Try to imagine a scenario in which you are going about your everyday life as usual, tending to your home and family, when suddenly a mob of invaders comes in and razes your entire life to the ground. Helpless to stop it, you have no other choice but to seek refuge elsewhere, perhaps somewhere that puts your life in danger. Such a concept may seem outrageous to you, but the fact is that animals of all species are losing crucial habitat around the world every day. While humans are behind most of the destruction of animal habitats, there are different ways in which we do it. Here are some of the most common.
Deforestation
Deforestation, or cutting down trees for use as timber, has been a cause of destruction of animal habitats for about as long as humans have existed. In developed countries, timber companies usually attempt to mitigate their deforestation programs by planting new trees, although its not a “one-for-one” replacement scenario. In undeveloped countries, however, deforestation is eliminating large swaths of animal habitat with no replacement whatsoever.
Agriculture
Agriculture has been another cause of destruction of animal habitat for centuries. This is especially a concern in developing countries, especially in South America, where large tracts of rain forest continue to be cut down every year to make way for growing crops. Even in the U.S., land owners have been tilling up previously virgin prairie to make more acreage for corn and other crops as the price of agricultural commodities surged in recent years.
Development
Both commercial and residential development is a common cause of destruction of animal habitats. All over the world, forests, grasslands and other habitats are cut down or plowed under to make way for shopping malls, office parks and housing developments. In densely populated areas, this often leads to clashes between people and wildlife that is running out of places to live.
Pollution
Pollution mostly affects the habitats of marine animals, as dumping of chemicals into waterways often makes them hostile and even uninhabitable to the marine life and other animals that count on them. Pollution also plays a role, although a much smaller one, in destruction of land habitat. Oil and chemical spills and illegal dumping can destroy animal habitats. Like many other causes of habitat destruction, pollution is often a larger problem in undeveloped countries than in developed ones.
For more on the impact human expansion is having on the wild and the species it shelters, click here.
Featured Image from Kouji Tsuru/Unsplash
