Chapter Three

THREATS TO WILDLIFE
 Introduction

The threat of a species does not differ in kind. The species goes extinct due to the presence of

various threats. Living things face a constant barrage of external stresses or threats that challenge

their ability to survive and reproduce. If a species is unable to successfully cope with these

threats through adaptation, it may face extinction. Thus, wild animals have to cope not only with

predictable characteristics of the environment such as seasonal changes in climate and resource

availability, but also with a variety of unpredictable events, including human disturbances, which

have tended to be on the increasing side in most ecosystems worldwide.

 CON..
A constantly changing physical environment requires organisms to adapt to new
temperatures, climates, and atmospheric conditions.
Living things must also deal with unexpected events such as volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, meteor strikes, fires, and hurricanes/storms and interact with
living
organisms are further challenged to their survival such as competition, predation,
parasitism, disease, and other complex biotic processes. Let us describe how to
detect such problems and how to treat a species from danger.
 The major wildlife threats are grouped in to natural and
anthropogenic factors .

A) Natural factors:

Natural factor is a factor which causes threats to wildlife naturally without human disturbance.
These include:-
Demographic uncertainty:-uncertainty results from the effects of random selection e.g.extremely skewed
sex ratio.
Environmental uncertainty: - refers to unpredictable events like change in weather or
food supply, populations of competitors and natural catastrophes.
Genetic uncertainty:- it is random variation in the gene frequencies of a population due
to some genetic variance and uncommon alleles are likely to be lost diversity due toGenetic drift, Inbreeding.
Soil erosion: - it is resulted by wind or water action. The impact of such erosion is loss of
top soil (wind) and Terrain deformation (water). Usually where soil is poorest, species
will be fewest, etc.
 B) Anthropogenic factors
An anthropogenic factor is the main threat for wildlife that is caused by human.
Human uses wildlife as well as their habitats for various purposes
Increasing number of livestock: Ethiopia is famous for its livestock in Africa.
The increase in number of livestock demands to more areas for grazing,
competition with wild animals for limiting grazing/water and may lead to
hybridization with wild one.
 Con---
Habitat Destruction & Fragmentation - The destruction or splitting
up of once continuous habitat to enable humans to use the land for
agriculture, development of towns and cities, construction of dams, or
other purposes.
Climate Change - Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels
have altered the Earth's atmosphere and have resulted in global climate
changes.
 Con…
Introduction of Exotic Species - Accidental and intentional introduction of non-
native species into regions never before occupied by the species have resulted in
the extinction of numerous endemic species.

 Pollution - Pollutants (pesticides, herbicides, etc.) released into the environment

are ingested by a wide variety of organisms.

 Over-Exploitation of Resources - Exploitation of wild populations for food has

resulted in population crashes (over-fishing, for example).
 Con…

Accidental Deaths - Car hits, window collisions (birds), collisions

with ships (whales).

Wild animals are no more exempted from accidents than people are.
Fire, drowning, falls, highway collisions, and the like can all cause
accidental death. As population increase in size and more
 Con..
Illegal hunting and wild life trade: In Ethiopia, wild animals are

hunted for the following four major reasons

 For fame, to be considered as a hero
For traditional medicine – wild ass
 For clothing
 Civil war
 3.1. Habitat degradation, loss and fragmentation

A habitat is the physical and biological environment used by an

individual, population and species.
The group of what does “wild life habitat” means if virtually
every environment supports wild organisms? Even a parking lot
will have microbes and small invertebrates living in the cracks
in the pavement.
 3.1.1. Habitat degradation and loss

It is the process by which habitat quality for a given species is

diminished: for example, when contaminants reduce a species’
ability to reproduce in an area.

When habitat quality is so low that the environment is no

longer usable by a given species, then habitat loss has occurred
 Types of habitat degradation/loss
• There are many ways that leads to habitat degradation and loss in a
natural environment. Some of the ways are discussed below.
I. Contamination
One might define a pollutant or contaminant as a substance that is found
where we do not want it to be
A) Air pollution
B) Water pollution
C) Pesticides


predators such as crocodiles, tiger fish, and cormorants. Numbers are parts per billion of its derivatives in the fat of the species illustrated. Figure
 ii, The Human infrastructures

• Flying in a plane, you can easily see the hand of humanity; most
landscapes are crisscrossed with roads, railroads, fences, and
utility corridors and dotted with buildings, dams, mines, parking
lots, and many other structures.
 A) Roads
 The most ubiquitous structures created by people are roads, and while
roads facilitate the movement of people, they can also serve as
impediments to the movements of many animals. Some roads have
curbs or lane dividers that are an absolute barrier to small, flightless
animals such as amphibians, small reptiles, and various invertebrates.

