A
common pastime for many people in parks is to
feed native wildlife such as ducks, swans and
other birds. These birds often come into very
close contact with humans and will even some-
times snatch the food out of our hands.
However, if you spot the same species of birds farther away
from the cities, such as in lakes where fewer people occur, the
birds are often much more wary and won’t let people approach
closely at all. What causes this stark difference in wildlife fear
of humans?One explanation for the greater tameness of city animals is
a process known as habituation. This involves an animal repeat-
edly experiencing a harmless stimulus and eventually learning
to stop responding to that stimulus. This could be useful, as
persistently responding to a harmless stimulus could waste a
lot of the animal’s time and energy. Thus city birds may learn
that the constant stream of people walking by poses no threat
and therefore cease to respond to approaching humans.
Habituation also occurs in humans. When people move
into a new house on a busy road, the noise may be unbearable34 | JUNE 2016
The Bold
& the Beautiful
WOUTER VAN DONGENThe discovery that a gene partly determines which swans are bold and which are wary of
people could assist captive breeding programs in cities.electra kay-smith/adobe