TikTok plays host to millions of videos featuring animals, both domestic and wild. The #animal hashtag currently totals some 74.9 billion views on the Chinese application – a real gold mine for ethologists, researchers who study the behaviour of animals.

For instance, the Tibetan Plateau in Central Asia is home to many wild animals such as wolves, yaks and sheep. Their presence sometimes results in conflicts that Tibetan shepherds and farmers capture on video with their smartphones.

These videos have become a valuable tool for ethologists, as revealed by a study recently published in the journal “Conservation Society and Practice”.

An international team of researchers used some 200 videos, available on TikTok and other social networks, to look at human-wildlife interactions in the Sanjiangyuan region. They showed grey wolves, snow leopards and brown bears in their natural environment.

Scientists found that in most of the videos they examined, these animals tend to avoid humans. But a quarter of them reveal the damage these creatures can cause, from destruction of agricultural crops to carnivores’ attacks on livestock.

“Wolves used to run away from humans, but now they would not – herders want to record this behaviour,” a local resident told the researchers.

Not all animals on the Tibetan plateau react the same way to the presence of humans; for example, brown bears seem to be much more curious than grey wolves and snow leopards about human facilities and objects. Tibetans have filmed them trying to open doors and cans, or trying to get into tents.

Some even saw them trapped in large plastic barrels, used by Sanjiangyuan farmers to store yak butter.

The researchers say videos of wildlife found on social networks could provide insights for better human and wildlife coexistence.

“Analysing such content not only helps conservationists understand human-wildlife encounters from local perspectives, but also reveals emerging challenges and potential opportunities for coexistence efforts,” they explained.

They added that these recordings also provide valuable information about species that have conventionally been difficult to study or are generally under-researched.