Wildlife is a broad term that covers undomesticated animal species. This category also includes plants, fungi and microbes in their natural habitats. Wild animals are found in deserts, forests, grasslands and even cities. The world’s wildlife is constantly being threatened by human activities. This is a major reason for the rapid decline of many species of wild animals and plants.
In order to protect them from being hunted or pushed towards extinction, the governments of different countries have implemented various laws and taken up steps for wildlife conservation. But their efforts go in vain when humans don’t understand the importance of these animals for the ecological balance of the earth.
The main threat to the world’s wildlife is the rapid growth in the human population. This has led to the destruction of a lot of natural habitats. As a result, the wild animals have lost their natural dwelling place and are now searching for other places to live. This search for new habitats is quite difficult and carries the wild species towards the edge of extinction.
Another major problem is the illegal trading of the body parts of the animals. The demand for animal fur, skin, bones and other body parts is a huge source of income for the poachers and it has led to the decline in the number of the wild animals. For instance, the one-horned rhinoceros is on the verge of extinction in Kaziranga National Park because people are hunting it for its horn.
During prehistoric times, humans and wild animals fought continuously. But as human civilization developed, they were able to tip the balance in their favor by using their superior intellect and weapons. They used wild animals for labor, entertainment and sport. They used elephants as beasts of burden, monkeys and birds of prey for hunting assistance, and lions, bears and other dangerous animals in circuses and shows.
Today, wildlife is under severe threat due to various factors like climate change, pollution, overpopulation, and illegal trading of body parts, etc. The demand for bushmeat in East Asia is devastating populations of monkeys, pangolins, sharks and other animals that are traditionally regarded as game. The increase in the human population, deforestation and a rise in the road constructions are causing the habitat loss of the wild animals. They are pushed to the edge of extinction because of the shortage of their natural habitat. The world’s wildlife has a very important role to play in the ecological balance of the earth. It is very unfortunate that the majority of these animals and plants are getting extinct with every passing day. We must do everything in our power to save the world’s wildlife. Developing wildlife identification skills is a good way to start and can be honed by visiting wildlife refuges, parks, zoos, sanctuaries, etc. Besides this, paying attention to the environment while walking in a forest or other areas can help you spot the species that are present there.