Mobile Menu

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Kootenays/Rockies
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
      • Northwest Territories
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Experiences
    • West Coast Galleries
      • Nature Photography
      • Wildlife Photography
      • Cityscapes
    • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Adventure
      • Adrenaline
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Camping
      • Fishing
      • Hiking
      • Hunting and Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Skiing
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • Accessible Travel
    • Travel Tips & Advisories
  • Newsletter Sign-up
  • Contests
  • About
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
    • Explore our travel guides
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • West Coast Traveller Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Terms of Service
    • Explore West Coast Traveller on TikTok
  • Search
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • TikTok Icon
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Flickr Icon
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • TikTok Icon
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Flickr Icon

West Coast Traveller

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Kootenays/Rockies
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
      • Northwest Territories
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Experiences
    • West Coast Galleries
      • Nature Photography
      • Wildlife Photography
      • Cityscapes
    • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Adventure
      • Adrenaline
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Camping
      • Fishing
      • Hiking
      • Hunting and Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Skiing
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • Accessible Travel
    • Travel Tips & Advisories
  • Newsletter Sign-up
  • Contests
  • About
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
    • Explore our travel guides
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • West Coast Traveller Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Terms of Service
    • Explore West Coast Traveller on TikTok
  • Search
You are here: Home / Travel / Canadian doc ‘Nature’s Big Year’ shows how wildlife has adapted during the pandemic

This May 20, 2019, file photo shows a Mexican gray wolf. Research by scientists, to be showcased Friday in a CBC documentary, explores how the pandemic has affected the behaviour of wolves and several other animals. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File

Canadian doc ‘Nature’s Big Year’ shows how wildlife has adapted during the pandemic

November 16, 2021 //  by The Canadian Press

Share this:

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, wildlife ecologist Jason Fisher and his colleagues at the University of Victoria predicted there would be fewer people in nature and that animals would take back their territory.

But in setting up cameras in the forest of Alberta’s scenic Bighorn Backcountry, they found human activity actually increased in the area, as adventure-seekers who couldn’t travel abroad flocked to the woods to reconnect with nature during lockdown.

As viewers see in the documentary Nature’s Big Year, shown recently on The Nature of Things on CBC TV and CBC Gem, Fisher and the team of scientists also discovered coyote and white-tailed deer roaming the area more.

That wasn’t surprising, since those animals generally have a positive association with humans and have been shown to thrive when they’re around.

What the team didn’t expect was that wolves shifted their activity from nighttime to daytime to follow prey there, despite the region’s influx of people.

That’s significant because changes in wolf activity have a cascading effect on wildlife, said the experts.

“It was that big flexibility in wolves that was a really big ‘aha’ moment for us, because it’s not something we’d seen before,” Fisher said in a phone interview, guessing the wolves sensed the campers wouldn’t hurt them.

Nature’s Big Year, by Toronto-based director-writer-producer Christine Nielsen, features several groups of researchers in Canada and around the globe who embraced a unique opportunity to study the human footprint on nature.

That includes a look at how empty beaches affected nesting turtles in Florida, how a drop in U.K. traffic decreased hedgehog roadkill and how ozone levels actually increased in some areas.

Nicola Koper, a conservation biologist at the University of Manitoba, was part of a team that investigated how 82 bird species across North America responded to changes in human activity during lockdown.

She said they were amazed to find 80 per cent of those species changed their habitat use during the pandemic.

For instance, bald eagles migrated from counties that had fewer lockdowns to those with the strongest lockdowns and the least traffic. And some species increased their presence near roads and airports when travel lessened.

Koper said while traffic levels in North America dropped during the lockdown period they studied, it wasn’t as much as some may think, suggesting that even a small reduction can make a big impact.

She was also surprised to find that species widely believed to be well-adapted to humans changed their habits, too. For instance, there were more American robins near airports and roads.

“Clearly they had been displaced from these areas before,” Koper said. “We’ve got these really common species that we have always assumed are fine with humans. But actually, now we know that’s not quite true.”

Overall, the findings suggest wildlife “are actually much more sensitive to human activity than we realized before,” Koper added.

Nielsen said she wrote, directed and produced the film during three different waves of COVID in 11 different locations, including five provinces in Canada. For the stories that weren’t in Canada, she directed remotely by videoconference.

She was surprised how “wildlife can adapt so incredibly quickly to changes in human behaviour.”

“I think we all intuitively know that if we do something differently, wildlife will respond. But in many cases, wildlife responds overnight.”

In Bighorn Backcountry, the grizzly bear proved much less tolerant of the increased campers than wolves.

