How social media is threatening rare animals and plants?

With the spread of social networks, the natural lives of many rare animals and plants are being 'disturbed' by tourists, curious people and. professional photographers. Experts even say that the rarer the species, the greater the risk they face.

From the story of the Capercaillie

The Capercaillie is famous throughout Scotland for its enormous size and striking plumage. It has a black tail that is always spread out like a fan and… especially loves to dance around during the breeding season. There are only about 530 of these playful animals left in the wild , most of which reside in the Cairgors National Park.

The Capecaillie's peaceful and private life has been… disrupted in recent years as more and more people have become aware of their beauty. Despite the 'no-disturbance' order against the grouse during the breeding season (which lasts from March to August every year), many bird watchers and photographers still flock to the Cairngorms to… 'sneak a peek' at the male birds performing; or to try to capture some footage and photos of the endangered bird.

In the spring of 2022, 17 people were caught trying to get into the Capercaillie's lek – a display area during the 'mating season' . That same year, surveillance cameras even captured a birdwatcher chasing six grouse away from their breeding grounds. The man was arrested but quickly released, with… a warning.

Carolyn Robertson, Director of the Cairngorms Partridge Conservation Project, is concerned that the presence of humans has increased the stress levels of the Capercaillie , causing them to not dare to return to their breeding grounds for many days.

'Every little disruption can make the difference between whether a bird breeds or not ,' says Carolyne, stressing that human disturbance is a real disaster for an already sparsely populated species.

The director of the Scottish Partridge Conservation Programme said: "It's a big challenge to stop enthusiasts from finding and recording Capercaillie images. 'When people take pictures and post them online, the posts get thousands of likes. When we ask them to take them down, they don't agree because there's so much. praise.'

Social media – in this respect – has become a new threat to rare animals around the world .

.To the tragedies of nature

A new paper published in the journal Science of The Total Environment also highlights the negative impacts of social media on biodiversity.

Accordingly, posting images of rare animals and plants, even publicizing their exact locations on cyberspace, has created a 'fever' in reality. Hundreds of people have gone to designated locations, even using 'unethical' methods such as playing bird songs, using bait. to attract species just to. film their own footage.

Robert Davis, author of the article, analyzed: 'Never in human history has information been shared with so many people so quickly as it is today. This creates terrible pressure on nature' .

Enthusiasts gather to photograph an endangered bird in a wetland in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China. (Photo: NurPhoto/Getty Images).

Experts believe that many species have been devastated by this new wave of threats. This is the case of the blue-headed thrush , which is only found in a small area in China's Jiangxi Province. In the presence of so many… photographers, the endangered bird has changed its nesting habits.

Similar problems have been reported with the Shetland lance-billed thrush and the Capercaillie mentioned above. In August this year, a photographer was fined more than £1,600 for… disturbing a nesting European honey buzzard in Wales.

Massacre for likes on Tiktok is the title of a shocking article published in The Guardian in mid-July. The article provided information about the hunting and killing of millions of migratory birds each year in Lebanon. Many poachers have posted clips of the bird massacre on Tiktok just to… get likes.

In 2008, a white-crowned sparrow, native to North America and rarely seen in Europe, attracted crowds of birdwatchers to a garden in Cley, North Norfolk. (Photo: David Tipling/Universal Images Group/Getty Images).

Not only animals, plants are also seriously threatened by social networks . Belinda, a biologist in Scotland, cited: "When a picture of a rare orchid blooming is posted, it immediately brings with it the risk of damage, even. disappearing in the wild."

A typical orchid called Queen of Sheba takes up to 10 years to bloom. To protect it from "hunters ", authorities have had to install fences, equip it with cameras and deploy security forces.

'The rarer something is, the more people want to see it with their own eyes. So with just one small action, you alone can push rare species closer to the brink of extinction ,' Belinda said bitterly.

Use social media properly to preserve

James Lowen, a natural history writer in Norfolk, USA, said: "There needs to be a cautious and reasonable way of behaving when posting images of rare animals and plants on the Internet."

The recent discoveries of the Norfolk butterfly, thought to be extinct, and the 'Holy Grail' orchid in Britain have created great excitement. However, their exact locations are shrouded in secrecy.

Lowen himself removed the section dedicated to the Capercaillie from the latest edition of his book 52 Weeks in the Wild to minimise human impact on this magnificent species.

A sign warns visitors to stay away from a chum nesting area in Thornham, Norfolk, England. (Photo: David Tipling/Universal Images Group/Getty Images).

Meanwhile, the Cairngorms Partridge Conservation Project has even sought to harness the power of social media to… save the species. In 2023, the Project launched its 'Lek It Be' campaign, urging people to stop searching for Capercaillies or, at the very least, refrain from posting photos on social media platforms. Around the same time, the Project even released a video of two men attempting to approach a Scottish woodcock in a restricted area.

'Our aim is not to shame them, but to develop a social norm ,' the project director said.

This measure has initially brought positive signals as the number of bird watchers/photographers decreased by 55% during the 2024 breeding season.