MAN AS FOOD FOR ANIMALS " 



It is not likely that man ever formed an appreciable part of 

 the food of any of the predaceous vertebrates. Tigers, jaguars 

 and lions, and particularly wolves, when pressed by hunger 

 will kill and eat men; but even in prehistoric times the danger 

 from them probably was never very serious, and it is now al- 

 most a thing of the past. Each of these still capture an oc- 

 casional victim, most frequently the wolves in winter, while 

 the little mongoose sometimes nibbles off the ears of infants 

 left sleeping by their mothers in the fields. Portions of the 

 human body are occasionally bitten off by sharks, which are 

 not nearly such terrible creatures as they look, though a few 

 species and a few individuals of other species may be dangerous, 

 as was shown off the New Jersey coast a few years ago. Large 

 caymans, gavials and crocodiles pick up a few victims each 

 year, but they are not regularly man eaters. The small can- 

 nibal fishes of the South American rivers are much more to be 

 dreaded then these large reptiles, while in the sea the bar- 

 racoudas are at least as dangerous as the sharks. But probably 

 more men are killed by poisonous snakes in self defense each 

 year than are killed for food by all the other vertebrates com- 

 bined. 



While the relatively large size of man renders him immune 

 from the attacks of all but a few predaceous creatures, that 

 very feature serves especially to recommend him to all such 

 animals as are able to adapt themselves to live upon or in him. 

 Four groups of insects include species which habitually and 

 sometimes exclusively feed on man, the flies, fleas, bugs and 

 lice, while other t^^Des as tree-hoppers, occasionally bite, and 

 some ferocious ants will feed on human flesh as readily as on 

 any other kind. 



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