2023-05-23 17:19:25
In the northwestern United States, for fear of wolves and cougars, lynx approach places of human activity. Zachary Wardle
DECRYPTION – Small carnivores move closer to dwellings or roads to avoid predators… putting them at increased risk of mortality.
Fear has incredible powers. When the predators desert a place, the prey are freed from the fear of being devoured and modify their behavior. A small change which, like that, does not look like much, but can totally upset the rest of the fauna and flora. The return of wolves to Yellowstone Park (in the United States) a few years ago thus allowed the flora hitherto grazed by certain herbivores to develop again, thanks to the anxiety-provoking climate caused by the terrible canine, causing large herbivores to change habitat.
According to a study published in the journal Science , fear is not always a good advisor and also encourages animals to do stupid things. It thus pushes small predators to take refuge closer to areas occupied by humans and contributes to endangering them.
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«Predation between carnivores often takes place between animals of fairly close size, explains Marion Valeix, CNRS researcher at the Laboratory…
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