Lucas Brehaut anticipated a high level of interest in his research endeavors, but the reality turned out to be more challenging than he had imagined. Every creature in the untamed wilderness of Newfoundland seems curious about his activities and not always gentle with his equipment.
As a wildfire research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, Brehaut focuses on the regrowth of forests in Atlantic Canada post wildfires, a region experiencing an increase in forest fires despite its cooler and wetter climate compared to other parts of the country.
Following a forest fire near Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L. in 2022, Brehaut embarked on a study to observe how forests regenerate in a warming world due to climate change. To achieve this, he and his team had to transport 19 open-top chambers (OTCs) through the forest and position them around planted seedlings. These OTCs function like miniature greenhouses, raising temperatures by one to three degrees to simulate the effects of global warming. Presently, Brehaut’s research is in its third year out of a planned five.
Encountering challenges such as arduous treks over rough terrain and unpredictable Newfoundland weather was expected by Brehaut. However, in September 2023, during a routine check, he faced an unexpected issue.
Visitors to his research sites included caribou, moose, black bears, wolves, rabbits, and owls. Surveillance cameras, initially installed to monitor snow depth, revealed the culprits causing damage to 11 out of the 19 sites, with some animals even absconding with temperature sensors.
Brehaut humorously noted that a specific site, dubbed “The Problem Child,” consistently faced damage on each visit. Despite the setbacks, Brehaut maintains a positive attitude, acknowledging that the animals are merely enjoying themselves in their natural habitat at the expense of his research.
Kaitlyn Gaynor, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, explained that animals’ curiosity towards foreign objects in their environment stems from their natural tendencies to investigate potential resources or threats. She highlighted bears as curious omnivores attracted to novel items that might be food sources.
Moreover, animals’ keen sense of smell, especially human scent left on equipment, can draw them to research sites. Gaynor suggested mitigation strategies like minimizing human presence, reducing scent trails, and camouflaging equipment to minimize animal interference.
Animal disruptions in research settings are a global phenomenon, as Gaynor’s experiences in Mozambique with baboons, hyenas, and elephants have shown. Elephants, due to their intelligence and destructive nature, pose significant challenges to research equipment.
While animals are the primary cause of equipment loss or damage, Brehaut also faced human-induced issues, such as snowmobiles inadvertently damaging his research sites during snowy Newfoundland winters.