Figure 2. An example of death of wild animals

by car accident
 B) Dams
 Worldwide, over 45,000 large dams (>15 meters high) have affected
most of the world’s major river systems. The damming of streams
and rivers destroys many aquatic ecosystems, flooding ecosystems
upstream of the dam and changing water flows to downstream
ecosystems. Many animals move up and down rivers during the course
of a year, or during their life cycle ,searching for the best places to
forage or breed. Some of them can fly or walk around dams(otters,
mergansers, mayflies, etc.
 C) Fences and other similar constructions
 Some landscapes are dissected by barriers specifically designed
to inhibit the movement of animals.
 Notably, rangeland fences stretch huge distances, controlling
the movement of both livestock and large wild mammals and
some times severing seasonal migrations.
 For example, in Botswana, thousands of kilometers of fences
have been erected to isolate livestock from wild ungulates that
might harbor diseases.
 D) Trashes and Other Things
 Much of this material is trash, things discarded by people, perhaps
intentionally or perhaps not.
 Lost or discarded fishing gear is a major hazard for aquatic animals.
 The worst offenders are probably lost gill nets – often called ghost
nets – which can drift for months or years, still catching fish, diving
birds, seals, and other creatures.
 iii, Deforestation

 Many conservation biologists believe that deforestation may be the

most important direct threat to biodiversity because forests cover less
than 6% of the earth’s total surface area, forests are habitat for a
majority of the earth’s known species and forests are being lost faster
than they are growing.
 A) Causes of Deforestation

 Forests tend to grow in places with reasonably fertile soils and benign
climates, not too dry and not too cold.
 These also tend to be good places for people to live and grow crops.
Consequently, millions of square kilometers of forests have been
removed to make way for our agriculture, homes, businesses, mines,
and reservoirs since the beginning of agriculture.
 B) Consequences of Deforestation
 Needless to say, when people convert a forest to another type of ecosystem, most
of the forest depend cenospecies are lost from that site for some period. It is easy
to name forest dwelling species that are threatened with extinction largely
because of deforestation –giant pandas, tigers ,gorillas, and many more. With
most of the earth’s biodiversity residing in insects and other small organisms,
and with many, perhaps most, of these small species living in tropical forests
where they remain unknown to science, we can only make gross estimates of the
likely impact of deforestation.
 3.1.2. Habitat Fragmentation
 The process by which a natural landscape is broken up into
small parcels of natural ecosystems, isolated from one another
in a matrix of lands dominated by human activities, is called
fragmentation.
 Because fragmentation almost always involves both loss and
isolation of ecosystems, researchers would like to distinguish
between the effects of these two processes but it is not often
practical to do so.
 A) Fragment Size and Isolation
There are three main reasons why large fragments have more
species than small fragments. First, a large fragment will
almost always have a greater variety of environments than a
small fragment(e.g. different types of soil, a stream, a rock
outcrop, an area recently disturbed by fire), and each of these
will provide niches for some additional species.
 B) Causes of Fragmentation
 The fundamental cause of fragmentation:- is expanding human populations
converting natural ecosystems into human-dominated ecosystems.
 Fragmentation typically begins when people dissect a natural landscape with
roads and then perforate it by converting some natural ecosystems into human-
dominated ones. It culminates with natural ecosystems reduced to tiny, isolated
parcels. Thus, fragmentation almost always involves both reducing the area of
natural ecosystems and increasing their isolation.
 C) Consequences of Fragmentation
 Ecosystem destruction is the driving force behind fragmentation, and thus it is
inevitable that fragmentation is associated with negative effects on biodiversity.
 Notably, remnant ecosystems that seem to have escaped destruction may no
longer be available for area-sensitive species that.
 Cannot use small patches of habitat. Most prominent among these are large
predators that need extensive home ranges to find enough prey.
 3.2. Overexploitation
3.2.1. The long history of overexploitation
 After the most recent glaciations the grasslands of central North America
harbored an extra ordinary array of large mammals. The diversity of antelopes,
horses, cheetahs, giant ground sloths, mammoths, and others easily rivaled the
large mammal fauna of Africa today. However, about 11,000 years ago, at the
end of the Pleistocene epoch, they. disappeared; 34 genera of large mammals
became extinct in less than 1000 years, while 40 more became extinct in South
America.
Figure 4. Many scientists believe that human overexploitation was responsible for
the extinction of many
large North American mammals about 11,000 years ago. The woolly mammoth
depicted here was apparently one victim, although the caribou shown in the
background continues to survive
 3.2.2. Types of exploitation
i, Commercial Exploitation

 Money “makes the world go round” and is the driving force

behind most exploitation of wild life. Significant sums of
money are involved because of the importance and diversity of
products obtained: food, fiber, fuel, medicine, building
materials, and more
 a. The potential market for wild products is enormous

