<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/169840_web.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/169840_web.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/169840_web.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Large predators are being found in places they haven't been seen before, and researchers suggest they are rebounding from near-extinction and spreading out. (Brian Silliman, Duke University) (Brian Silliman, Duke University)

At a Glance Sightings of large predators in odd places will become more common, a recent study suggests.

Scientists say species such as alligators and killer whales are reclaiming their old habitats as their populations recover.

The animals’ ability to adapt has opened the door for new opportunities when it comes to conservation efforts.

Killer whales in rivers and giant gators in parking lots may become a more common sight as large predators and other animals have been reclaiming their old habitats, researchers say.

Successful conservation efforts have led to the increase in usual sightings, which some scientists say is due to the animals expanding their habitats as they search for food , according to a recent study. While it may seem strange for them to appear in certain places, the study suggests they are actually returning to ecosystems that they used to hunt in before human activity took over and caused their populations to drop.

"We can no longer chock up a large alligator on a beach or coral reef as an aberrant sighting ," study co-author and Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment associate professor of marine conservation biology Brian Silliman said in a release on the findings. "It's not an outlier or short-term blip. It's the old norm, the way it used to be before we pushed these species onto their last legs in hard-to-reach refuges. Now, they are returning."

The researchers found that wildlife such as gators, otters, wolves, gray whales, bald eagles, mountain lions and other large predators are now as abundant if not more plentiful in these “unusual” habitats as they are on their more traditional stomping grounds.

In Oregon, a woman watching sailboats from her deck near the Astoria Bridge spotted a pod of up to a dozen killer whales breaching in the water roughly 900 feet away, The Daily Astorian reports.

(MORE: The Worrying Tale of Tailless Whales )

Gators have been making their presence felt in parts of the South, where they’ve lumbered onto porches and wandered into traffic. In South Carolina, a woman and her two children were killed after their vehicle hit a gator on Interstate 95 and veered into a tree , CBS reports.

Though the animals returning to their old habitats may not be that thrilling for humans, their return has benefits for the ecosystems. Sea otters in particular help protect seagrass beds from becoming covered with algae by eating the Dungeness crabs that feast on algae-grazing slugs, states the release.

According to Silliman, the animals' successful repopulations and return to areas thought to be off-limits overturns one of the most widely believed patterns of the ecology of animals.

"The assumption, widely reinforced in both the scientific and popular media, is that these animals live where they live because they are habitat specialists,” said Silliman. “Alligators love swamps; sea otters do best in saltwater kelp forests; orangutans need undisturbed forests; marine mammals prefer polar waters. But this is based on studies and observations made while these populations were in sharp decline.

“Now that they are rebounding, they're surprising us by demonstrating how adaptable and cosmopolitan they really are," he added.

The researchers say the animals’ ability to adapt has opened the door for new opportunities when it comes to conservation.



"It tells us these species can thrive in a much greater variety of habitats. Sea otters, for instance, can adapt and thrive if we introduce them into estuaries that don't have kelp forests,” said Silliman. “So even if kelp forests disappear because of climate change, the otters won’t. Maybe they can even live in rivers.

"We will find out soon enough."