Small predators such as coyotes escape larger predators only to be killed by humans
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Fear of large predators leads bobcats and coyotes to come into close contact with humans, making humans even more likely to kill smaller carnivores than wild predators.
Overhunting reduced US wolf and cougar populations to their former numbers in the 1900s. Since then, both species have steadily recovered due to protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Wolves and cougars prey on bobcats and coyotes, so the researchers expected the return of these top predators to curb numbers of small animals.
To investigate, Laura Prue of the University of Washington in Seattle and her colleagues tracked the movements of 22 wolves (canis lupus), 60 cougars (puma conqueror), 35 coyotes (barking dog) and 37 bobcats (Lynx RufusFrom 2017 to 2022, they used GPS collars to track animals across two forested areas in Washington state separated by roads, ranches, homes and small towns.
As wolves and cougars moved into the area, bobcats and coyotes began avoiding larger predators. They spent more time near developed and human-inhabited areas that wolves and cougars normally avoid. However, this move often had fatal consequences. About half of the coyotes and most of the bobcats that died during the five-year study period were killed by humans.
“Several coyotes and bobcats were shot while trying to raid chicken coops,” Prue said, while several others were shot or trapped on sight. They found that humans killed three to four times as many small carnivores as apex predators.
Professor Prue said previous research on small carnivores had suggested a strong fear of humans, saying, “From that perspective, there’s a little bit that the presence of larger carnivores makes them more likely to gravitate toward humans.” I was surprised.” The finding that densely populated areas are more deadly for small carnivores suggests that a phenomenon known as the ‘human shield effect’, in which some animals seek refuge near people, could become deadly and self-defeating. suggests that there is
Rob Anderson of the University of Washington in Seattle, who was not involved in the study, said that escaping from top predators into human-dominated spaces backfires, making bobcats and coyotes more vulnerable to human killing. He says that he is in “Small predators cannot accurately assess human mortal danger.”
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