Running Wild
By: Kristina Anderson
Tags: Wildlife, Covid 19, Habits, Species

Animals have been struggling to adapt to human incursions for many years. Most of the human impacts have been devastating. A recent United Nations report estimates that humans have altered 75 percent of the land habitats and 65-percent of marine habitats. We are in an extinction crisis that is accelerating.

One example of human impacts is the oil palm plantations in Indonesia. According to a study done on the agroforest in Indonesia, the deforestation pursued in order to install commercial oil palm has wreaked irreversible damage on wildlife diversity. Sumatran orangutans in particular were found to adapt to this disturbance through changes in their dietary diversity and temporal foraging patterns according to a two-year field study (2007–2009). Their diet shifted from being predominantly fruit-based to bark which is why they resorted to cultivated fruits and became notorious for crop-raiding.

The foraging patterns of elk are also affected by human disturbances especially in areas fragmented by roadways. A study done along the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada, found that humans trigger increased vigilance and decreased foraging in elk. Study areas that were greatly affected by human activity observed lower female reproductive success and reported higher vigilance levels. This study reveals leads to conservation efforts in their attempts to quantify human disturbance from elk behavior.

The occurrence of COVID-19 has underscored the connectedness between humans and nature and the potential to improve that connection going forward. Due to a decrease in industrial waste emission, vehicle traffic, and use of fossil fuels, ecosystems have been temporarily relieved of high pollution levels. NASA and ESA have since released evidence showing dramatic reductions in air pollution, including up to 50-percent reductions in nitrogen dioxide — a major pollutant that comes from cars, factories and other industrial activity — in China and India.

The behavioral plasticity of wildlife shows in almost immediate adaptations to reductions in human activity as a result of COVID-19. Some animals that have become habituated and even dependent on human interference, such as now- famous brawling monkeys of Bangkok, suffer from the decrease in human activity. Without a constant influx of tourism these monkeys are deprived of their main food source — food scraps from humans. On the other hand, sea turtles in Thailand are benefitting from COVID-19. Recently, Thai beaches have seen the largest number of turtle nests in decades according to the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation.

There are numerous reports, too, of animals taking over our human habitats as the pandemic forces humans inside and off the streets: coyotes lazing in city parks, livestock walking through towns.

Closer to home, Yosemite Park has experienced notable behavioral changes in wildlife since the outbreak. Mostly mammals (i.e. coyotes, bears, deer, and rodents) have expanded their foraging grounds and increased activity during the day. According to park rangers at Yosemite, bear sightings have been more frequent since the park closure.

A young bobcat spotted in Yosemite Valley, one of the many mammals expanding their territory. -Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times

By reducing our global human footprint, wildlife has the ability resort back to natural patterns and reclaim or stake out new territories. If and when we return to our previous patterns, wildlife will have to respond accordingly. COVID-19 gives us insight on the opportunity to reduce our human footprint and its implications on wildlife behavior and coexistence with humans.