Content Warning: The source material discusses violence against animals and descriptions of animal attacks on humans.

Mary Roach describes a 1659 Italian court case against caterpillars, which she read about in a 1906 book detailing similar legal actions against insects and animals. For her, these early cases are evidence of the age-old struggle between humans and nature. Modern people no longer take slugs and weevils to court for misdeeds, but the author sets out to explore what happens when animals, by just being animals, violate human laws.

In Reno, Nevada, the author attends a five-day Wildlife-Human Attack Response Training (WHART), taught by members of the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service. The Canadian officials lead the seminar because British Columbia has the highest number of bears and cougar attacks in the Americas.

In the lesson titled “Tactical Killing of a Predator on a Person,” (9), the attendees view videos of animal attacks with explanations of what the witnesses did right or wrong to mitigate the attack. The instructor gives advice: If one has a gun, they should not shoot until they are close to the animal to avoid shooting the victim; groups should stay in close formation and communicate.