When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, wildlife ecologist Jason Fisher and his colleagues at the University of Victoria predicted there would be fewer people in nature and that animals would take back their territory.

But in setting up cameras in the forest of AlbertaB次元官网网址檚 scenic Bighorn Backcountry, they found human activity actually increased in the area, as adventure-seekers who couldnB次元官网网址檛 travel abroad flocked to the woods to reconnect with nature during lockdown.

As viewers see in the documentary B次元官网网址淣atureB次元官网网址檚 Big Year,B次元官网网址� debuting Friday on B次元官网网址淭he Nature of ThingsB次元官网网址� on CBC TV and CBC Gem, Fisher and the team of scientists also discovered coyote and white-tailed deer roaming the area more.

That wasnB次元官网网址檛 surprising, since those animals generally have a positive association with humans and have been shown to thrive when theyB次元官网网址檙e around.

What the team didnB次元官网网址檛 expect was that wolves shifted their activity from nighttime to daytime to follow prey there, despite the regionB次元官网网址檚 influx of people.

ThatB次元官网网址檚 significant because changes in wolf activity have a cascading effect on wildlife, said the experts.

B次元官网网址淚t was that big flexibility in wolves that was a really big B次元官网网址榓haB次元官网网址� moment for us, because itB次元官网网址檚 not something weB次元官网网址檇 seen before,B次元官网网址� Fisher said in a phone interview, guessing the wolves sensed the campers wouldnB次元官网网址檛 hurt them.

B次元官网网址淣atureB次元官网网址檚 Big YearB次元官网网址� by Toronto-based director-writer-producer Christine Nielsen features several groups of researchers in Canada and around the globe who embraced a unique opportunity to study the human footprint on nature.

That includes a look at how empty beaches affected nesting turtles in Florida, how a drop in U.K. traffic decreased hedgehog roadkill and how ozone levels actually increased in some areas.

Nicola Koper, a conservation biologist at the University of Manitoba, was part of a team that investigated how 82 bird species across North America responded to changes in human activity during lockdown.

She said they were amazed to find 80 per cent of those species changed their habitat use during the pandemic.

For instance, bald eagles migrated from counties that had fewer lockdowns to those with the strongest lockdowns and the least traffic. And some species increased their presence near roads and airports when travel lessened.

Koper said while traffic levels in North America dropped during the lockdown period they studied, it wasnB次元官网网址檛 as much as some may think, suggesting that even a small reduction can make a big impact.

She was also surprised to find that species widely believed to be well-adapted to humans changed their habits, too. For instance, there were more American robins near airports and roads.

B次元官网网址淐learly they had been displaced from these areas before,B次元官网网址� Koper said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got these really common species that we have always assumed are fine with humans. But actually, now we know thatB次元官网网址檚 not quite true.B次元官网网址�

Overall, the findings suggest wildlife B次元官网网址渁re actually much more sensitive to human activity than we realized before,B次元官网网址� Koper added.

Nielsen said she wrote, directed and produced the film during three different waves of COVID in 11 different locations, including five provinces in Canada. For the stories that werenB次元官网网址檛 in Canada, she directed remotely by videoconference.

She was surprised how B次元官网网址渨ildlife can adapt so incredibly quickly to changes in human behaviour.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 think we all intuitively know that if we do something differently, wildlife will respond. But in many cases, wildlife responds overnight.B次元官网网址�

In Bighorn Backcountry, the grizzly bear proved much less tolerant of the increased campers than wolves.

Fisher said grizzlies moved from the lower foothills to the mountains where there were fewer people, and showed a strong aversion to roads, something scientists didnB次元官网网址檛 see pre-COVID.

The findings point to a need to manage our impact as more Canadians flock to nature during the pandemic, he said.

B次元官网网址淪uddenly with lockdown B次元官网网址� this is a really poignant part of it B次元官网网址� we realized: B次元官网网址極h, wow, our tourist footprint is really, really high,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Fisher said.

B次元官网网址擵ictoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press