As widespread social shutdowns took hold in the early days of the pandemic, common were stories of animals resurging in a way where even safari dwellers were wandering through empty city streets.

While there were cases of increased animal activity, some others were exaggerated and studies didnB次元官网网址檛 have much data backing the idea of animals reclaiming urban territory globally.

However, the pandemic offered a rare opportunity to look into how animals may respond to quieter urban settings, along with higher numbers of people visiting natural areas.

University of Victoria ecologist Jason Fisher was among the over 250 scientists from around the globe who pooled their data from camera traps B次元官网网址� which record animals in nature B次元官网网址� to see how wildlife reacted as humans used some spaces less and other areas more.

The researchers didnB次元官网网址檛 expect to see a pattern matching the narrative that said animals were flocking to populated areas. Their findings, which were recently published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, reflected that hypothesis as they observed highly variable responses within and between individual species and animal groups.

B次元官网网址淟ike everything in ecology, the real beauty in it is the complexity and the wide array of how animals deal with this sort of rogue element B次元官网网址� humans B次元官网网址� in their landscape, and that in itself was a really fascinating outcome,B次元官网网址� Fisher said.

The University of British Columbia-led study found that in less modified landscapes, such as parks, mammals were less active as human activity increased B次元官网网址� due to people leaving shuttered cities to explore nature. That behaviour was especially present among predators.

In highly modified landscapes, like cities and residential areas, the researchers observed animals were more active in places with human activity, but they became more nocturnal.

B次元官网网址淚nstead of trading off spaces with humans, like they do in less modified landscapes, they traded off time with humans,B次元官网网址� Fisher said.

The UVic scientist said the study suggests animals are better adapted to dealing with people in more developed areas because the mammals changed the time of day they were present to avoid humans. That contrasts with more natural spaces where animals just got out of the peopleB次元官网网址檚 way entirely.

Large carnivores were the most sensitive to changes in human activity, the researchers found.

B次元官网网址淭hey were the smartest in terms of making the spatial and temporal changes to stay out of humansB次元官网网址� way,B次元官网网址� Fisher said, noting thatB次元官网网址檚 likely due to people heavily persecuting larger carnivores like bears, wolves and big cats in recent centuries.

B次元官网网址淭hey have lots of reason to have learned to stay out of our way and that has really manifested in the results that we found from all over the world.B次元官网网址�

The adaptability of species, and the different ways in which they change their behaviour, is highlighted in the study, Fisher said.

B次元官网网址淭here are so many different ways to tackle a challenge and animals have found multiple different ways to do it,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e really havenB次元官网网址檛 achieved a balance yet between humans and animals, especially as our population is growing so fast and development is growing so fast.B次元官网网址�

Animals navigating that imbalance will need to be flexible and the study shows they have the ability to adapt, Fisher said.

B次元官网网址淚 think it gives us hope for the future that we can coexist despite humankindB次元官网网址檚 continued spread throughout the planet.B次元官网网址�

The finding that mammals were avoiding the influx of humans in natural spaces should lead to big management changes in parks and protected lands, the researcher explained.

In the past, it was expected animals in those spaces were fine because they wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be impacted by activities like forestry or oil drilling. But Fisher said scientists in the emerging field of recreation ecology are finding that even someone walking or biking along a nature trail causes animals to change their behaviour.

The study, bringing together a global network of camera traps, is extremely important as Fisher said the inclusion of data from places in South America, Africa and southeast Asia allowed researchers to make global inferences.

He added there tends to be a North American and European bias in scientific research since wealthier countries can fund that work, yet EarthB次元官网网址檚 more southern regions are where most of the global biodiversity lies.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 where the research really needs to be.B次元官网网址�

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