Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?: The influence of predators and their role in rewilding

Predators hold a special place in our minds and cultures. They appear in fairy-tales, films (one series, about an alien super-predator, was called simply 'predator') and ancient cave paintings as far apart as France and Australia. This fascination with predators probably stems from the fact that for most of our evolutionary history we were considered tasty morsels - and still are in some places around the world. Although most of us now go about our daily lives free of the fear of being eaten, our ancestors simply couldn't afford to ignore predators. It may have been a fatal error. So humans were once one of the many species subject to predation, and the same influences predators have over prey today may once have been exerted on our ancestors.