Habitat Loss of Endangered Animals

Leading Cause of Endangerment

• It is important to realize that it is not endangered animals that force habitat loss, but that in most cases the habitat destruction is what endangers the species. When an animal's range is suddenly removed, the animal loses all the things it needs to survive. This includes food sources, water and shelter. An animal is well adapted to its native region. When it is forced to move outside that region to survive, it often cannot.

Speed of Loss

• The reason that habitat loss is so dangerous to animals is because of the speed at which it happens. When people move into a territory, they destroy miles of land in a single swoop. This speed displaces hundreds or thousands of animals in a very short period of time. Animals cannot learn or biologically adapt to the new circumstances quickly, and as a result they very often simply die.

Animals that Have Become Endangered Through Habitat Loss

• The tiger population is endangered in huge part due to human habitat destruction in Asia. With population booms in India and China over the last 50 years, agriculture and development has destroyed much of the tiger's natural habitat. In North America, the gray wolf has had its range reduced through human destruction of habitat, which, combined with human predation on the wolves, has landed them on the endangered list.

Why Habitat Destruction Occurs

• Agriculture is one of the leading causes of habitat destruction. As the world's population continues to boom, more and more land is required for growing food. Clear-cutting and destruction of natural habitat to create pasture and fields eliminates millions of acres of animal habitat. Development is also a problem. As smaller centers grow, links to larger centers are required. As people build roads through the middle of animal habitats, the animals move out of the range to avoid humans. This shrinks the available space they have to roam.