6 - History of a conflict

Summary

Much as I may like carnivores myself, in previous chapters I had to emphasize the fact that people today may still be personally threatened by predators, and that we also lose to them when we rear livestock or chase game. Fortunately, at present, the general public (at least those of us living in rather urban, western society) are generally rather tolerant about these threats, losses and dangers, despite the problems that they are causing for sections of our populations. People in the West, and in most other countries of the world, are generally fascinated by wild carnivores, and most countries have now enacted legislation aimed at keeping many of these high-profile animals around. But that we and our livestock are often targeted by these same predators is not in doubt.

One obvious question is whether our predicament as a prey species is a hangover from our very early prehistory, or whether it is a more recent development. How did the conflict with carnivores evolve, did new predators arrive after us or did we and our predators evolve simultaneously, or did our species emerge in a world already full of enemies? Insights into the prehistory and evolution of our species in the face of pressures from the carnivores would prove useful. Not surprisingly however, actual evidence of past interaction between them and us is scarce and hard to come by.