Why do wildlife "go into town" and what should we do?

What do we do when wildlife in the wilderness enters human habitats, or even bustling cities?

Recently, 15 Asian elephants went all the way north into Kunming City, the Siberian tiger "Wandashan No. 1" broke into the village, and the "raccoon" of a hill "settled" in some communities in Shanghai. In the face of these phenomena, we have to think: What are the new trends in the "entry of wild animals into the city"? How do the two coexist? The reporter visited Professor Wang Fang's team of the School of Life Sciences of Fudan University to explore urban wildlife management and look for answers together.

There are a lot of "animal dwellers" in the city.

In Shanghai, a survey of "animal dwellers" is underway. With the support of the Shanghai Municipal Forestry Bureau and other relevant departments, Wang Fang's team hopes to obtain a demonstration plan for urban wildlife management through one or two years of follow-up observation.

"Wildlife in cities is not just about protecting." Wang Fang's research found that the number of some wild species in the city has increased rapidly, and the distribution range is also expanding. Taking the national second-level protected animal raccoon as an example, in 2015, Shanghai found the figure of raccoon in more than 40 communities, and by 2020, the number of raccoons in Shanghai will reach more than 150, an increase of more than 2 times.

After the increase in "animal population", the contact and conflict between humans and animals increased accordingly. Studies have shown that when there are less than 2 raccoons per hectare, people will hardly feel the presence of raccoons, but when this number exceeds 5, it will affect people's lives. According to statistics, in 2020, Shanghai 12315 complaints about wildlife disturbance reached about a thousand, of which some people were troubled by the excrement and noise of the raccoon, and some people were frightened by the raccoon. In addition to the raccoons, the public is also disturbed by the presence of bats, and in 2021 there were complaints about the destruction of gardens by red-bellied squirrels.

At the same time, the habits of raccoons are also quietly changing: from living alone to group activities, from day and night to day and night, from being afraid of people to actively approaching people. "The biggest change is their attitude towards people and the human world." Wang Fang said, "Raccoons used to see people running away from three or four meters away, but if there is an active feeding and other behaviors, they will take the initiative to chase people for food, and may also disturb the elderly and children." ”

The changes in Shanghai are basically in line with the changing trends of wildlife in other cities around the world. For example, Wang Fang said, "For example, the red fox in Europe, the American black bear and the raccoon in the United States have shown the characteristics of rapid urbanization, and the direction of change of the raccoon is something we can predict, but the speed of change surprises us." ”

Why do they "leave home and go to town"?

Why should wild animals leave the environment in which they originally live and enter the city? Wang Fang believes that the world of wild animals is in a process of rapid change. There have been obvious changes in shanghai' raccoons, elephants in Xishuangbanna have "elephants" all the way to the north, wild boars in Nanjing have attacked milk tea shops... Why is this species present in this city? Random factors account for a large proportion, but it is worth noting that there are deeper reasons behind randomness.

First, migration is an instinctive need of wildlife, no one can confine wildlife to protected areas, and the purposes of animal migration include but are not limited to food, water, mates, avoiding predators, and finding better habitats.

"However, it is easy to overlook that when the habitat becomes fragmented, many animals lose the opportunity and ability to migrate, and it often takes decades to explore reconstruction to resume migration behavior again." Many species, including Asian elephants, go through this process, they will trial and error, they will conflict, they will run to places that seem 'should not go', but these processes are in line with the laws of nature. Wang Fang said.

Second, the urban environment recovers faster than the wilderness and the urban-rural interface. By the end of 2020, the green coverage rate of Shanghai's built-up areas will be as high as 40%, not only large areas of forests and wetlands, but also small and beautiful ecological areas such as street gardens and pocket parks. At this time, the city will be like a hot spot, attracting the surrounding animals.

Finally, the urban environment provides shelter for some wildlife. Raccoons, squirrels, weasels and other animals have a very flexible lifestyle, they are good at adjusting to the characteristics of the city, there are no natural enemies in the city, as long as they can adapt to urban life and humans, they will hardly encounter threats.

How to coexist in the collision?

Wild animals "enter the city" and city dwellers go through a learning process. From the initial curiosity, to dissatisfaction, to the gradual habit of each retreating a little, a new order will be formed between urban residents and wildlife, and people will be closer to biodiversity than before.

Wang Fang believes that the establishment of order is inseparable from the understanding of wild animals and the study of urban management. Over the past year, Wang Fang's team has conducted extensive research in Shanghai, basically grasping the changes of raccoons in the city, in addition to determining the threshold of the number of people per hectare, but also establishing habitat models to further analyze the mechanisms that drive changes in wildlife.

"We found that raccoons do not need large areas of forest and green space, and the two main factors that affect their distribution are shrubland and water sources. They also like small and medium-sized roads, which come and go during the day and become the 'highway' for animals at night. Zhao Qianqian is a member of Wang Fang's team, and she wears a total of 5 raccoons with positioning and other functions for the front and back.

The diversity of urban wildlife needs to be protected without impeding the normal functioning of society. Up to now, local governments and citizens have maintained a great degree of tolerance for wild animals "entering the city", not only helping the Siberian tigers who broke into the villages to return to the mountains, but also suffering millions of yuan in economic losses caused by elephant "sightseeing".

However, appropriate interventions when necessary are not excluded. According to Wang Fang, in July 2020, dozens of raccoons in a small area of Shanghai had a group sexual disorder, causing great disturbance. To this end, Shanghai issued the first wildlife hunting license, which safely transferred the raccoons in the community to the wild environment.

Wang Fang also said that the best way to solve the problem of wild animals "entering the city" is to do a good job in the protection and restoration of the living environment of wild animals, retain the urban buffer zone, and minimize the direct conflict between wild animals and the city.

"Cities are first and foremost places where people live and work, and there is never an optimal solution for urban wildlife management, and conflict will always exist." No matter how good the system, it needs to be continuously adjusted and managed sustainably. In this regard, cities such as Shanghai have made a lot of explorations, and the experience is extremely valuable. Wang Fang said. (Reporters Yang Jinzhi, Dong Xue, Wang Moling participated in the writing: Liu Yiming)

Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph