Effective decision-making in dangerous situations is crucial for survival, requiring rapid action planning. Here, we investigate how humans utilize environmental cues about potential threats in fully immersive Virtual Reality (VR). N=53 participants faced animal attacks during a fruit collection task in a clearing surrounded by high grass. They were first familiarized with a panther attacking at constant speed from high grass at different distances. Subsequently, we introduced warning signs indicating the type of attacking threat at different high grass distances (Rat, Dog, Human, & Bull). We aimed to assess how threat cues influence escape planning. We found that participants’ escape behavior was strongly influenced by the proximity of the high grass. Participants more frequently initiated escapes preemptively when the grass border was close. Notably, this effect was modulated by warning signs, with a reduced tendency of preemptive escape when participants expected a rat. Next, escape initiation times were lower for closer grass borders. This effect was however not modulated by warning signs, fleeing just as quickly regardless of expectation. Our study highlights the influence of environmental information in escape planning. Natural predictors in the environment seem to influence escape behavior in addition to symbolic predictors in specific cases. Whether increased rapidity is due to pre-planning or due to invigoration of the decision process is an important question that future work will address. Furthermore, we will investigate adaptability in human escape planning with diverse cues, offering insights into cognitive decision-making under pressure and the rigidity of learned responses in new situations.