The science on wildlife PTSD is a rapidly growing field: How do we detect and treat post-trauma in our wild friends? And how can we prevent it?
This week we look at the relationship between humans and wildlife. Are we working together? PTSD is the result of climate degradation and affects all living beings in our world. Let’s explore this further.
Dear Dr. Green,
Can animals get PTSD? I think about all those animals constantly fleeing wildfires here in California and I worry. Tanya K.
Thank you for your question, Tanya.
Yes. Sadly, science has shown, wild animals can experience PTSD, a.k.a. post-traumatic stress disorder.
These studies, started in the 1990s, coined the term ecology of fear. This concept describes the ripple or domino effect that occurs when the destruction of one species negatively affects an entire biological community, animal and plant life alike.
To a degree, the ecology of fear is normal in the wild: Prey species must maintain constant vigilance for predators to stay alive. However, the introduction of new predators — or new threats — can create a state of hypervigilance, one of the most common symptoms of PTSD.
In this case we might see humans as apex predators, sometimes referred to as superpredators, although that term remains under a fair amount of debate (and it’s worth noting that it’s not related to the harmful criminal justice trope used in the 1990s). Humans are causing the decline of populations, and extinction of wildlife species, at a rate and speed that far outpaces natural wildlife predation rates, due to our technological capabilities and tendency to overexploit and undervalue the natural world.
People all too often view nature as “other,” a place outside us, “a place to go” to spend vacations and weekends — often failing to understand that we’re active, integral beings intertwined in nature.
A Brief Look at How PTSD Works in Both Humans and Animals
Brain imaging shows that humans with PTSD have remarkably altered brain structures. Trauma causes startling physical and chemical changes in the hippocampus, amygdala, telomeres, and Broca’s center that compromise the growth of new neurons (neurogenesis). The mind is unable to put traumatic memories in sequential order. PTSD patients get “stuck” in memory loops of the trauma (the past) and find it difficult to resolve the trauma; they often struggle to move forward, never have children or leave the ones they have, and separate themselves from society (the herd) by moving around restlessly.
This is a very simplistic explanation of post-trauma for the purpose of demonstrating how our trauma responses correlate to those of wildlife and can illustrate how trauma affects wildlife living in threatened natural settings and unrealistic artificial habitats.
Scientific research is increasingly showing the same neurogenesis in wildlife: Trauma stemming from the destruction of habitat, torture, threat of death, and other human-causes hardships results in permanent fear, startle effect, hypervigilance, and anxiety. The brains of animals, though differently structured from humans, react similarly to trauma (depending upon the particular species, of course).
Wild creatures can likewise experience depression, lack of interest or cessation of reproduction, or loss of direction in migratory patterns or loss of their traditional seasonal homing locations due to habitat destruction and have greatly reduced survival rates during or after anthropogenic disasters associated with climate change, such as forest fires, drought, floods, and other crises.
We’ve included some examples of scientific studies of PTSD in wildlife in the resources list below. To outline all of the studies over the past century here would be impossible but take a look for proof that PTSD between humans and wildlife is strongly correlated.
Some other examples of direct infliction of trauma on wildlife by humans include overproduction of agriculture to meet increasing human populations, overfishing, overhunting, habitat destruction, placing value on animal parts (poaching, illegal wildlife trade), hunting for social status (“trophies”, or “aphrodisiac medicines”), and keeping wild animals as “pets,” symbols of wealth and human superiority.
So, Tanya K. and other readers, what will calm your worry about wildlife and your concern they have PTSD? For starters, participation in the environmental movement — a mightily empowering endeavor. Do some research on where your current skills and talents in other fields could help prevent disasters like wildfires and protect wildlife.
We hurt ourselves, as well as the rest of the living, by “othering” wildlife. The best cure for our worry and discomfort is to get off the observation deck and into the fray.
Let me know how it goes — Dr. Green always welcomes life stories when it comes to saving the planet.
Cheers!
Dr. Green
What are you struggling with emotionally when it comes to your relationship with our planet? What are your challenges and concerns? Do you have some success stories to share with our readers? I want to know! Maybe together we can come up with strategies that will enrich your inner—and outer life!
See you next time!
Share your challenges and success stories by sending Dr. Green your questions using the form below:
Resources:
Ecology of Fear (Zanette LY, Clinchy M. Ecology of fear. Curr Biol. 2019 May 6;29(9):R309-R313. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.042. PMID: 31063718).
Ecology and Neurobiology of Fear in Free-Living Wildlife (Liana Y. Zanette, Michael Clinchy. 2020. Ecology and Neurobiology of Fear in Free-Living Wildlife. Annual Review Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 51:297-318. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-011720-124613).
Wolves and their prey all fear the human “super predator” (Kasper, Katharina et al. “Wolves and their prey all fear the human “super predator”.” Current biology: CB vol. 35,20 (2025): 5111-5117.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2025.09.018).
“Predator-induced fear causes PTSD-like changes in the brains and behaviour of wild animals”. (Zanette, Liana Y.; Hobbs, Emma C.; Witterick, Lauren E.; MacDougall-Shackleton, Scott A.; Clinchy, Michael (2019-08-07). “Predator-induced fear causes PTSD-like changes in the brains and behaviour of wild animals”. Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 11474. Bibcode:2019NatSR…911474Z. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-47684-6)
Check out the Journal for Ecopsychology, a peer-reviewed journal founded in 2009 that “places psychology and mental health in an ecological context to recognize the links between human health, culture, and the health of the planet.”
Reporting on PTSD in Wildlife (just a few examples):
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is the senior science writer at The Revelator. Dr. Crary is a psychologist specializing in trauma research and practice. Her focus is on how the environment and climate change affect the human mind, and how healthy natural environments can ease mental suffering and trauma (PTSD). Her research and applications for healing include natural settings for healing, nutrition that encourages healthy brain chemistry, and the spiritual/psychological connection between our environment and trauma recovery. Her virtual environments in Second Life promote education and immersive experiences for healing trauma, and she conducts PTSD support groups in the Pacific Northwest and in the virtual world.