<story><title>Wolves make roadways safer</title><url>https://www.pnas.org/content/118/22/e2023251118</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>geenew</author><text>The same is true for humans, though - the presence of wolves adds to human fear of the wilderness.&lt;p&gt;I only read the abstract but I wonder if this was accounted for in the article. Sure, it’s plausible that wolves lead to fewer deer-vehicle collisions, and that is a economic benefit. But what is the cost of decreasing humans’ willingness to enter the woods?</text></item><item><author>dr_dshiv</author><text>Really cool article. They show that Wolves create a “landscape of fear” which reduces deer engagement with roads. So wolves do what hunters can’t; not just reducing populations but also changing behavior. Kind of creepy, if you are a deer!</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>brainfish</author><text>I live about 20 miles from ground zero of the original Yellowstone wolf reintroduction. I am an avid outdoorsperson and have never had an on-foot encounter with a wolf. They are exceedingly shy around humans; in the 25 years since the reintroduction there hasn&amp;#x27;t been a single attack on a human in Yellowstone despite both humans and wolves being literally everywhere in the area.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m not saying no one is afraid of going outdoors because of the wolves, but that fear would be completely irrational. Your chances of twisting your ankle badly enough that you get caught out and die of exposure are many orders of magnitude greater.&lt;p&gt;Edit to add: as an additional anecdote, we get a ton of tourists coming here to head outdoors because of their interest in the wolves and hopes of seeing one.</text></comment>
<story><title>Wolves make roadways safer</title><url>https://www.pnas.org/content/118/22/e2023251118</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>geenew</author><text>The same is true for humans, though - the presence of wolves adds to human fear of the wilderness.&lt;p&gt;I only read the abstract but I wonder if this was accounted for in the article. Sure, it’s plausible that wolves lead to fewer deer-vehicle collisions, and that is a economic benefit. But what is the cost of decreasing humans’ willingness to enter the woods?</text></item><item><author>dr_dshiv</author><text>Really cool article. They show that Wolves create a “landscape of fear” which reduces deer engagement with roads. So wolves do what hunters can’t; not just reducing populations but also changing behavior. Kind of creepy, if you are a deer!</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>runarberg</author><text>Is there any evidence that there is a sustained decrease in human outdoor activities in areas where wolves have been reintroduced? I kind of doubt it.&lt;p&gt;Wolves are really shy around humans so I don’t think there is any real threat to humans or our pets (as long as we keep our pets close to us). There is only the perception of threat but humans tend to adopt, and I don’t think this perception would last longer then a year or two and soon enough outdoor activities would resume to previous levels.</text></comment>