Super Predators

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/summer-of-science-2015/latest/predator

Looking at Humans as ‘Super Predators’

The outrage following the killing of Cecil the lion by an American hunter last month was a stark reminder of a role that humans hold in nature: top predator.

We hunt not just lions and tigers, but also bears, wolves, deer and elk. We fish tuna, seabass, swordfish and salmon. We kill for food and sport.

But here’s a “what if?”: What if humans were considered as just another predator within the global ecosystem, rather than apart from it? How do our predatory habits compare with those of other top carnivores like lions, bears and sharks?