Overview
- Researchers report that each inch of annual rainfall lost corresponds to about a 2.11% increase in reported human–wildlife conflicts statewide, with some carnivores reaching roughly 3%.
- Species showing the sharpest drought-linked upticks include mountain lions (≈2.1%), coyotes (≈2.2%), black bears (≈2.6%) and bobcats (≈3%).
- Hotspots flagged in the study include Lake Tahoe for black bear break-ins, the Sierra foothills for mountain lion depredation on livestock, and the Los Angeles region for coyote encounters.
- The analysis used California Department of Fish and Wildlife incident reports from 2017 to 2023 focused on damage and nuisance events, though media accounts differ on dataset details and size, citing either 22,990 or nearly 32,000 reports.
- Authors suggest drought pushes animals to seek food and water in human spaces and may also shift human reporting behavior, and they recommend measures such as targeted water provisioning, expanded habitat conservation and compensation for agricultural losses.