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Humans have shaped the evolution of animals for as long as we've been catching and eating them. In the days of spear hunting, speed and boldness were survival assets. But with today's high-powered rifles, the tables have turned. Animals that speed off in the open are most at risk. And the advantage goes to shyer, more secretive animals. At least among elk. So says a study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. [Simone Ciuti et al, Human selection of elk behavioural traits in a landscape of fear]
Researchers outfitted 122 elk with GPS collars, and tracked their movements before and during the hunting season. They found two different 'personality' types: "bold runners," who ran a lot in open range; and "shy hiders," who kept a lower profile.
As expected, "shy hiders" were more likely to avoid hunters' gunsights, and survive. And that effect was strongest among young elk facing their first hunting season. Which suggests some genetic basis for their behavior, because the youngsters hadn't yet learned to fear human hunters.
Problem is, sitting still is a bad tactic for escaping wolves and grizzlies. So human hunters may actually be selecting for traits that make elk more vulnerable to their natural predators. Leaving them stuck between a rock and a hard place.
—Christopher Intagliata
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
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5 Comments
Add CommentNot only that, but what hunter shoots a sick or dying animal? Hunters often try to bring down the largest, healthiest breeders...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyeah, nature has a way to take care of sick and dying, called cougars. Whether a hunter takes a large "healthy" animal or a smaller one, the purpose is to balance the herds vs habitat and food. An unchecked population is at risk for starvation and disease when they get weak. If the theory held that only the largest and healthiest animals got shot, they'd all be gone after one season, right? Elk herds were on their way out in the late 1800's and through the efforts of hunting laws and conservation groups (mainly hunters) herds in north America are over 750,000.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAn interesting aside to this is the same thing is happening to rattlesnakes. Those which rattle the most are most likely to be destroyed leaving ones less likely to rattle to bread. This seems to have caused an increase in snake bites in some areas.
Sizes of trophy fish and other prey have greatly reduces, and it's been documented for many species. Good to have detailed studies like this, though, proving what previously was assumed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAn error in this article is found with the sentence: " Animals that speed off in the open are most at risk."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you were a hunter or surveyed all the accounts of elk hunting, you'd find that hunting elk is not that simple. A running elk (which usually don't tolerate the presence of humans) is a very hard target to hit. The assumption that the elk population was once exclusively open range is nonsense and false. Hiding in the woods is no protection from human hunters, either. It's actually somewhat helpful to have slow moving prey to rifle hunters can move close to without detection (or sit and wait for).
A more likely thesis (or premise) is that elk have always had this "two personality" character. It makes sense that a prey species would evolve to adapt to environmental condition and that elk would consequently develop into "forest" and "open range" species. Predator species show similar adaptive trends - always following their natural prey.
Michigan elk are all forest dwellers. Michigan deer have "regional" preferences" where the deer in the Upper Peninsula are forest dwelling but deer in the Lower Peninsula choose habitat based on food availability. The current trophy whitetail deer are taken on (limited access) private farmland.
I'd say this article is based on thin data and on the lack of familiarity the authors have with hunting and non-hunting issues.
Buck skin man has a good argument. A hunter with ethics should not shoot at a running animal, since he can not guarantee a clean kill.
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