Both humans and animals are impacted by climate change. From the rising water in the ocean, to droughts all over the world, forest fires out of control, and everything else going on due to climate change, there are many things being affected.
Today we’re going to discuss some of the animals that are affected by climate change. This will better help you understand the domino effect of every part of what happens due to climate change in our world today.
Polar Bears
Since polar bears rely heavily on the snow-ice conditions to survive and hunt, as the snowcaps start to melt and ice dissolves into the ocean, these animals are affected by climate change. Polar bears will have to learn to adapt to a region that was typically covered in snow and ice conditions but is now more water than snow-ice. They will prey on land animals if they need to, but they prefer seals.
123
Snow Leopard
The snow leopard is an endangered species that typically is affected by humans’ involvement in climate change. As humans start to build closer to the mountainous habitats of the snow leopard they’re forced to find new ways to survive and live. This creates a vulnerability as their natural habitat is starting to look more like a human’s habitat, not their typical mountain range.
Giant Panda
One of the great things about the giant panda is that they can tolerate a variety of weather conditions. This helps them adapt to new lifestyle options due to climate change destruction. The giant panda is an endangered species that feeds on bamboo plants.
Tiger
Tigers are similar to giant pandas in that they can live in a wide range of weather conditions. You’ll find that there are approximately 3,200 tigers in the world today, thus the reason for being on the endangered species list. Tigers can be affected by climate change because of humans moving into their territory with new buildings and other animals they eat being diminished by climate change.
Monarch Butterfly
The monarch butterfly is very reliant on the climate for migration, breeding, and hibernation. That’s why they’re on our list of animals affected by climate change. These beautiful creatures need the right environment to know when it’s time to migrate, hibernate, or reproduce. A change in climate can result in the Monarch butterfly not reproducing and thus becoming close to being on the endangered species list. They’re not considered endangered, yet.
African Elephant
This is one huge animal that’s affected by climate change! The African elephant needs 40-50 gallons of fresh water per day per elephant. That’s just for drinking! The beauty of African elephants is that they’re found in a variety of climates and seem to be fine as long as we can make sure our water sources stay unpolluted for elephants to get enough drinking water for their daily needs.
Cheetah
Last on our list of animals affected by climate change is the cheetah. This beautiful wild cat has a low diversity within the species which hinders its ability to adapt to climate change. The cheetah is considered a vulnerable animal population and is not yet on the endangered species list. One saving grace for cheetahs is that they don’t require a lot of fresh drinking water to survive.
There are more animals facing growing concerns every day that climate change exists. While we can’t stop the planet from doing what it is naturally designed to do, we can do our part to help animals impacted by climate change and show our support in other ways. Volunteering or donating to charities that help animals affected by climate change is a start.