Newly Digitized Records Reveal Common Threats to Wildlife

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“I hear an owl hoot. How glad I am to hear him rather than the most eloquent man of the age.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

A new study of 674,320 recently digitized records from 94 wildlife rehabilitation (rehab) centers in the U.S. and Canada revealed that most wildlife injury and sickness cases were caused by human activities such as vehicle accidents, fishing-related incidents, and window or building collisions. Further, some extreme weather events linked to climate change, such as storms and floods, were followed by higher rates of admittance to wildlife rehab centers. 

 

Figure 1. Map of locations in the U.S. and Canada where study animals were found (blue dots) before being brought to wildlife rehab centers (red dots) (© Miller et al. 2023, Biological Conservation).

This study is the first to use digitized rehab records to form a comprehensive picture of the threats impacting over 1,000 animal species. Until recently, most wildlife rehab records existed only on paper forms, which made them inaccessible to researchers. 

 

The study identified wildlife threats by region and for iconic and endangered species. For example, vehicle collisions were the most common cause of admission for Great horned owls; Bald eagles were most-commonly detected with lead poisoning. 

Photo 1. Great horned owls, like this patient at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, are frequently affected by vehicle collisions and other human disturbances (© Wildlife Center of Virginia). 

On average, only about one-third of animals brought into rehab centers are eventually released back into the wild, though this number varies greatly among species (e.g., 68% of Brown pelicans are released, but only 20% of Bald eagles).

 

Policy changes that can help protect wildlife from threats include building additional wildlife road crossings; improving regulations relating to fishing, hunting, and pesticide use; and incorporating wildlife into local disaster management plans.

 

Full article can be found at: LINK