Wildlife Emotion Analytics Framework for Evaluating Animal Stress Responses Near Human Settlements

Abstract

Human expansion into wildlife areas results in a close interaction of humans and free-roaming wildlife in environments exposed to noise, light, traffic, and the presence of humans. There is an urgent need to reliably evaluate the stress response in order to provide guidance for conservation action and ensure animal welfare. The aim of this paper is to present the Wildlife Emotion Framework a conceptual and methodological structure based exclusively on well-established concepts of animal science to estimate stress in wild animals residing near human settlements. It consists of three domains that are evaluated together to measure the level of stress: physiological stress markers such as blood glucocorticoid concentration, glucocorticoid concentration in hair, feathers, and faeces; behavioural stress markers such as flight initiation distance, vigilance frequency, and altered activity budgets; and ecological context including proximity to settlement edges, habitat fragmentation, and duration of exposure to stress. Each domain is evaluated together in one framework in order to create a standardized procedure to assess stress levels and define buffer zones and mitigation procedures. Peer-reviewed articles on animal science are used to back up each domain of evaluation.