'Nightmares of Nature' explores the reasons why we fear animals, separating the very real threats from misconceptions based on myth, religion, voodoo, witchcraft, horror films and fiction. Some animals are genuinely dangerous, others merely look threatening, and many are feared unnecessarily. Our ignorance has encouraged us to fear the great white shark out of all proportion to its danger, as it kills only a handful of people a year, while one of the most dangerous animals, the saw-scaled viper, remains unknown.
