Data from: Fear of the human ‘super predator’ reduces feeding time in large carnivores

Large carnivores' fear of the human ‘super predator’ has the
potential to alter their feeding behaviour and result in human-induced
trophic cascades. However, it has yet to be experimentally tested if large
carnivores perceive humans as predators and react strongly enough to have
cascading effects on their prey. We conducted a predator playback
experiment exposing pumas to predator (human) and non-predator control
(frog) sounds at puma feeding sites to measure immediate fear responses to
humans and the subsequent impacts on feeding. We found that pumas fled
more frequently, took longer to return, and reduced their overall feeding
time by more than half in response to hearing the human ‘super predator’.
Combined with our previous work showing higher kill rates of deer in more
urbanized landscapes, this study reveals that fear is the mechanism
driving an ecological cascade from humans to increased puma predation on
deer. By demonstrating that the fear of humans can cause a strong
reduction in feeding by pumas, our results support that non-consumptive
forms of human disturbance may alter the ecological role of large
carnivores.