Fisher said grizzlies moved from the lower foothills to the mountains where there were fewer people, and showed a strong aversion to roads, something scientists didn’t see pre-COVID.

The findings point to a need to manage our impact as more Canadians flock to nature during the pandemic, he said.

“Suddenly with lockdown — this is a really poignant part of it — we realized: ‘Oh, wow, our tourist footprint is really, really high,’” Fisher said.

—Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press

Plan your adventures throughout the West Coast at westcoasttraveller.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @thewestcoasttraveller. And for the top West Coast Travel stories of the week delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our weekly Armchair Traveller newsletter!

Share this:

Category: TravelTag: Canada, Movies and TV, Places to Visit in Alberta, Wildlife

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

5 ways to take an affordable family vacation this summer

You want to create memories and have a great time with your family this summer.…

5 ways to take an affordable family vacation this summerRead More

48 hours in Nelson, B.C.: Trails, taps and laid-back charm

I rolled into Nelson on a warm Friday morning, welcomed by a mix of fresh…

48 hours in Nelson, B.C.: Trails, taps and laid-back charmRead More

Brick-by-brick, stories beyond the history come alive in Kelowna this summer

Brick-by-brick, Canadian artist Ekow Nimako re-imagined ancient African kingdoms by building and envisioning a journey…

Brick-by-brick, stories beyond the history come alive in Kelowna this summerRead More

Salish Sea’s first humpback whale calf of 2025 spotted off B.C. south coast

The first humpback whale calf of 2025 has arrived in the Salish Sea, according to…

Salish Sea’s first humpback whale calf of 2025 spotted off B.C. south coastRead More

This Sooke, B.C. destination was made for fun in summer sun

Since the late 1800s, the uniquely carved series of polished rock pools and tunnels in…

This Sooke, B.C. destination was made for fun in summer sunRead More

5 Washington towns perfect for a spontaneous weekend adventure

Looking for a little escape from the mundane? Washington is filled with quaint towns you…

5 Washington towns perfect for a spontaneous weekend adventureRead More

VIDEO: Empress and the beast: Victoria hotel’s turf war with marmot Roger

Mischievous beasts outwitting their human foes is a tale as old as time – Peter…

VIDEO: Empress and the beast: Victoria hotel’s turf war with marmot RogerRead More

Venturing into Khutzeymateen: Canada’s only grizzly bear sanctuary

Hidden deep in northwest British Columbia’s coast lies the lush inlet of the Khutzeymateen, bustling…

Venturing into Khutzeymateen: Canada’s only grizzly bear sanctuaryRead More

ValhallaFest music festival rises from B.C. old growth forest

Set against the backdrop of an old-growth forest near Terrace, B.C., ValhallaFest is where music…

ValhallaFest music festival rises from B.C. old growth forestRead More

Previous Post: « Looking for the Best Tapas North of 60? This Yukon restaurant has ‘em!
Next Post: WATCH: An experience shared: Coastal BC’s Klahoose Wilderness Resort »

Primary Sidebar

Things To Do

5 ways to take an affordable family vacation this summer

June 11, 2025

48 hours in Nelson, B.C.: Trails, taps and laid-back charm

June 10, 2025

Brick-by-brick, stories beyond the history come alive in Kelowna this summer

June 9, 2025

Salish Sea’s first humpback whale calf of 2025 spotted off B.C. south coast

June 9, 2025

Recent Posts

5 ways to take an affordable family vacation this summer

June 11, 2025

48 hours in Nelson, B.C.: Trails, taps and laid-back charm

June 10, 2025

Brick-by-brick, stories beyond the history come alive in Kelowna this summer

June 9, 2025

Salish Sea’s first humpback whale calf of 2025 spotted off B.C. south coast

June 9, 2025

Footer

The West Coast Traveller has an immense social media footprint, with eight social media sites and and 125,000+ social followers.

Join us on social media and Join Our Community by sharing your stuff!

Get Inspired

News Media Groups

Black Press Media
Sound Publishing
Oahu Media Group
Alaska
Boulevard Magazines
Used.ca

Let’s Get Social

West Coast Traveller
I Love British Columbia
I Love Alberta
I Love Yukon
I Love Northwest Territories
I Love Washington
I Love California
I Love Oregon
I Love Alaska

Visit Our Companion Sites

I Love Saskatchewan
I Love Manitoba
I Love Nunavut
I Love Ontario
I Love Quebec
I Love Newfoundland and Labrador
I Love Nova Scotia
I Love New Brunswick
I Love Prince Edward Island

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • TikTok Icon
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 West Coast Traveller and · All Rights Reserved