![]() These wild mammals (along with 61 others studied) are apparently afraid of any and all interaction with humans, not just hunters, University of California Berkley researchers found.Īctivities such as farming, mining, logging and urban development keep the animals lurching in the shadows during daylight hours, which they would otherwise spend in the sun.Īsian sun bears, for example, spends 80% of their waking hours soaking up vitamin D when undisturbed by human activity. ![]() ![]() Lions and tigers and bears – animals that used to hunt and play and mate during the day – are being forced to reverse their circadian sleep cycles to avoid human contact. “Entire ecosystems might be reshaped by this behavior.Mammals are staying up all night and sleeping all day to avoid contact with humans, having potentially disastrous effects on their health and overall chances of survival, study says Foxes are one of the 64 mammals studied whose sleep cycle has been significantly altered by humansĭiurnal mammals are becoming nocturnal to avoid the stresses of humans encroaching on their habitats, a recent study finds. “We really don’t know,” says lead author Kaitlyn Gaynor of UC Berkeley. The study authors warn that profound shifts in the natural behavior patterns of so many species disturb predator-prey dynamics that have evolved over generations, leading to unknown and potentially cascading effects on the environment. ![]() Similarly, hikers in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California made coyotes more nocturnal, forcing them to find new sources of food among traditionally nocturnal prey. For example, sport hunting in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe drove sable antelopes to spend more of their active waking hours at night, restricting their access to water during the day. Human activity of all sorts had an impact, including lethal activity like hunting as well as agriculture and land development, harvesting local natural resources, and even hiking or walking through wild areas. The mammals affected ranged across body size, habitat type, region of the world, and diet. They observed increased nocturnal behavior in a large majority of them, with species that are naturally active during the day tending to shift their activity to after dark, and those that are naturally nocturnal becoming more so. (Here’s how some wild animals are hacking life in cities.)įor the work, the researchers examined the behaviors of 64 mammal species, including deer, tigers, boars, and, of course, sun bears. With many species already pushed to the geographical margins of their local habitats, the animals are attempting to avoid interaction with humans by “separating themselves in time rather than in space,” the study authors write. ![]() Led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and Boise State University, the study found that human activity is driving scores of mammals to shift their activity from the day into the dark hours of the night. Effectively, the threat of human presence is making the sun bear nocturnal. In areas where people are pushing into the sun bear’s domain, the animals are spending 90 percent of their waking time after dark, according to a study published in June in the journal Science. In its natural habitat, the sun bear spends over 80 percent of its active waking time in daylight.īut when disturbed by human activity, that changes dramatically. Unauthorized use is prohibited.Ī day in the life of a sun bear is what you might expect from the name: sunny. ![]()
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