Human Evolution
Homo Sapiens, the so-called ‘human beings’ in layman’s terms, account for only about 0.01% of the total living beings on earth. Though being in such a small ratio, these sophisticated creations of God pose potential trouble to fellow creatures.
The ‘social beings’ might not be so social to other species after all. Time and again, it has been noticed that humans, directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly, tend to harm mother nature and its beautiful variety of flora and fauna.
While the first of life forms might have appeared on earth about 3.5 billion years ago, early humans have been considered to have come into existence only about 6 million years ago.
Human Discoveries
And ever since, they have been evolving. Time is the witness to the fact that they have been making newer and newer inventions to make their lives or their fellow living beings’ lives easier.
Not only do they invent, but they also make discoveries to gratify their curiosity and to make better developments, adapt according to conditions, strategize, plan and predict outcomes, analyze cases, and be prepared for desired and undesired events.
In this continued process, one consequence, most times, tends to be overlooked. This consequence is human developments’ effect on animals and their habitats.
Environmental Degradation
Of the many aspects of human development, the following facts highlight the backlashes faced by animals. This is done to clear lands for mining, oil extraction, road construction, railway track laying, agricultural land area expansion, and increasing land space for industrialization and urbanization. Trees are felled for their wood, as it serves as raw material, both in construction and making of artifacts.
Deforestation Effects On Animals
Deforestation or clearance of forests, the leading cause of habitat loss for animals, has been growing with time, without anticipating its aftermath.
Although this process, in the myopic view of humans, is catering to their daily needs, the same is bringing misery to the lives of wild animals. Animals lose their habitats and birds, their nests.
They can no longer fulfill their food requirements and tend to lose diversity among their species. With the lack of proper conditions for residence, endemic species, which are restricted to a specific locality, and the endangered ones, which face the risk of extinction, turn extinct.
It is high time that humans notice and take appropriate measures to replenish forests and reduce culling them as their rate of growth is slower than the speed of felling of trees.
Water Pollution
Water animals are also victims of human development. Humans tend to dump excessive factory and plant wastes, toxic chemicals, plastics, and useless byproducts into the water bodies. This way, the abode of water animals and fishes is poorly affected.
The underwater plants, which serve as food and complement the lives of other water creatures, do not grow as they would under normal circumstances, thus damaging the natural balance of nature. Superfast infrastructure and construction work, clubbed with deforestation, cause global warming. This is the reason for the increase in temperature, which further decreases the rainfall rates and either heats up or dries up water bodies.
This kills the animals as they can’t tolerate living in such high-temperature spaces. Due to exposure to dumped plastics, which the animals confuse for consumables tend to get choked on them apart from having to live uncomfortably with these water pollutants.
Effects Of Water Pollution On Animals
The increasing human population poses increased human demands. The repercussions of the humans’ needs being met have to be faced by the innocent animals who have to forcefully sacrifice their place of stay, leaving them helpless. Their wetlands, drylands, coastal regions, and lakes are lost to pollution, tourism, and urbanization.
Coral reef bleaching is also a reason for corals and other like-animals habitats’ loss. In an article published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2015, it has been stated that 85% of the species are on their red list due to loss and degradation of habitat. Indirectly affected climatic changes can not be a threat only to animals but to human beings too.
The temperature change is growing at alarming rates. Beyond a specific temperature, the bodies of living beings start malfunctioning as their organs fail to perform their vital functions. This threshold of temperature varies from species to species.
Bramble cay melomys, in 2016, have been reportedly turned extinct due to the rise in sea levels. It should not be forgotten that for the survival of human beings, a balance in the ecosystem is necessary, and animals play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of the same ecosystem. It might not be long before the food chain pyramid goes off-balance, making these innocent animals vanish forever.
Effect Of Air Pollution On Global Warming
Excessive burning of fossil fuels and overconsumption of oils adds to air pollution, hence causing an increase in greenhouse gases, resulting in elevated temperatures. This process, in turn, results in the melting of polar ice caps.
This kind of melting, which is almost irreversible, makes the place inhabitable for animals living in the polar region, thus, leaving all the polar bears, walruses, arctic foxes, penguins, and other beautiful creatures disheartened and miserable.
Again, this is not just affecting their habitat; their food consumption patterns, body temperature maintenance, and sustenance are also being put at stake. Compared to the warming of the global average, the arctic region seems to be melting about twice as fast.
Human Responsibility Towards Animals
God has offered mother nature as a gift, not just to human beings but also to all the other creatures. Because humans are the most sophisticated and easily comprehended, they have to use nature’s resources judiciously and not overlook the needs of animals to make more and more developments.
No, this does not mean that humans have to limit their developments; it means that, along with developments, humans should take steps to look after their fellow planet residents, follow all the stated measures and come up with new ones that can help them make the planet a better place for the animals and themselves.
Some of the steps can include protecting areas for animals to stay and breed and safeguarding their food supplies and natural habitats.
Paul Mccartney once said, “You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.”
This is the time. Let us transform ourselves into better human beings of good character and look after the needs of these innocent animals.
Credits: Content Writer – R V Pooja (PAW2021 – Winner), Proofreader – Harish Edamadaka
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_Fifth_Assessment_Report