 In global economy, a wild product enters commerce; there are

over six billion potential consumers.
 The major markets for rhino horns and elephant ivory
obtained in Africa are in the Far East; coral collected in the
Philippines is destined for Europe and North America; bear
gall bladders from the United States are extracted for Chinese
 b. People who exploit wild life for financial gain, like almost
everyone else, have an enormous desire for wealth

 First, they need food, clothing, and shelter; then a car, a

second car, and a second home; and then status and power
become priorities.
 This is in sharp contrast to subsistence based exploitation.
 c. Domestic substitutes for wild products are not identical
and often sell for less

• People usually prefer wild berries over cultivated ones,

wild (slowly grown) wood over plantation grown wood,
venison over beef, and pheasants over chickens, and this
translates into higher prices for the wild products.
 d. The market price of a wild species usually
increases as it becomes rarer;

 This will greater exploitation and will make the wild species
even rarer.
 For example, at the end of the nineteenth century the demand
for hat feathers pushed egrets into the most remote regions of
the southeastern United States, but hunters pursued them
relentlessly as the price of decorative plumes rose to twice
their weight in gold.
 e. Wild resources are often communal resources

 owned by no one and everyone. This means that the costs of

overexploitation are shared by many people, not just the person who is
abusing the resource, while the benefits are obtained by the exploiter.
This is called the "Tragedy of the Commons.” This dilemma
commonly applies to aquatic species because individuals do not
usually own the wild life of lakes and seas, whereas in terrestrial
systems land owners usually own the plants and sometimes the
animals. In many countries the major landowner is the government
(national, regional, or local), and the private individual is relatively
free to overexploit.
 f. Wild life is often found in remote places

 where laws and social constraints do not operate effectively.

 It is much easier to use wild life irresponsibly on the high
seas or in a remote forest than under public scrutiny.
 Con….
g. Commercial exploiters often have the capital
 To purchase expensive technology for collecting wild life in large quantities: for
example, seagoing vessels for fishing and whaling, logging machinery, and even

helicopters with which to poach elephants and rhinos. Sometimes these are paid
for by earlier profits, sometimes by government subsidies.
 h.The disparity among national currencies makes it
profitable to exploit rare species around the world

 Expansion of the global marketplace through increased transportation

and lowering of trade barriers means that overexploitation is likely to
occur whenever there is large difference in the buying power of
currencies.
ii, Subsistence Exploitation
 Most rural people exploit wild life to directly meet some portion of
their personal needs for food, clothing, fuel, and shelter.
 Among some rural people – especially those who are more affluent
these activities, like a Saturday spent fishing or gathering mushrooms,
are just supplemental to the household economy.
 iii, Recreational Exploitation
 Many people routinely use wild life just for the fun of it. For example,
among adults in the United States 36% use wild animals
recreationally; i.e. there are an estimated 13 million hunters,34 million
anglers, and 66 million “wildlife watchers” (people who participate in
out door activities that focus on viewing wild animals ).
iv. Incidental exploitation
 Not all exploitation is deliberate; often in the process of exploiting one
species, other species are incidentally exploited as well.
 This phenomenon is so common in fishing that there is a specific term
for this unintentional mortality: by catch.
 v. Indirect Exploitation
The term “indirect exploitation” could be used to cover a wide set of
human activities that indirectly kill other organisms: such as the roads,
fences, antennas, and others are cause for threats wildlife. And also the
introductions of exotic species are indirectly killing other organisms
3.2.3. Consequences of overexploitation
The most basic consequence of overexploitation is removal of many individuals
from population. But, not all the individuals in population are equally susceptible to
exploitation; their vulnerability may be influenced by their size, age, sex, phenol
type, where they are, and when they are there. Consequently, the structure of a
population, particularly its age, sex, and genetic composition, can be changed by
exploitation.
 A) Age
 In many fisheries, the most profitable fish to catch are the largest, oldest
individuals, but these individuals also have the highest reproductive capacity.
Consequently, the effects of over fishing are exacerbated because decisions on
when and where to fish and what kinds of equipment to use(e.g. net mesh size)
are often directed toward the most fecund members of the population.
 The fact that this pattern of mortality is very different from natural
mortality is especially worrying.
 Con…

B) Sex
 Among many mammal species, males are more exploited than females because
they are bigger, more desirable and they are often traveling over larger areas,
making contact with people more likely. Consequently, exploited mammal
populations often have a sex ratio that is skewed toward females.
 The effect on population viability may be modest because most mammals are
polygynous (i.e. one male will mate with multiple females).
 C) Genetic Structure

 Preferential harvest can also act as a form of artificial selection and

change the genetic makeup of a population. For example, some forests
are subjected to a form of overexploitation called high-grading in
which the best trees (e.g. those having the best form)are cut and the
worst (e.g .diseased individuals) are left behind. It is widely assumed
that high-grading.
 3.3. Lack of resources (food and water)

