Animals become most active between dusk and dawn to escape human disturbance, a study from the University of Minnesota School of Biological Sciences found.
According to scientists, human activities force wildlife to adapt to a new temporal pattern of behavior, avoiding the times in which man is most active.
To further understand this phenomenon, researchers conducted a study on human-wildlife conflict in East Africa.
In the pastoral areas of the region's vast savannas, wild animals are increasingly pushed to share their habitat with livestock.
Landowners in such areas often turn to ecotourism to supplement their income, encouraging coexistence between livestock and wildlife while promoting sustainable ecosystem conservation.
To evaluate how livestock presence affects species activity, specialists selected sampling sites within the Greater Serengeti-Mara ecosystem over Tanzania and Kenya.
The researchers chose the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara Reserve in Kenya, which are home to large mammals such as spotted hyenas, lions, leopards and cheetahs, and used remote cameras.
The comparative assessment, reported in the Journal of Animal Ecology, focused on the activity patterns of 16 herbivore species to characterize the potential impact of grazing on a multi-use landscape.
The study indicated that most species exhibit reduced activity during the day, with higher levels at dusk, night and dawn.
Some animals, including Eland and Wildebeest antelopes, zebra, Grant's gazelle, only showed increased activity at dawn and dusk.
On the contrary, buffalo, impala, Thomson's gazelle and wild boar exhibited greater activity exclusively at night, while bushbuck antelope and hippopotamus were more active during the day.
As humans retreat, leading to a decrease in noise and activity, animals venture out from hiding to hunt.
Acting at dawn may be driven by temperature differences between that time and dusk, with species favoring the cooler hours of the morning to escape heat stress.
The brief midday peaks observed in several Serengeti species could reflect their strategy of seeking shade to escape the scorching heat.
The article highlighted that sharing habitat with livestock can significantly modify the daily behavior of wild herbivores. (Text and photo: PL)
