Do lions usually eat people or or do they usually hunt them out of self defence?

Question

I thought lions lived far from people so rarely ate people. I always thought they were dangerous though except to people who take care of them like the zoo tamers.

Answer 1

they dont eat people at all. they're like all animals if people taunt them or make them upset the consequences could most likely be deadly.

Answer 2

Hunting is never for self defense. Lions do eat people, and recently a mountain lion ate a man in New Mexico.

I live in Virginia and mountain lions are here. I'm trying to catch one alive to prove it.

Answer 3

Lions still eat natives in Africa. Anything with meat on it is far game to a lion.  

Answer 4

They will attack if provoked, or if you are threatening their young, sick or wounded, to protect their territory.* In general they pose no real threat or danger to you otherwise.* They are not known to stalk you as their prey normally.*

Answer 5

Lions are dangerous animals but are not normally man-eaters.  Now and then Man becomes a meal of opportunity for the man-eater lion. This may be because the lion is old or crippled and Man makes easier prey for the lion than its normal food.  

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Answer 6

Rarely ate people?? LOL --- Lions eat meat and people are made of meat.....  Lions - self defense?? Lions arent afraid of anything....

Answer 7

Kenya(?) in colonial days had railroad project through bush area- about 50 workers killed and eaten by lions. Tosovo or something like that for area. hunters found old lions going for easy meat.

Answer 8

You would probably like to read "Death in the Long Grass" by Peter Hathaway Capstick.

Answer 9

Lions will most definitely eat you. In the US it would likely be a cougar which are misnamed as mountain lions although that name is accepted.

Mountain lions are making a very big comeback all over the US. There have been 3 cougars in Illinois( proven by their carcases) in the last 5-6 years. One was shot near Wrigley field in downtown Chicago and it was not a captive cougar. It was wild.

Cougars will attack especially if you run because that means you are a game animal to them. They generally will kill you by biting the throat or back of the neck and possibly tearing you open with the hind legs while doing so. They'll eat what they want and them cover you up with leave or such for a snack later. They will eat off of you for a number of days.

Wild animals are just that, wild. They view us a a different source of protein but still a source.

So, for those that think wild animals do not kill and that only humans make bad animals, you are mistaken.

Answer 10

They are wild animals and their instinctive thoughts are to eat meat and stay alive. If they were seriously hungry or threatened by you, they would eat you. They wouldn't kill you for no reason though. It is possible that they could want to play with you (but they were being a bit too rough and you died).

Answer 11

There are definitely man eating lions

They just usually eat people who live nearby

Zoo animals are dangerous because they are wild animals that have lost the fear of man and will attack and kill if something triggers there attack mode

The people that end up getting attacked are usually those that are silly enough to think that just because they aren't afraid they are tame or domesticated