Animals Are Becoming Nocturnal

This time, it’s because of rising temperatures

Photo by Jack Bulmer on Unsplash

Evolution is a peculiar phenomenon. Generally speaking, a trait evolves to help a species adapt to a changing environment. Our ancestors needed to live on the ground instead of in trees, so evolution changed the shape, size, and capabilities of hominin bodies and intelligence.

More recently, experts have noticed many animal species are evolving to become more nocturnal. What might entice a species to transition if they’re used to being active during the day? Researchers say there are two primary reasons: Us, and climate change.

Human Activity

In a 2018 study published by the journal Science, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and Boise State University performed a meta-analysis of 76 studies that analyzed the Human (anthropogenic) impact on the behaviors of 62 mammal species from six continents — including boars, deer, tigers, and sun bears.

Take the sun bear, for instance. In its natural habitat, the sun bear spends over 80 percent of its 24-hour cycle awake and active during the day. But that changes dramatically when humans enter the picture. In areas where humans are spreading into the sun bear’s natural habitat, the bears switch to spending 90 percent of their time awake at night.