Where the wild things went during the pandemic

Camera traps, which automatically take photos of wildlife when they detect movement and body heat, have become important research tools for wildlife biologists. The new research is based on data from 102 different camera capture projects in 21 countries. (Most were located in North America or Europe, but South America, Africa and Asia were also included.) The data allowed the scientists to study the activity patterns of 163 different species of wild mammals – and track how often people visit the same locations.

“One of the strengths of this article is that you get information about both people and animals,” says Marlee Tucker, an ecologist at Radboud University in the Netherlands, who was not involved in the new research.

During the pandemic lockdown period, human activity has decreased at some project sites, while it has increased at others. At each study site, the researchers compared how often wildlife was detected during a period of high human activity and a period of low human activity, regardless of whether the reduced activity occurred during the lockdown period.

Carnivores, such as wolves and bobcats, seemed highly sensitive to humans and showed the greatest decline in activity as human activity increased. “Carnivores, especially larger carnivores, have a long history of, you might say, antagonism with humans,” said Dr. Burton. “The consequences for a carnivore of bumping into people or getting too close to people have often resulted in death.”

On the other hand, the activity of large herbivores, such as deer and elk, increased when people were out and about. This could be because the animals simply had to move more to avoid the crowds. But if people help keep the carnivores at bay, it can also make it safer for the herbivores to come out and play.

“Herbivores tend to be slightly less afraid of humans, and they may even use them as a shield against carnivores,” says Dr. Tucker, who praised the study authors for being “able to untangle all these different human influences.”