German scientists from the University of Potsdam have discovered how wild animals react when they encounter humans. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Communications (NatComms).
Experts studied the behavior of animals that were captured to be radiotagged and then returned to the wild.
The team analyzed data from 1,585 individuals from 42 species equipped with GPS collars.
“During the 20 days after release, we analyzed the animals’ activity and distances traveled to see how much the animals deviated from their normal behavior and how long it took them to recover from contact with humans,” the researchers said.
It turned out that 32 of the 42 species studied changed their behavior significantly within the first few days after release. For example, while predators reduced their daily walking distances, herbivores, on the contrary, began to travel longer distances. Elk and antelope’s movement distances increased by 63% and 52% respectively, while leopards and wolves moved 65% and 44% less than normal.
In general, omnivores and carnivores were less active in the first few days, while herbivores showed both increased and decreased activity. But the data also showed that the animals “recovered” at different rates, with all species returning to largely normal behavior within four to seven days.
Omnivorous and carnivorous animals returned to normal activity and movement levels within five to six days. Herbivores displayed normal range of movement more quickly (four to five days), but only returned to normal activity levels at a later stage (six to eight days). Additionally, larger animals recovered faster than smaller animals.
Previous scientists I learnedIt is predicted that humans will encroach on most wildlife territories by 2070.
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Source: Gazeta
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