Changes occurring in wildlife

_Elsa_

‘CLIMATE CHANGE & WILDLIFE - We are living in perilous times. In some ways, exotic companion animals are shielded from an even worse fate, which is also wrought by humans: climate change. We know that climate change has an effect on wild animals and endangered species – many of us are still imprinted with images of polar bears struggling on ice floes in the Planet Earth series or An Inconvenient Truth. Still, there are so many ways that climate change is already impacting wildlife around the globe.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, unfortunately (no pun intended). Based on future projections, the impacts of climate change are only going to get worse. Below, we look at some of the many projections that have been made about how shifts in temperature around the globe will impact various animal species. It sounds alarmist, but the possibilities are truly disastrous and beg our attention.

ZOOS & AQUARIA - Wild animals have always fascinated humans. While many accredited zoos and aquaria today are promoted in a scientific kind of way, the history of those institutions is based in colonialism: zoos and menageries began as a way for empires to show their literal reach, collecting “exotic” animals from the colonies and gathering them together back home.

One of the biggest arguments in favor of zoos is that they are educational institutions that promote conservation and positive feelings towards wild animals. This is a claim that has been studied to varying degrees, and those studies lead us to believe that, while the public wants to believe in zoos’ education value, this transmission of information isn’t nearly as effective as we might think.

Zoos can continue to change, and they have the potential to play a more beneficial role for wildlife than they have in the past. Some zoos have included native wildlife rehabilitation in their work; animals, as varied as manatees, otters, seals, sea lions, whales, pelicans, turtles, tortoises, bears, foxes, squirrels, bears, owls, hawks, eagles, condors, and even honeybees, have been successfully rehabilitated by zoos. Could the functions of zoos of the future be to rescue, rehabilitate and release orphaned or injured native wildlife, and to provide life-long care and sanctuary for those individual animals that cannot survive on their own if released back into the wild? Some zoos agree, and they have already moved in this direction.’ (Source)

Let’s continue - Meet the animals we farm for food

Start at the beginning - What is an ecosystem?