This Land Was Their Land
Elephants, koalas, orangutans, and tigers are all losing their native habitat as humans convert forest land. In Africa, pastoral herders kill lions, thinking they threaten their herds, while in Asia, farmers seek vengeance on the elephants that raided their crops. Meanwhile, in the United States, ranchers get permission to remove wolves and poison coyotes.
While each species’ situation is unique, there are two intertwined, recurring problems that result in biodiversity loss for our land-based friends: habitat loss and fragmentation and human-wildlife conflict. While the consequences of these issues can be dire, the better news is that there are small actions we can take to help our favorite and native species once we understand the problems they face.
Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
Imagine you’re a male tiger. You’re content to spend most of your life on your own, but occasionally you’ve got the urge to meet up with a lady tiger to keep the species going. One of the females in your territory signals that she’s ready for your company, so you head off in her direction. But along the way, you find a busy highway blocking your path and cutting you off from your reproductive mission.
Smaller animals are also impacted by habitat loss. For example, the Oregon northern red-legged frog lives in shallow ponds but requires a forested area for breeding. To move from one location to the other, the frogs must migrate 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) across a highway, two roads and two sets of railroad tracks. Many do not survive the journey.
These are but two examples. As we expand our roads, housing, and agriculture, we convert the wild spaces that were once home to other species into places fit just for us. This leaves our favorite animals with less room to roam (habitat loss) – in many cases, less than 10% of their native range. Human infrastructure can also divide wild land into smaller parcels (habitat fragmentation) thereby isolating animals from others of their species and food sources.
Roads have proved particularly hazardous for wildlife to navigate. In the United States alone, over one million wild animals are killed trying to traverse our motorways each DAY. Luckily, wildlife corridors can really help! For example, using fencing to corral local animals to use crossing structures in Banff National Park reduced wildlife collisions by an astounding 80%. The success rate was even higher (96%) for deer and elk. Creating corridors helps reconnect isolated habitat patches in natural spaces too.
Human-Wildlife Conflict
Now consider what it would be like to live as an impoverished small farmer. You feed your family with what you grow and sell the limited excess. You are just barely surviving, and you worry constantly about the myriad problems that could wipe you out. One morning, you walk out to your land and find that more than half of your crops have been eaten or trampled. Only one creature is capable of this level of devastation: elephants. You feel desperate and want to lash out, so you set off with your rifle.
On a less dramatic scale, imagine having a small peaceful fishpond in your backyard. You nurture your aquatic friends to adulthood and enjoy feeding them every day . . . until a raccoon shows up one night and eats them. The night bandit shows up the next night expecting more sushi and finding none, rips out your plants and the motor for your pond. Would you consider trying to trap the raccoon? Or perhaps trying to make him or her sick?
Both are examples of human-wildlife conflict, defined as any encounter that interferes with human or wildlife’s daily existence. As we confine species to smaller and smaller spaces, they may not be willing to remain in the areas we leave them, especially if they are hungry. And that’s where the trouble begins.
Human-wildlife conflicts are not easy to resolve; coexistence starts with understanding the perspective of all impacted parties and addressing all the root causes. Consider our example of elephant versus farmer. Because we are animal lovers, we may intuitively understand that the elephants were hungry and looking for a meal. But we also need to have empathy for the farmer who lost their food and livelihood. Some resolutions that have helped have been planting new crops that the elephants will find less tasty and adding beehives around the farm perimeter to limit elephant incursions (elephants don’t like bees) while adding a source of income (honey).
Actions You Can Take
The two major terrestrial issues of habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict are interrelated – maintaining or restoring intact and connected habitats is a great start to preventing conflicts. But until humanity deploys broad-based solutions to help our animal friends, here are some actions you can take on their behalf.
Donate
Taking Action
- When our favorite species are involved in complex issues, the best way we can help them is by supporting organizations working to conserve or restore habitat for wildlife or that work with local communities to reduce or eliminate human-wildlife conflict.
- Organizations that take innovative approaches to eliminate or reduce conflict also deserve consideration. For example, one team painted faces on cow posteriors. Silly as it sounds, this simple action eliminated tiger attacks because tigers prefer to ambush from behind.
- Even better: let others know you donated to encourage them to consider making additional contributions to support your cause.
Solutions to Common Problems
- It’s hard to know which organizations are on the up and up. If you’re not sure which nonprofit matches your giving goals, try our donation search for suggestions. You can search by species or by the goals of habitat restoration, habitat conservation, or local education.
- Bonus: You can save money on your taxes if you itemize deductions.
Advocate for Corridors
Taking Action
- Write a letter to your state and federal elected officials encouraging them to support financing for wildlife corridors. (The structures are expensive to build but pay for themselves over several years of reduced collisions.)
- Remind your elected officials that these features are very popular across all demographics. For example, they enjoy the support of 87% of Americans.
- Even better: talk to your friends about the importance of corridors so that more people are aware of their benefits.
Solutions to Common Issues
- If it’s hard for you to put pen to paper, try our sample letter that you can use as a starting point to make your case. Then google who your elected officials are and their contact information. You can send via email or post a letter.
- Bonus: Your actions will save many lives — both human and other animals.
Act Locally
You can take proactive steps in your own space by securing your garbage, feeding pets indoors, and fencing in gardens to prevent situations that could lead to conflict. When issues do arise, though, here are some additional steps you can take.
Taking Action
- In your backyard or community space, create a patchwork of native plants and trees to provide a corridor for local wildlife. Alternatively, you can restore a small part of your space to its original state or set up a water garden to provide a drinking source for nearby animals.
- Before reacting to wildlife incursions into your space, consider how you can deter the situation peacefully such as adding lights with a motion-sensor. These help because many animals are active at night and prefer to avoid brightly lit spaces.
- Even better: Get your space certified as a wildlife habitat or determine how you can help your intruder while eliminating the conflict.
Solutions to Common Issues
- It can be hard to know how to start a large backyard project. Try googling “how to build a native garden in [your location]” or check out this article for some basic ideas. You can also check with local nonprofits for assistance on getting started.
- It can also be difficult to resolve a conflict that’s occurring in your own backyard. Try googling solutions or check out this website for some examples of specific actions you can try with common wildlife.
- Bonus: your updated space will be easier to tend to because local plants are more resilient to local weather patterns! In addition, you’ll know you helped your local wildlife.