"Wildfires pushing tigers towards Sumatran villages. Drought prodding elephants into African cropland. Hotter ocean temperatures forcing whales into shipping lanes.

Humans and wildlife have long struggled to harmoniously coexist. Climate change is pitting both against each other more often, new research finds, amplifying conflicts over habitat and resources.

"We should expect these kinds of conflicts to increase in the future," said lead researcher Briana Abrahms, a wildlife biologist at the University of Washington. "Recognizing that climate is an important driver can help us better predict when they'll occur and help us [intervene]."

Human-wildlife conflict is defined as any time humans and wildlife have a negative interaction: a car hitting a deer; a carnivore killing livestock; a starving polar bear going into a remote Alaskan village looking for food."

Nathan Rott reports for NPR March 2, 2023. [2]