Do Any Animal Species Actively Hunt Humans As Prey?

Lions

Lions are extremely accomplished predators, can weigh between 150 to 250 kilograms (330 to 550 pounds), and measure around 1 to 1.2 meters (3.5 to 4 feet) tall at the shoulder. Couple this with excellent eyesight, hearing, and muscle power, and it’s not surprising that few live to tell the tale of a lion attack. 

There is also evidence and reports to suggest that lions can and do actively hunt humans. In 2015, a woman in South Africa was mauled to death through a car window during a safari. In Tanzania, around 50 people are killed by lions each year, most commonly younger men walking home after a night out. Between 1990 and 2004, the country reported 563 deaths, though it is worth mentioning that Tanzania has the highest population of lions in Africa.

“Southern Tanzania seems to be a bit of a hotspot for man-eating lions,” explained Dr Amy Dickman, a conservation biologist who set up the Ruaha Carnivore Project in Tanzania, to the BBC. “These attacks tap into the most primal part of ourselves, this fear of being snatched suddenly by a large carnivore, and unfortunately it does still happen out in the bush.”

Polar bears

Polar bear attacks on humans are extremely rare, but unfortunately, not unheard of. In 2023, a woman and her son were killed in an Alaskan village by a polar bear, while in 2024, a worker was killed on Brevoort Island in northern Canada by two polar bears. 

A 2017 study found that between 1870 and 2014, there were 73 polar bear attacks that resulted in 20 deaths and 63 injuries across Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States, 20 percent of them having occurred between 2010 and 2014. In terms of reasons behind the attacks, the report states that “nutritionally stressed adult male polar bears were the most likely to pose threats to human safety”. Actively hunting humans as prey is a rare but gruesome alternative when food is scarce.

Given the threats to polar bear populations and habitat, polar bears are coming into contact with more people than before, prompting organizations such as Polar Bears International to develop new safety measures to keep both bears and humans safe.

Crocodiles

There are 26 recognized crocodilian species, of which only eight have been known to prey on people. There is no accurate count of how many attacks on humans occur each year, although it is likely that many more are carried out than are reported, as many of these reptiles have a range that extends into remote areas where reporting is less likely.

While lions and polar bears could be seen as actively hunting people, crocodile reports seem to strongly suggest a case of an opportunistic hunter taking advantage of a person in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Saltwater and Nile crocodiles seem to hit the news the most for attacking humans. Osama the crocodile was reported to have eaten at least 83 people in Uganda in the area around Lake Victoria. Measuring around 5 meters (1.6 feet) long, there are even accounts of Osama actively flipping boats to eat the people within. 

Eventually, Osama was captured but not killed; instead, it is reported that he was given to a captive breeding program to see if he would father offspring of a similarly enormous size.

There are, of course, a host of other animals that kill humans each year. Some surely are actively hunting people, at least in the moment, while others are merely defending themselves or their offspring. For all the people killed by animals per year, we also have to remember that humans kill far more.