The Puma, also known as mountain lion, is one of are the largest cats in the world. And just like other felines, pumas they are known for being deadly. But when it comes to humans, they could be "fraidy cats." Recent findings show that pumas they don't like encountering humans. The study exposed pumas to the sound of human voices in places where humans are commonplace. The pumas ran away after hearing the voices. These results showed that pumas were definitely afraid of humans. Pumas fled when they heard human voices in 83% of the 29 cases that involved 17 pumas. The experiment also changed the pumas' feeding behavior, resulting in higher kill rates and lower feeding times in more human-populated areas. In fact, pumas took longer to return to their kills after hearing people. This can impact not only their well-being, but also prey population in more urban areas. This study is the first to show that human disturbance beyond hunting might be altering the ecological role of large carnivores.
