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The Eurasian eagle owl, for instance, is one of the largest and most widely distributed owls in the world. The predators that give us the biggest run for our money, says Rob Cooke, an ecological modeler at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and a coauthor of the study, are owls, which hunt a notably diverse array of prey. That’s about one-third of all vertebrate species on Earth, and it’s a breadth that’s up to 300 times more than the next top predator in any ecosystem. Analyzing data compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, researchers have now found that humans kill, collect, or otherwise use about 15,000 vertebrate species. But biomass is only a sliver of the total picture, and researchers wanted a fuller understanding of how human predatory behavior affects biodiversity. Previously, scientists have tallied how much more biomass humans take out of the wild than other predators.
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The research showcases just how broad our collective influence on wild animals is. Now, for the first time, researchers have attempted to capture the full picture of how we use wild vertebrates, including how many, and for what purposes. From agricultural feed to medicine to the pet trade, modern society exploits wild animals in a way that surpasses even the most voracious, unfussy wild predator. Yet our reliance on wild animals goes far beyond just feeding ourselves. Birds, bugs, whales, snails, we’ll eat them all. Some people may be picky eaters, but as a species we are not. J| 750 words, about 3 minutes Share this article Photo by dpa picture alliance/Alamy Stock Photo Humans’ Fondness for the Odd and Rare Makes Us Particularly Overwhelming Predators Humans kill, collect, or otherwise use more wild species than any predator on Earth. Surprisingly, most of this is for non-food reasons. Humans hunt, kill, or capture a massive number of species.