SCIENCE LAB SCAMPER : DAMN WOLVES [ 2 ]

MACIEJ Szewczyk, a biologist at the University of Gdansk in Poland, and his colleagues mounted  motion-activated camera-speaker systems in the trees.

Once triggered, cameras began recording, and after a short delay, the animals heard one of three playbacks.

Voices of men and women speaking calmly in Polish were the experimental treatment. Dogs barking and benign bird calls were the controls. The researchers documented in video clips whether the animals ran, and how quickly they fled.

The videos showed that wolves were fearful of the human voice. They were more than twice as likely to run, and abandones the site twice as fast, as they did when hearing dog or bird sounds.

In other words, the animals are not fearless, but rather fear the biggest, baddest predator of all : us.

Wolves, Dr. Zanette added, '' retain their fear of humans, even in places where they are legally protected.''

Chris Darimont, an ecologist in British Columbia who was not involved in the study, said it '' marches us closer to realizing unequivocally that humans are the top dog.''

The World Students Society thanks Lesley Evans Ogden.