Had an occasion to draw my sidearm this week

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Thats why you should always take Lassie, with you Timmy.

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Do any animals "deliberately" hunt humans? I am not talking about animals that kill for protection?

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  by Leolupus
  
  
  
  
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  Most animals do not see humans as prey, and attack only in self-defence or defence of their young. There are occasional man-eaters in certain species, such as tigers, but these are generally old, injured or sick individuals that can no longer hunt their natural prey, and have learned that humans are easy to kill. In the case of sharks, attacks on humans are usually mistaken identity, with the shark thinking the person is a seal or sealion. Once they bite, they realise we are far too bony for their tastes and spit us out, but unfortunately the fragile human body can be badly damaged by this time.
  
  A couple of animals that do seem to consider humans prey are crocodiles and polar bears. Crocodiles hunt by lying in wait underwater, and striking at anything of reasonable size that comes to the water - that includes humans. They are not targetting us specifically, as in choosing to prey on us rather than something else, but if we come close to a hungry croc, it sees us as fair game. Polar bears have been known to deliberately stalk and kill humans.
  
  For the person who mentioned anacondas - there is no proven case of an anaconda ever killing a human. Whilst they are certainly strong enough to do so, snakes only constrict something they're going to eat, and even the largest snake cannot swallow a normally-sized adult human. In defence, they simply bite and release. Whilst there are cases of reticulated pythons killing and eating children and even small adults, this has never been verified in anacondas.
  
  For the person who mentioned wolves - there is no record of a healthy wolf ever attacking or killing a human. All reports of 'wolf attacks', when investigated, have proved to be attacks by feral dogs, wolf-dog hybrids, or rabid wolves. They will, however, eat dead humans - the sight of wolves feeding on the dead after battles may have led to the myth of them being man-killers.
  
  EDIT: Kozzm0, anacondas reach a maximum of 10 metres in length and 550lb in weight, and this is rare. That is not 'plenty big enough to eat people', at least not adult people of average size. The width of our shoulders makes it impossible for even the largest snakes to swallow us - their mouths can open very wide vertically, but not so wide horizontally. Very large anacondas do have the potential to eat children or small adults - as I already said, reticulated pythons (which can also reach 10 metres, and indeed tend to reach great length more often than anacondas, though they weigh less), have been known to eat children and even small adults. However, as you said yourself, evidence of anacondas eating people is anecdotal - there is no solid proof. I'm not saying that means it has never happened or never will happen, but at present we have no hard evidence of it happening. As for 'if they eat you, they hunted you before they ate you', that isn't necessarily so. Anacondas don't actively hunt - they lie in wait and ambush anything of reasonable size that happens along.
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Trigger Dr wrote:

N6ATF wrote:

sudden valley gunner wrote:

Gotta watch Black Bears I ran into one literally with my dirt bike years and years ago, scared it as it scared me we both took off in opposite directions.

But black bears are one of the only bears that will actively hunt humans. Probably not this time of year. Glad you are ok.

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I thought grizzlies do, blacks don't.

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No both wrong...Polar bears

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To catch a Polar Bear:
1. Cut a hole in the ice
2. Put a row of peas around the edge of the ice.
3. When the bear comes to take a pea, kick him in the icehole!

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Smart thinking.

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I had a similar occasion happen to me this last summer while I was hiking up in the hills. A buddy and I decided we'd head up the mountains to check out the town at night and got a little carried away with our night hike. We went out pretty far into into the hills and deeper sage out there. Along the path we heard this rustling... He stepped back, I drew and we both made our way slowly, backwards up the trail in the opposite direction from the noise. What I saw in the green eyes staring back at me from the bushes was enough to chill me to the bone. I'm pretty sure we hiked nearly a quarter mile backwards slowly with my pistol drawn. Hahah. Very unsettling...

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Got a bit of experience/knowledge of bear behavior (not a bear biologist myself but have worked with one...problem is everyone wants to be one, including me) so I'll throw in my two cents.

Anyways, the thing you have got to remember is that not all bears are the same. They are one of the most intelligent groups of species behind whales and apes. So, one bear might be a short-tempered bi--h and another might just be a sissy bi--h. But like I said, they're smart, so for the most part brown or black bears (or most bears that have had human contact) are going to be leary of you.

Are blackies more aggressive? Maybe, maybe not. Play dead? Depends on its behavior. Did you spook it when it was sleeping alongside the trail or did it pull you out of your tent at night? Can grizzlies climb trees? Yep. Can you outrun it downhill? lol...stupid question. It can outrun you, outswim you, and outclimb you. Studies have shown your best bet is bear mace believe it or not. Not surprising considering the same facts about humans. Even if you pump them full of 45, an attacker (human or furry) is still going to have enough time to try and rip your face off unless you hit them in the thinker. But mace to the primary sensory systems? What the f--k did this potential prey do...I want nothing of this!

**I still carry my gun though too. Twelve rounds for the bear and one last one for myself.**