Animals evoking fear in the Cradle of Humankind: snakes, scorpions, and large carnivores

A study reveals that snakes, scorpions, the centipede, and large carnivores like cheetahs and hyenas are perceived as the most frightening animals by Somali respondents living in the Cradle of Humankind. This finding challenges Western-centric narratives about animal fears, particularly regarding spiders, which ranked lower than scorpions—a pattern that aligns with evolutionary hypotheses suggesting fear responses may have shifted from other chelicerates. The research used standardized images of 42 local species and surveyed 236 participants to rank their fear responses, providing empirical data on animal phobias in a region critical to human evolution.

Frynta, D., Elmi, H. S. A., Rexová, K., Janovcová, M., Rudolfová, V., Štolhoferová, I., Král, D., Sommer, D., Berti, D. A., & Frýdlová, P. (2023). Animals evoking fear in the Cradle of Humankind: snakes, scorpions, and large carnivores. The Science of Nature, 110(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-023-01859-4