The Deadly Balance

From army ants to leopards, crocodiles to sharks, leopard seals, ‘killer whales’, lions, eagles and wolves, there seems to be no shortage of species ready and able to eat us. But what do species really think of us as food and how often are we on the menu?

In The Deadly Balance, Adam Hart explores the idea of humans as prey, weaving together material from a surprising variety of sources. Whether it is Jonah and the whale, tales of piranhas, or accounts of the famous man-eating tigers of India (in fact, better described as women-eating based on the data), there is a wealth of historical, cultural, ecological and biological connections linking us with our potential predators. Digging deeper into the archaeological record reveals that predation had a huge influence on our evolution and helped shape us into the animals we are today.

We carry the legacy of being a prey animal in our genes. The psychology of being hunted, especially of being a fugitive in the modern world, is so great it has spawned an ecosystem of TV series and real-world ‘hunted’ experiences. However, for many people living in the developing world, being hunted is not a game but an everyday reality. In India, leopards and tigers are increasingly implicated in the deaths (and subsequent consumption) of people. In rural Africa, being hunted and eaten by a leopard, a lion, a crocodile, or even a large python is a daily concern for many. Adam looks for the truth behind the headlines to find out how common being eaten really is, and he explores what it is about the ecology of these ‘human-eating’ animals that puts us on the menu. Answering the question when an animal becomes a human-eater is far from straightforward; in many cases, it is our influence on the natural world that may be creating the problem.

All in all, in the world of human consumption, there are a great many myths and legends to unpick. There is a deep-seated cultural fear of being eaten and a host of stories and half-truths. Adam unpicks the evidence to find out whether ants can really eat us, whether you could really survive being eaten by a whale and more besides. From peckish pythons to ravenous rats, there is no shortage of myth and science to explore when we're on the menu.