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When most wild animals first encounter humans, they respond as they would to any predator—by running, swimming or flying away.
Over time, some species become more tolerant of humans' presence, but the extent to which they do is largely driven by the type of environment in which the animals live and by the animal's body size, according to a comprehensive new analysis.
Researchers led by Daniel Blumstein, a professor and chair of ecology and evolutionary biology in the UCLA College, analyzed 75 studies conducted over the past half-century of 212 animal species—mostly birds, but also mammals and lizards. The scientists estimated species' tolerance to human disturbance by comparing how far away from humans an animal would have to be before it fled—a statistic called "flight initiation distance."
The paper was published today in Nature Communications.
Among the findings:
- Birds in more heavily populated urban areas are much more tolerant of humans than birds in rural areas.
- Larger birds are more tolerant of humans than smaller birds.
Why Are Some Wild Animals More Tolerant to Human Interaction Than Others? No.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 18 2015, @08:19AM
I think it's a big "it depends".
Plenty of people seem to have no problems getting close to wild penguins and other wild birds:
e.g. http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/468347339.jpg [mentalfloss.com]
https://thecrusoes.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/p5260533.jpg [wordpress.com]
And if it's about escaping 6 inches seems rather close even for a finch. I'd probably be able to kill/catch a small bird that was that close before it got away. Not that I would do such a thing of course (I've caught small birds before, but that's because they couldn't find their way out of a building).
I think it also depends on how the humans behave. If they don't appear to be a threat the birds will calm down a bit (their heart rate might still remain high compared to if the humans weren't around - as some research shows, but they won't just keep flying/running away).
After all I notice in some countries where stray animals are well treated the stray animals will approach humans to be petted etc. Whereas in other countries where stray animals are badly treated (used as target practice, boiling water thrown at them etc) most will stay well clear of humans.
As someone said (even if it wasn't Gandhi):
"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Wednesday November 18 2015, @06:57PM
Just an hour or so ago a large hawk landed in one of the trees out back. I got my camera and went outside, but it flew to a further perch. When I maneuvered around to get a clear shot with the camera, it flew off before I could focus. I've had that happen with them before, they are very shy of humans. Probably because some assholes shoot them on sight...
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday November 18 2015, @10:19PM
"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
We have factory farming conditions [themeatrix.com] and first responders trained in animal rescue [npr.org]. I'm honestly unsure about what that says in the aggregate about America.