Animal rescue centers received a flurry of calls, birds fell from the sky and nature reserves burned down as Britain’s wildlife baked in last week’s heatwave.
Conservationists said the animals were eerily still as they tried to hide from the heat. Experts fear the record temperatures could lead to a further collapse in insect numbers, with bumble bees and butterflies among the worst affected.
Dehydrated hedgehogs, small birds, foxes and snakes were among the victims helped by the RSPCA, which warned the extent of heat stress damage in the 40C (104F) conditions was huge. “Our emergency call center has a lot more calls than usual. On Monday we received 7,186 calls to our helpline compared to 4,416 on Sunday, which was a big increase,” said Evie Button, science officer in the wildlife division at the RSPCA.
There were reports of swifts falling from the sky in London, and Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue near Didcot said it could not take in any more animals after a heatwave increased the number of victims delivered. “You often don’t see the impact of something like this directly because it’s the nature of wild animals to hide when they’re sick or injured,” Button said. “It’s often only when they’re in really bad shape that people will see them and call us. So much of the impact will be hidden.”
Wild Ken Hill Nature Reserve near Snettisham, Norfolk, where 33 hectares were destroyed by bushfires last week. Photo: Bav Media
Among the most dramatic events was the wildfire at Ken Hill Wild Reserve in Norfolk, where 33 hectares (82 acres) of thorn bush went up in flames, destroying the nesting grounds of cormorants, grasshoppers and reed warblers. Reptiles and amphibians would burn, while most birds would flee — except for late-season nesters, experts said. “I saw birds flying back into the flames. I think the maternal instinct is quite strong,” said project leader Dominique Buscal. “I’m worried it won’t happen again this year. It’s incredibly dry, we have no rain forecast this week and it’s only mid-July,” he added.
What is happening in the UK is part of a bigger picture, with heatwaves becoming more frequent as the climate crisis escalates. Across Europe, the ground has been scorched for the past few days and there have been fires in a number of countries, including Spain, Greece and France. With heat waves expected to become 12 times more frequent by 2040 compared to pre-warming levels, animals around the world are changing their behavior to cope. For example, research shows that grizzly bears in Alberta, Canada, seek more closed, shady vegetation to cope with hotter temperatures, while in Greece, brown bears are more likely to be active at night. “Heat wave survivors” are those who make it through the heat but suffer invisible costs such as disease and poor growth.
A young owl suffering from the heat rests at the L’Hirondelle (Swallow) wildlife care center in Saint-Forgeau, France. Photo: Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP/Getty Images
John Spicer, professor of marine zoology at the University of Plymouth, said the intertidal area of Plymouth Harbour, normally busy with hermit crabs foraging for food and shells at low tide, had quieted down during the heatwave. Those crabs that remained appeared sluggish and some were unresponsive.
“Motile animals that remain in the intertidal zone are eerily immobile,” Spicer said. Beach bunkers that recycle beach material waited out the heat instead of recomposing nutrients, and sometimes there was a pocket with a hundred crunchy dead, he noted.
He added: “If they survive the heat stress, they may be damaged or their ‘energy bills’ may be directed more towards their maintenance than other equally important functions such as growth and reproduction. So the cost of living is going up – and I don’t need to tell you the effects of that rise.
Just outside Plymouth, three common species of seaweed showed extensive damage from the heat. “The creatures that seem to be most affected, and it makes sense, are the ones that can’t move, that are fixed in place — the crustaceans, the clams, the sponges, the sea anemones,” Spicer said.
There are reports of rare purple butterflies descending from the tops of oak trees to ponds to obtain moisture. There are fears in the UK that the heat wave will burn the plants these insects feed on and kill young caterpillars, which could cause some species to decline dramatically.
Flowers in a small strip of meadow left uncut in Eton, Berkshire, as wildlife habitat. Photo: Maureen McLean/REX/Shutterstock
Bumblebees will also be badly affected, said Dave Goulson, professor of biology at the University of Sussex. They are relatively large and have furry coats that are adaptations for living in cool conditions. In 40C heat they would not be able to forage. “They overheat in very warm weather and they just can’t fly — imagine trying to clap your hands 200 times a second while wearing a fur coat,” Goulson said. They usually have a supply of food in their nest, so they may be able to survive for a few days, but they may die if there are prolonged periods of heat.
A number of British bumblebees will be too warm to survive in a 2C warming Britain. In a best-case climate scenario, seven common bumblebees are expected to be unable to live in most of England’s lowlands, Goulson said. Research from 2020 suggests that the expansion or decline of bumble bee species may be due to their resistance to heat stress.
Usually, animals such as reptiles and insects that are ectotherms are severely affected because they are unable to control their body heat – it simply matches the temperature of the environment. People living in cities that suffer from the heat island effect will experience the greatest increase in temperature. “In a more natural environment that has lots of trees, vegetation and bodies of water, there will be more cool air and shade,” said Dr Nathalie Pilakuta, an ecologist at the University of Aberdeen. Placing feeders in gardens, water points and water baths will help wildlife weather the heat wave, she said.
Birds in the last flood zone at Dorney Common, Buckinghamshire, as the common bird was scalded by the heatwave on 15 July. Photo: Maureen McLean/Rex/Shutterstock
Conservationists should also consider creating landscapes that will better withstand heat waves, said Mike Morecroft, lead author of the IPCC report Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, who also works for Natural England. “Something we’re very interested in is consciously trying to target some of our conservation efforts in what we call climate change refuges, so places that are naturally cool, like north-facing slopes or more high altitudes,” he said. “Also, places near the coast tend to be a bit cooler – so the sea tends to buffer the fluctuations in air temperature.”
Incorporating more water into the landscape means they are more resilient in hot, dry summers and also store water in the event of major flooding. This will help prevent wildfires and reduce the impact of the drought that often comes with such hot weather. Because the drought, heat, and wildfires all hit at the same time, it’s hard to separate the effects of each. “The impacts of this week will not be properly assessed until months and years from now,” Morecroft said.
However, the urgent reduction of greenhouse gases is the highest priority. Spicer said that mitigation and adaptation strategies are well-intentioned and give us some comfort that we’re doing something, but they won’t prevent the car crash that’s coming.
“The rate at which we hit the wall is determined by greenhouse gas production. The question is not whether we can avoid the crash, but how fast do you want to travel when we hit the wall,” he said. “Drastically reducing greenhouse gases – that’s what we can actually do about it, even if it’s painful.”
Find more about Age of Extinction here and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features
Add Comment