Essay on Wildlife Endangerment Due to Human Intervention...

Wildlife Endangerment Due to Human Intervention in Nature The driving force behind today’s alarming decline in species is the destruction, degradation and fragmentation of habitat due to our increasing human population and wasteful consumption of resources.1 Everyday wildlife is forced to seek refuge in very remote, small areas. As the human population increases, land that was once inhabited by wildlife is urbanized to suit human needs. In other words, the land available for wildlife to survive on keeps diminishing. As houses and roads are constructed, forest are cut down and cleared; consequently eliminating the natural habitats of wildlife. This causes animals to migrate to new areas and seek refuge. Under certain, harsh†¦show more content†¦Humans have a brain that has the capability of reasoning and thinking, which allows them to understand the concept of technology. Animals on the other hand do not have the ability to reason. Since animals do not realize that roads and highways are potentially dangerous, they are often killed. Every year thousands of animals are killed by cars because their homes are destroyed. Even though these killings are accidental, they still decrease the wildlife population. Road building associated with agriculture, logging, mining and urban development seriously impacts ecosystems in a number of ways.2 Dirt roads are usually built through forests, causing erosion and therefore degrading the quality of water in streams.3 Paved roads, unlike dirt roads, are not permeable.4 They cause water to drain elsewhere, often polluted with gasoline, oil, and lead off the road.5 In addition, when roads cut through an ecosystem, further habitat degradation and fragmentation results.6 The polluted water may cause animals to become very ill, and sometimes they die. Even though roads seem harmless, they are very dangerous to nature. Building roads decreases the area that wildlife has to live. They end up inbreeding because they have no place left to go. This is happening to the Florida panther now. Due to lack of land, the panther is forced to mate within its own areaShow MoreRelatedThe Conservation Of The Sumatran Elephant1518 Words   |  7 Pageselephants are endang ered. The elephant is not the only species threatened, as according to an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) study, the number of species that have been threatened has doubled in the past fourteen years. This includes one in eight birds, one in five mammals, and one in three mammals (Lowry). The numbers are continuing to grow, and as a human race, we are failing these species. The destruction of habitats and the overkill of species in hunting have both played monumentalRead MoreHuman Perception of Other Species1943 Words   |  8 PagesKEY QUESTION: HOW HAS HUMAN PERCEPTION OF OTHER SPECIES AND THEIR NEEDS LED TO CHANGES IN ECOSYSTEM IMBALANCE? INTRODUCTION: The ability to survive and reproduce by living organisms is constantly being tested by its external environment. Organisms those are unable to cope up with these changing external factors, face extinction. Over the years, species have evolved with the changing environmental conditions and have incurred adaptations to suit their existence in their environmentRead MoreAmur Leopard2720 Words   |  11 Pagesunknowingly depleted their habitat and community. Only mans intervention and realization of the problem can hope to save these animals (Garman 1996). According to Kutscherenko (1995) the wild population of the Amur leopard has dwindled to an estimated 120 to 140 leopards, 30 of which were counted in Russia. Distribution/Range The Amur Leopard used to range widely throughout Korea, Manchuria and the Primorskaya Oblast of the USSR but today due to the carelessness of hunters and the destruction of their