Pumas, panthers terrified of humans

Humans fear predators like mountain lions, but what we often fail to realize is how much they may fear us. After all, humans hunted and extirpated the animal from most of the United States, while fatal puma attacks on humans are rare.
New research shows that the pumas—also known as panthers, cougars, mountain lions or catamounts—immediately flee large deer prey that they’ve killed, upon hearing humans. In a study to be published June 21 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists show that their response to the sound of human voices is immediate and lasting.

Pumas, panthers terrified of humans, study shows