Nature

NATURE’s Animals Behaving Worse explores the wickedly ingenious ways our wild neighbors are staking their claim for territory in an increasingly human-controlled world.

Charges of theft, property destruction, disturbing the peace, and even assault are on the rise — against animals. It’s become an all-out turf war, but just who is invading whose territory?

As cities sprawl into wilderness areas, animals are responding by exploiting human environments to their advantage — and doing so in devious ways. Foxes and squirrels have resorted to thievery in midwestern towns, stealing property from yards, while bears in California and gangs of baboons in South Africa burglarize homes for meals.

Though some animal intrusions may pose a mere nuisance, others are causing catastrophic damage. International travel and commerce have enabled wild invaders to easily cross borders and stake out new territories. Asian carp are poised to wipe out the Great Lakes’ native fish species, legions of red imported fire ants are wreaking havoc in the southern United States, and aggressive swarms of Africanized “killer” bees are terrorizing Arizonans.

This compelling sequel to NATURE’s Animals Behaving Badly is an amusing, yet cautionary tale that investigates the motives behind the mischief. What may appear as bad behavior is simply an animal’s natural response to our increased impact on the planet. As the boundaries between human and animal habitats blur, our actions may in fact be aiding and abetting these Animals Behaving Worse.

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Online content for Animals Behaving Worse was originally posted February 2006.