Wild animals must not only contend with how their habitats have been changed, but also endure the increasing presence of people in almost all environments, fromAs a wildlife ecologist and conservation biologist, I am concerned that we are putting the squeeze on wildlife in ways that canTwo key challenges have limited this understanding. First, it is hard to observe animals in the wild.
Recognizing this opportunity, we assembled a team of more than 200 scientists from 21 countries that were monitoring mammals before and during the lockdowns. We sifted through millions of images of 163 species of wild mammals, collected from more than 5,000 camera traps. After estimating changes in the amount and timing of activity for animals as small as snowshoe hares and as big as African elephants, some striking patterns emerged.
Notably, animals living in wilder landscapes were more sensitive to increases in human activity, while their urban cousins tended to be more tolerant but. This highlights that even within the same species, animals can have different responses to people depending on where they live.and other human endeavours may need to be carefully managed in wildland landscapes to avoid displacing the sensitive animals that depend on these more remote areas.There was a problem processing your submission.