Mary Allen
Wild animals live in the wild. They are found all over the world, on land and in the seas. Wild animals are the result of evolution. They were not tamed by humans like domestic animals. Nor are they bred.
Wildlife has adapted well to its environment, so not every area has the same wildlife. Different fish live in lakes than in rivers or oceans. In the hot countries, there are other mammals than here. In the mountains, for example, there are chamois and ibexes, but no hedgehogs. In the lowlands, it is the opposite.
Many wild animals have become accustomed to humans: for example, there are foxes that even live in the city. They eat food that people have thrown away. Deer sometimes come into the villages when there is a lot of snow and they can hardly find anything to eat in the forest.
What is dangerous for wild animals?
Many wild animals are endangered because their body parts are valuable. Tiger skins fetch a lot of money, as do elephant tusks and rhino horns. Some people use it to carve artistic objects. Others grind their teeth into powder. They think it’s like expensive medicine.
Some wild animals are very unpopular with humans. Here, for example, these are bears, wolves, and lynxes because they eat sheep. Humans have therefore exterminated these three animal species in our country. They are only slowly returning and some are even released into the wild. But many people are against it.
Other wild animals die on the streets, especially at night. Deer, red deer, or wild boar often get in front of cars. In Australia, this affects kangaroos and wallabies, and in the north reindeer.
Worst of all, however, is the destruction of habitats. When a swamp is drained, frogs and snakes can no longer live there. Then no more storks come, because they feed on these animals. So the series goes on. Large agricultural areas are unfavorable for forest animals because they want to move from one forest to another. Then there are fewer and fewer of them.
Another danger is chemical agents in agriculture. The farmers want to use it to destroy pests such as insects and fungi. In doing so, however, they also kill many beneficial creatures that nature needs and upset the natural balance.