Tooth breakage and dental disease as causes of carnivore-human conflicts

This study examined the long-standing hypothesis that dental injury drives big cats to hunt humans and livestock, using the Tsavo and Mfuwe man-eating lion specimens. The authors documented severe tooth and jaw pathology, including a broken canine with exposed pulp cavity in one Tsavo lion, that would have impaired the ability to subdue large, struggling wild prey. They argued such injuries can predispose individuals to target slower, softer, less dangerous prey such as people. The work links physical impairment to behavioural shifts in predation and supports considering individual health when investigating specific conflict animals rather than assuming population-wide tendencies.