 1932, a whole flock of lions began to terrify the inhabitants of the Tanzanian city of Nyombe.
Local folklore claims that these lions were “pets” of the local shaman, who was removed from such a prestigious position, and he used predators as a weapon of revenge for his tribe.
Although the people begged to restore the shaman "at work", the tribal leader did not listen to anyone. And the lions continued to attack and kill people, and the number of killings exceeded 1,500.
By coincidence, the attack of cannibalistic lions ceased as soon as the shaman returned to his duties.
1. Crocodile Gustav from Burundi
Killed at least 300 people, the exact number of victims is unknown.
Why is this particular crocodile topping the list of the scariest killer animals in history? Because he, unlike all the other participants in this sad hit parade, is still alive. And it is not known how many more victims will be on his account.
This Nile crocodile is supposedly seven meters long and weighs about a ton. It is the largest Nile crocodile and the largest predator on the entire continent of Africa.
There is even the film Capturing the Killer Croc, which was inspired by the story of this cannibal.
Indigenous people say that Gustav does not kill for food, but for pleasure. He killed several people during each attack, and then disappeared for months or even years and appeared elsewhere.
Countless scars from custom-made knives, spears, and even bullets are visible on his skin. But all hunters (and even a group of armed soldiers) could not kill this monster.
Why are cannibals aimed at humans?
There is no comprehensive theory that encompasses everything from crocodiles to wolves and lions, since the cause of cannibalism in animals depends on the species and circumstances.
- It is possible that cannibalistic animals have injuries that make hunting for strong prey difficult or impossible. For example, a study of the corpse of the Champavat tigress showed that her fangs were broken, probably due to a shot. An animal with damaged teeth or broken claws can prey on humans so as not to starve to death.
However, this does not explain the behavior of other animals, such as the leopard from Rudraprayag, which was apparently perfectly healthy. In addition, a tooth injury will not stop the usual hunting of crocodiles, as their teeth fall out and grow throughout their lives.
- Another explanation may be the lack of normal production. In areas where humans are crowding out large herbivores, large cats may need to turn to a less preferred biped diet. There is also the possibility that during an armed conflict an excess of unburied corpses will change the menu of large predators, prompting them to see tidy prey in living people.
Whatever the cause of cannibalism in animals, it reminds us that humans never became the pinnacle of the global food chain in all contexts. For some creatures, we are just food.
