The biggest misconception about ‘dangerous’ animals

When I was a kid, I was really scared of big animals like lions, tigers, elephants, … I like going to the zoo to look at those animals but once they came closer I got scared and did a few steps back. Even though they were behind a glass. But now I realize that a lot of those "dangerous" animals are actually not always trying to harm us. Most of the time they are more scared/intimidated by us than we are by them.

Sharks for example have a scary reputation because we see a lot of movies sometimes of sharks like Jaws and we see that shark attacks are scary but the truth is that shark attacks are really uncommon. There are a lot more common, more dangerous things than a shark attack but still so many people are scared of that. Even though so many people are scared of them, they play a big role in our ecosystem by controlling the fish populations. Without them the balance of ocean life would be in danger.

Snakes are another animal people fear. Most people think that almost every snake is deadly but in fact they will avoid humans most of the time. Only a small percentage of snakes are venomous and even fewer will bite humans. Snakes help control the population of rodents and pests.

Wolves are also misunderstood. Movies show them as vicious predators but actually they are shy and only attack humans when needed. In Belgium we got a few wolves and they don't hunt on people but people hunt on them even though it is illegal. But they are important for maintaining a healthy forest.

I think that learning how to handle those animals in real life is really important not for your own safety but also for theirs. It makes me realize that we often judge animals because of what we see in movies or myths. Most of the time I think humans are dangerous animals. We lock those animals up or we kill them sometimes for no reason at all. So in conclusion we need to be careful of those dangerous animals but we first need basic knowledge of these animals to act appropriately.

Written by: Yannick De Ryck

National Geographic. (2023). Sharks. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/sharks

Museums Victoria. (n.d.). 8 myths about snakes. https://museumsvictoria.com.au/article/8-myths-about-snakes/

European Commission. (n.d.). Facts and common misconceptions about large carnivores. https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-biodiversity/habitats-directive/large-carnivores/eu-large-carnivore-platform/facts-and-common-misconceptions_en