Wildlife study

Urban wildlife response to lockdown

In response to COVID-19 outbreak we are in a period of lockdown. This has resulted in a change in human behaviour, with cities and town centres becoming quieter and our residential gardens and outdoor spaces becoming busier.

For urban wildlife, which includes mammals and birds living alongside people in cities, this will affect levels of disturbance from humans and food availability. This is a rare opportunity to try to collect information on how urban animals are responding to changes in human activity during lockdown.

How have urban animals responded to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 lockdown?

This is the overall question of this study

The aims of the project are

To collect records on any observations of unusual animal behaviour during the lockdown.
To determine the effects of reduction in human activity in city and town centres on urban wildlife.
To determine the effects of increase in human activity in gardens and outdoor spaces on wildlife.

What we are asking from you

Please fill in the short questionnaire on urban wildlife. There are 2 sections. The first 3 questions are about wildlife in gardens that anyone can answer. There is also a second section to fill in with any unusual observations of animal behaviour, either in your garden or when you have had to go out for essential purposes, or if someone has shared some unusual behaviour they have seen or heard about.

Link to the questionnaire

Please make sure

you do not breach social distancing recommendations when participating.

What we will do with the data

The data will be combined with other data from media searches to produce a report on the response of urban animals to lockdown across the globe.
No personal data will be collected or stored.
Any videos or images uploaded may be used in the report or shared for research purposes only.

Dawn dawn scott Scott is a Professor of Mammal Ecology and Conservation at Keele University. Her main area of research is human-wildlife interactions and conservation biology. She has previously published several research articles with the help of the public on urban wildlife.