Attacks on humans in Sweden by bear, wolf, lynx, wolverine, moose and wild boar in relation to Swedes’ fear for these animals

Sammanfattning: It is not easy to understand people’s fears since they are not always a logical reflection of the danger in certain situations. This study is an attempt to give a scientific view of the potential danger that certain animals in Sweden pose and compare this to Swedes’ fear of these animals. A report shows that Swedes’ have a certain amount of fear for being attacked by a wild animal in the forest and this fear has increased for certain animals over the last years. It would therefore be of interest to see if this fear is warranted and if the most feared animals are the ones that pose the biggest threat.In comparison with other dangers in our society none of these animals seems to pose any considerably large threat to us. Brown bear, wild boar and moose are the ones that could be considered as a threat, if any, because these are the ones that from time to time attack humans. This study is meant to inspire more scientific research about fear and attacks from different animals and hopefully lessen some of the fear that exists for these animals. Also to elucidate the problem about being afraid of getting attacked and recommend more information about these animals, the danger they pose and how to behave when meeting them in the forest.