Animals are evolving four times faster than humans initially thought, a new study has claimed.
Scientists drew the conclusion on Darwinian evolution by analysing the genetic variations in 19 different wild animal groups.
They surveyed animals like red deer in Scotland, spotted hyenas in Tanzania and song sparrows in Canada.
Evolution suggests that species develop through inheriting genetic variations that increase their individual ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.
A species evolves faster when there are more genetic differences in it because weaker traits are killed off quicker.
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A team of boffins across the globe discovered that animals are evolving wider and quicker than we once thought.
According to study lead Dr Timothée Bonnet, Charles Darwin was far off the mark in believing evolution was a super slow process.
He said: “Since Darwin, researchers have identified many examples of Darwinian evolution occurring in just a few years.
“A common example of fast evolution is the peppered moth, which prior to the industrial revolution in the UK was predominantly white.
"With pollution leaving black soot on trees and buildings, black moths had a survival advantage because it was harder for birds to spot them.
“Because moth colour determined survival probability and was due to genetic differences, the populations in England quickly became dominated by black moths.”
The team consisted of 40 researchers from 27 scientific institutions.
The study was the first of its kind, with the evolution of some of the animals being analysed over a 60 year period.
Dr Bonnet explained: “We needed to know when each individual was born, who they mated with, how many offspring they had, and when they died.
"Each of these studies ran for an average of 30 years, providing the team with an incredible 2.6 million hours of field data.
“We combined this with genetic information on each animal studied to estimate the extent of genetic differences in their ability to reproduce, in each population.”
The boffins spent three years trawling through their data to conclude that evolution is happening two to four times quicker than previously estimated.
But Dr Bonnet warned that with climate change predicted to increase rapidly, there is no guarantee that these populations will be able to keep up.
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