 An elk in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (Mary Winston Nicklin/ for The Washington Post) | Hello, and happy weekend. Much has been made of unusual urban explorations by wildlife during the coronavirus shutdowns — pumas prowling in Santiago, Chile, mountain goats gallivanting in a Welsh village. Turtles were seen hatching in greater numbers on closed beaches. Bears seemed more relaxed in Yosemite National Park. The idea — and maybe our need to believe it — became so common this spring that "Nature is healing" became an Internet meme. Missing from this optimistic conclusion, though, have been data. Are wild animal populations growing? Are they expanding their ranges or claiming new territory? This week, scientists in the United Kingdom launched an initiative to examine those questions. They want to study how animals have responded to what they have deemed the "anthropause" — the widespread decline in human activity. (The correct prefix for "human," they note, is "anthropo-," but they figure this is close enough.) "There is a really valuable research opportunity here, one that's been brought about by the most tragic circumstances, but it's one we think we can't afford to miss," Christian Rutz, a professor at St. Andrews University, told BBC News. At the University of California-Davis, researchers who study roadkill were already taking advantage of it, and this week they came to a striking conclusion. Using traffic and collision data from California, Idaho and Maine, they found that "wildlife-vehicle conflict" dropped between 21 and 56 percent from early March to mid-April. That's when most of the country was staying home and off the roads. If that continued, the report said, it could save the lives of 5,700 to 13,000 large mammals in those states each year — including 50 California mountain lions. Of course, it hasn't continued. States are in various stages of reopening, and people are driving more. But maybe that kind of finding can have a longer term impact, Rutz told the BBC. "What if we see major impacts of our changes in road use, for example? We could use that to make small changes to our transport network that could have major benefits." In other animal news this week: I want to hear from you! - I know I just told you about the dearth of empirical evidence on wildlife activity during the shutdown, but even so, I want your anecdotal evidence. Have you had any unusual or interesting new encounters with wildlife over the past few months? Are you seeing critters in your backyard that you never saw before? Tell me about them and I might include them in a future newsletter.
- For the dog owners: For an upcoming story, I'd love to hear about your dog-walking experiences during the pandemic. How have you managed social distancing while walking the dog? Are you allowing non-household members to pet your dog? Are you petting other people's dogs? Have you been in any uncomfortable or awkward situations while on walks? Are you visiting dog parks these days, and how is that going? What concerns do you have about the coronavirus and dogs?
You can email me at karin.brulliard@washpost.com. Thanks, as always, for reading. |
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