The wildlife, immediately following the cataclysm, gained access to magic and unlike humans they instinctively recognized and used it instantly. Like humans the greater the intelligence the greater the use of their magic. As a rule of thumb anything of a dog's intelligence or greater had direct use of magic.192Please respect copyright.PENANAyEq54KRqgX
Wildlife that did not have enough willpower to maintain enough magic to live, naturally died instantly. This was mainly very smaller animals, such as mice. While this would not seem to be an issue, it had a snowball effect as the lesser predators lost their food supply and was forced to look further up the food chain. Also the non-predators became more powerful from their own use of magic. The magic changed some in other ways as well, adding to their intelligence, and altering their aggressions. 192Please respect copyright.PENANA0AJYGG3G6p
This created chaos on where anything set on the chain. Many species were hunted to extinction. In relatively short time some of the predators realized the ones at the top of the food chain had fallen, both in relative strength and in numbers, and were an easy source of food. 192Please respect copyright.PENANACSGydxK4RH
This was the early days of the Second Dark Age. After humans learned to use their own magic they began to become higher up on the chain, but by then some animals had become adjusted to what their new prey was and would stalk us if our numbers were few enough to make it worth the risk. 192Please respect copyright.PENANAOTnMuhX8CA
As human magic evolved, so did the Wild Kingdom's. (Now actually considered an area, not just a metaphor). We evolved faster, having more room to grow, but to this day they remain a challenge.192Please respect copyright.PENANAMOJDiOOl16
Even the animals that do not consider us prey have become territorial, so human growth in most areas has become limited to handfuls. 192Please respect copyright.PENANA6KxSpJLHDM
As a protection against this threat nearly all cities have a wall erected, and depending on the size of the city a standing army even if all the cities near them are peaceful.192Please respect copyright.PENANAWnc11fkH6u