{"title":"城市里的红狐会攻击人吗?英国事件的探索性研究与回顾","authors":"Bethany Bridge, S. Harris","doi":"10.26077/D6F5-F6F3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Human–wildlife interactions are believed to be increasing worldwide, and a number of studies have analyzed the risks posed by larger carnivores. However, people can also perceive smaller species of carnivores as threatening, particularly in urban areas. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) started to colonize British cities in the 1930s, and there is growing public concern about foxes biting people, particularly babies. These events are generally described in the press as attacks and generate intense media coverage and speculation that foxes view human infants as potential prey. Because foxes rely primarily on auditory cues for hunting, we conducted acoustic playback experiments in the gardens of 15 residential houses in northwest Bristol, United Kingdom, in December 2015 and 11 gardens from May to June 2016 to determine whether urban foxes were attracted to infant distress calls (cries). Foxes were not more likely to be attracted to infant cries or laughs than silence, although a minority of foxes cautiously approached and contacted the source of both types of infant vocalization. Their behavior appeared to be investigative rather than aggressive or predatory. Our review of the incidents reported in the British media showed that most people were bitten or scratched while sleeping, and adults were more likely to be bitten than children. The nature of the interactions and the wounds inflicted suggest that the foxes were using their mouth or forefeet to investigate an unusual object. Most incidents occurred inside people’s homes, even though it is unusual for foxes to enter houses. The data suggested that incidents where people were bitten were chance events, possibly involving a particularly bold fox. To minimize the risk to the public, more quantitative data are required on the age, social status, and health of the foxes that enter houses and those that bite people.","PeriodicalId":13095,"journal":{"name":"Human–Wildlife Interactions","volume":"8 1","pages":"6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"3","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Do Urban Red Foxes Attack People? An Exploratory Study and Review of Incidents in Britain\",\"authors\":\"Bethany Bridge, S. Harris\",\"doi\":\"10.26077/D6F5-F6F3\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"Human–wildlife interactions are believed to be increasing worldwide, and a number of studies have analyzed the risks posed by larger carnivores. However, people can also perceive smaller species of carnivores as threatening, particularly in urban areas. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) started to colonize British cities in the 1930s, and there is growing public concern about foxes biting people, particularly babies. These events are generally described in the press as attacks and generate intense media coverage and speculation that foxes view human infants as potential prey. Because foxes rely primarily on auditory cues for hunting, we conducted acoustic playback experiments in the gardens of 15 residential houses in northwest Bristol, United Kingdom, in December 2015 and 11 gardens from May to June 2016 to determine whether urban foxes were attracted to infant distress calls (cries). Foxes were not more likely to be attracted to infant cries or laughs than silence, although a minority of foxes cautiously approached and contacted the source of both types of infant vocalization. Their behavior appeared to be investigative rather than aggressive or predatory. Our review of the incidents reported in the British media showed that most people were bitten or scratched while sleeping, and adults were more likely to be bitten than children. The nature of the interactions and the wounds inflicted suggest that the foxes were using their mouth or forefeet to investigate an unusual object. Most incidents occurred inside people’s homes, even though it is unusual for foxes to enter houses. The data suggested that incidents where people were bitten were chance events, possibly involving a particularly bold fox. To minimize the risk to the public, more quantitative data are required on the age, social status, and health of the foxes that enter houses and those that bite people.\",\"PeriodicalId\":13095,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Human–Wildlife Interactions\",\"volume\":\"8 1\",\"pages\":\"6\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.9000,\"publicationDate\":\"2020-01-01\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"3\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Human–Wildlife Interactions\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"93\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.26077/D6F5-F6F3\",\"RegionNum\":4,\"RegionCategory\":\"环境科学与生态学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q4\",\"JCRName\":\"BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Human–Wildlife Interactions","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.26077/D6F5-F6F3","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
Do Urban Red Foxes Attack People? An Exploratory Study and Review of Incidents in Britain
Human–wildlife interactions are believed to be increasing worldwide, and a number of studies have analyzed the risks posed by larger carnivores. However, people can also perceive smaller species of carnivores as threatening, particularly in urban areas. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) started to colonize British cities in the 1930s, and there is growing public concern about foxes biting people, particularly babies. These events are generally described in the press as attacks and generate intense media coverage and speculation that foxes view human infants as potential prey. Because foxes rely primarily on auditory cues for hunting, we conducted acoustic playback experiments in the gardens of 15 residential houses in northwest Bristol, United Kingdom, in December 2015 and 11 gardens from May to June 2016 to determine whether urban foxes were attracted to infant distress calls (cries). Foxes were not more likely to be attracted to infant cries or laughs than silence, although a minority of foxes cautiously approached and contacted the source of both types of infant vocalization. Their behavior appeared to be investigative rather than aggressive or predatory. Our review of the incidents reported in the British media showed that most people were bitten or scratched while sleeping, and adults were more likely to be bitten than children. The nature of the interactions and the wounds inflicted suggest that the foxes were using their mouth or forefeet to investigate an unusual object. Most incidents occurred inside people’s homes, even though it is unusual for foxes to enter houses. The data suggested that incidents where people were bitten were chance events, possibly involving a particularly bold fox. To minimize the risk to the public, more quantitative data are required on the age, social status, and health of the foxes that enter houses and those that bite people.
期刊介绍:
Human–Wildlife Interactions (HWI) serves the professional needs of the wildlife biologist and manager in the arena of human–wildlife conflicts/interactions, wildlife damage management, and contemporary wildlife management. The intent of HWI is to publish original contributions on all aspects of contemporary wildlife management and human–wildlife interactions with an emphasis on scientific research and management case studies that identify and report innovative conservation strategies, technologies, tools, and partnerships that can enhance human–wildlife interactions by mitigating human–wildlife conflicts through direct and indirect management of wildlife and increased stakeholder engagement. Our intent is to promote a dialogue among wildlife professionals concerning contemporary management issues. As such, we hope to provide a repository for wildlife management science and case studies that document and share manager experiences and lessons learned.