 Everyone can appreciate that food is necessary for wildlife, but few
landowners understand the difference between starvation and
malnutrition. This is related to our perception that food appears to be
available, yet food-related problems begin appearing in wildlife
populations. Wild animals die from starvation because they do not get
enough food to survive (a lack of food quantity ).
 3.4. Diseases

 Disease is defined as any change in the normal function

or structure of any part, organ, or system of a living
body. It is also defined as a pathological condition
occurring insusceptible population. Diseases often
demonstrate characteristic clinical signs, but it may be
unclear how disease-causing agents are introduced and
transmitted.
 3.4.1. Impacts of wildlife disease
i, On Human health

 Zoonotic diseases are diseases of animals that can be

transmitted to humans; for example avian influenza, anthrax
and rabies. Wildlife plays a key role by providing a ‘zoonotic
pool’ from which new diseases may emerge. The majority
(60%) of emerging infectious diseases in humans is caused by
zoonotic pathogens and 72% of these have a wild life origin.
 Con…

ii, Domestic animal health

 Domestic animal disease can have serious economic effects. Most
infectious diseases of domestic animals are common to wildlife, so the
control of a disease in domestic animals can be impeded by its
presence in wildlife. Movement of domestic animals for trade and
farming can(un )help to spread disease.
iii, Biodiversity
 It is increasingly accepted that diseases can affect biodiversity and
contribute to species declines. For example, squirrel poxvirus is
contributing to the decline of the red squirrel population, and crayfish
plague is considered responsible for declines in native white clawed
crayfish numbers.
iv, Animal welfare
 Diseases such as mange in foxes and myxomatosis in rabbits
can impact on the welfare of wild animals.
 Disease is a normal process in nature but human interventions can
directly cause disease outbreaks in wildlife.
3.4.2. Control of wild life disease
 After knowing the transmission, physiology, epidemiology, and
ecology of pathogens and how they interact with wildlife hosts is
essential for developing effective strategies to prevent or manage
disease in wildlife. Preventing introduction of disease into

susceptible populations is paramount responsibility of wildlife

professionals as stewards of the resource.
3.5. Climate Change
 Climate change is already having an impact on the dynamics of world
biomes and its rich biodiversity, although species composition and
diversity is expected to change due to individual species response to
climate change conditions
3.5.1. Temperature increase/decrease
 Evidence that climate change is causing global and regional warming
is clear. Regional warming has been associated with changes in
physical and biological systems in many parts of the globe.
 The emission into of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere is causes
for climate change.
3.5.2. Flooding
 Flooding can be caused by elevated water levels in nearby surface
water bodies, tidal action, and ground water inflow to the wetland
or any combination of these sources. Too much rain in ashort period
of time causes rivers and streams to overflow onto nearby land in an
event called aflood. Natural flood causes for the loss of habitats and
food of wildlife.
3.6. Invasive exotic species
 Exotic species are undesirable and dangerous in protected natural areas. There
are endless examples of exotic species becoming terrible pests in their new
habitats and often out competing and replacing native species as well.
 Exotic species, those that do not normally live in a country, are introduced for a
variety of reasons, and very often they become competitors with the native
wildlife. Rabbits in Australia are perhaps the most conspicuous example of this.
A) Impacts of introducing exotic species
Alien species can bring to bear one or more of several distinct effects in causing or
contributing to extermination/extinction of indigenous plants and animal s.
ɪ. Predation - indigenous animals of islands are well known for their tame or
fearless behavior that makes them vulnerable to introduced mammalian predators.
When such behavior is accompanied by a slow reproductive rate (infrequent
breeding and/or clutch size), coexistence with alien predator is difficult .
ii. Browsing and grazing - most alien species have the devastating effect
on indigenous species through herbivore especially on islands. If the
browsing or grazing continues for any extended period, extinction or
near extinction of a plant species would be possible .
iii. Hybridization - although recorded cases of loss of an endemic species
through hybridization with a closely related species are few, it has
occurred sometimes.
iv. Food competition - this is due to overlap in the diet of alien and
indigenous species. The competition could be direct and indirect.
v. Nest site competition - competing for available space for nesting,
breeding etc.
vi. Introduction of disease - there are many indications that disease
introduced by alien animals can contribute to extinction of indigenous
species. This effect, however, is even more difficult to investigate than
that of predation.
B) Control of exotic species
 The presence of exotic or alien species in a protected area is generally
contrary to the management objectives of the area. Unless the exotic
species has been deliberately introduced to help management or is of
such long standing that it is in balance with the ecosystem or of
interesting its own right, it is best to attempt to eradicate or control the
exotic species.
Thank You