Suppose, by some weird fluke of nature (or genetic engineering), some kind of wild animal (birds, squirrels, locusts, take your pick) suddenly went nuts and started attacking and eating people, how would we handle them in the real world? Would they be more vulnerable, less vulnerable, or about the same as their non-berserk colleagues?

- Maha Vailo

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When you get down to it, Science answers how. Religion answers why. - hippietrekx

IAW Harry Harrison's Deathworld, issue everyone firearms appropriate for the threat and train them on thier proper use...

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"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." — Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

441!!!! :)

See BUG, THE SWARM, GRIZZLY, DAY OF THE ANIMALS, SQUIRM, FROGS, KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, TICKS, BATS, NIGHTWING, LOCUSTS, NIGHT OF THE LEPUS, RAZORBACK, PIRANHA, THE BEES, SKEETER, THE BIRDS, SLUGS, BLACK SHEEP, FOOD OF THE GOODS, ANTS, PROPHECY and PHASE IV...on how NOT to handle the situation.

Without David Warner, Michael Caine or William Shatner to help, we might well be doomed.

I imagine, in a real world scenario, the human reaction would most likely be hasty and with a great disregard for any collateral environmental damage or future consequences. The movies don't have to teach me that.

Zombies, I'm prepared for(Thanks Mr. Brooks!). Combustible cockroaches or ants with a Stephen Hawking complex? Not so ready.

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random youtube observation #83:
Nana Mouskouri without glasses is like peanut butter without jelly, like yin without yang, spic without span...

Fortunately, unless humans get a whole lot tastier, we won't have to worry about it on a large scale. (some individual animals may become rabid and attack. But not all of them everywhere.)

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"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

According to the Sci-Fi network, all you need to solve the problem is a ruggedly handsome, tough as nails military officer who has a problem with authority, a beautiful and brilliant young scientist whose unconventional theories have yet to be accepted by the scientific community, and a young, geeky computer genius who can make any electronic device surrender to his talents. Add a bunch of disposable red-shirt type marines and you're good to go no matter what animal poses a threat.

Personally, I'd stock up on a bunch of Holy Hand Grenades.

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"Yeah, they're dead. . . they're all messed up."

^ But those were movies (and bad ones at that). What I want to know is how would real-world humans fight off birds or insects gone horribly wrong. Would we use the same methods that we use to control non-human-attacking pests, or would the tactics have to be different?

- Maha Vailo

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When you get down to it, Science answers how. Religion answers why. - hippietrekx

There are a wide variety of different methods used against pests and/or dangerous creatures, which ones specifically are you referring to?

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Apparently you are not old enough to have seen any news reports of any wild animals (or domestic like dogs/cats for that matter) that have contracted RABIES. Happens far less these days, but squirrels, foxes, raccoons, etc all become quite nasty in the final stages and will attach anyone they can.

Sheriffs and animal-control wardens often carry shotguns for a reason and it was a common duty for them to serve up the final coup-de-grace where I came from in farm country....

But in the real-world thousands of birds, squirrels, etc. don't suddenly become crazy and attack humans. Its like asking how do we fight armies of zombies.

Still, the best defense is the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

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At night the stars put on a show for free (Carole King)

Fortunately Australia has worked out a plan for this eventuality as outlined in the book, Year of the Angry Rabbit, which details what happens when Australia is attacked by a plague of alsation sized carnivourous bunnys. The first thing that will be done is that everyone over the age of 80 will be drafted into the army. With modern lightweight weaponry you don't have to be very strong or fit to use it or even need to see well. And there is no need to march anywhere as the mutant animals will come to you. Drafting everyone over 80 has the added advantage that each casualty improves the liquidity of the pension system.

While the elderly serve as a rearguard, drovers will heard Australia's entire sheep population into the Tasman sea in two groups. As the merino wool soaks up the sea water it will create two enormous sea walls with a dry channel inbetween allowing the Australian population under 80 to walk across to New Zealand. The New Zealanders will be lulled into a false sense of security by the the sight of Australians carrying the emergency federal beer supply and promises that we're just popping round for the arvo. Then it's simply a simple matter of letting the New Zealanders rescue the sheep forming the sea walls, sealing off New Zealand from the mainland.

Note that if the it's the sheep that mutate and start attacking we go to plan B.

Guys, I'm trying to get serious answers out of you folks. How would we seriously, in the real world, handle a plague of wild animals that suddenly attack us en masse, as opposed to one or two rabid ones? Would the real-world strategies used to handle a few rabid rabbits fail against a thousand berserk rabbits? If so, what strategies would we have to use in the real world (not movies or books, those are diffetrent).

C'mon folks, I expect better from a science forum.

- Maha Vailo

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When you get down to it, Science answers how. Religion answers why. - hippietrekx

If it happens, I'll wing it.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Actually, we've had issues with squirrels here in DC/Maryland before. At least two people were hospitalized. The response, I believe, was to issue warnings about them, and I believe many were trapped, tested for rabies, then euthanized anyway.

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I'm not completely heartless, the doctor who removed it told me he'd never be able to get it all.

If it's small furry animals then i recommend wearing bycicle clips.

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'The eye can only see what the mind is prepared to accept'

It is hard to take seriously because I can not image any set of circumstances, outside of bad Sci Fi channel movies, where this would happen. But if it did, I think bullets would work just fine.

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At night the stars put on a show for free (Carole King)

Fortunately, the only way any native and non berserk UK species can be dangerous to humans is if we choke on them.

(disclaimer - yes, I know about (and have seen umpteen) Adders)

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I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basis in fact, was in no way fair comment and was motivated purely by malice. I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you or your family, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.

What about genetically engineering creatures to be hostile towards animals and humans? Suppose somebody did that, and a few of them escaped and multiplied? What then?

Bullets may be fine against rabbits, but what about birds, locusts, snails, worms, or other small animals that can't easily be done in by bullets? Again, I say to you, what then?

- Maha Vailo

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When you get down to it, Science answers how. Religion answers why. - hippietrekx

There are plenty of creatures now that are pretty unfriendly towards humans. We avoid them.

As for some kind of biological superweapon, it would make little sense to use macroscopic animals when bacteria and viruses multiply so much faster.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Snails? just squish them! Unless they are engineered to be a hell of a lot faster!

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'The eye can only see what the mind is prepared to accept'