Is this of a piece with that theory that schizophrenia is actually caused by a cat parasite?
That it was extremely rare before people started keeping kitties in significant numbers?
It’s the same parasite that causes rodents to lose their fear of cats, too, if I’m not mistaken.
So, writ large, you have an explanation for environuts getting attacked by bears in zoos, or eaten by Grizzlies after inexplicably losing fear of them.
You have an explanation for ‘Rats in general, actually. They can’t recognize a predator anymore, human or otherwise.