Researchers have identified a rise in human-wildlife conflicts alongside droughts, according to ABC.
What's happening?
Researchers looked at 32,000 human-animal interactions reported to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife between 2017 and 2023, which were primarily sightings and nuisances. This data did not include animal attacks, but spanned 60 different species. Researchers cross-checked these reports with precipitation in the state and found a clear correlation with droughts.
"There isn't water available, so species that actually need drinking water will need to either expand their home ranges or move how they use the habitat to find areas that do have water," said report author Kendall Calhoun, per ABC.
Other researchers have seen similar trends in Brazil, Zimbabwe, and Pakistan.
Why are wildlife interactions important?
California ecologists concluded that less water meant fewer plants, fewer herbivores, and less prey for carnivores. While there are natural drought cycles that life has adapted to, the length and severity of droughts have worsened thanks to atmospheric pollution. These conditions are damaging ecosystems as a result.
"Conflict with carnivores, in particular, is a prominent conservation issue due to their ecological importance, common stigmatization, and the economic losses associated with their conflict," read the report.
The economic losses referred to how carnivores have shifted to targeting livestock as prey in the absence of alternatives.
What's being done about animal encounters?
Many farmers have taken added precautions to protect their herds against increasingly aggressive wildlife. Even with improved weather conditions, predators need ample territory for prey species to thrive. To that end, protecting natural spaces is key to limiting potentially dangerous human-wildlife interactions.
Addressing the root cause of droughts requires reducing pollution.
"The efficacy of future conservation hinges on identifying how climate change and human-wildlife conflict are interconnected, particularly as the global effects of climate change accelerate across ecosystems," read the report.
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