Wildlife Endangerment Due to Human Intervention in Nature Essay example

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 circumstances, the animal may become extinct. Due to the propagation of the human species, greater and greater amounts of land are taken away from wildlife. Eventually all land will be commercialized for human needs, thus leaving wildlife lost in the shuffle. Human intervention in nature has caused disastrous eff ects to wildlife and will continue to occur until humans realize the outcomes of their actions. Urbanization and habitat destruction play a large role in the decrease of wildlife. When Columbus discovered America, forests and grassy fields covered the land. As the years passed by, people began moving to the New World, thus increasing the demand for houses to be built. Since then, the human population has grown to an extremely large number. Today, the majority of land is commercialized either for humans or livestock. Urbanization is very dangerous, in respect to the preservation of wildlife. Along with decreasing wildlife populations, many plant species are destroyed in the process. In today... ...13. Long, 123. BIBLIOGRAPHY - Bascompte, Jordi, and Ricard V. Sole. â€Å"Effects of habitat destruction in a prey- predator metapopulation model.† Journal of Theoretical Biology, 195(3) December 1998, 383-393. - Long, Michael E. â€Å"The vanishing prairie dog.† National Geographic 193(4) Apr 1998: 116-131 - â€Å"PIRG: Wildlife Need Wild Places: Causes of Habitat Loss and Species Endangerment.† Public Interest Research Groups 1998. Available from http://www.pirg.org/enviro/esa/wildlife/page2.htm. Accessed 15 February 1999 - â€Å"Sanctuary: U.S. Wildlife Refuges.† National Geographic Society 1996. Available from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/refuges/c060.html. Accessed 15 February 1999 - Shrestha, M. N. â€Å"Animal welfare in the musk deer.† Applied Animal Behaviour Science 59(1-3) Aug. 1998: 245-250