24/10/2016

Animals Threatened By Climate Change

MSN

From polar bears to seabirds, many terrestrial and marine animals are being threatened by climate change. These animals are being hit hard by disappearing habitat, warming oceans, increasing droughts and wildfires. Here's a look at the endangered animals.

Beluga Whale
Beluga whales are commonly found across the Arctic Ocean in the coastal waters of North America, Russia and Greenland. The worldwide population of this species of toothed whales is estimated to be around 150,000. Rapidly melting sea ice and increased maritime traffic pose threats to the survival of beluga whales and also impacts marine ecosystems. In 2008, these marine mammals were listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List as being "near endangered," while the subpopulation from the Cook Inlet in Alaska, are listed under "critically endangered" species and protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Tim Clayton/Corbis/Getty Images
Tiger
The wild tiger can be found across Africa and Asia. The population of the largest cat species had dropped to 3,200 (2010) due to poaching, global warming, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. The rising level of sea water in the Sundarbans regions can lead to further loss of habitat. Sustained conservation efforts are being made to save the species and hence in 2016, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) declared that count of wild tigers across the globe has increased to 3,890. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Snow Leopard
The species is found mainly in the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. Global warming causes the tree line to move higher up the mountains in the Himalayas, resulting in the shrinking of not just their habitat but also that of their prey. The population of snow leopards is currently estimated to be around 4,500 to 7,500. James Devaney/WireImage/Getty Images
Flamingo
There are total six species of flamingos in the world, four in the Americas and two in Africa, Europe, and Asia. These long-legged "wading birds" are not endangered, but are listed in CITES Appendix II that lists species that require protection and are believed to be under threat or are likely to become endangered. The Chilean flamingo is the most numerous of the South American flamingos with an estimated total population of not more than 200,000, while the population of James' flamingo is estimated to be 64,000. PhotoPlus Magazine/Getty Images
Whooping Crane
With a total population accounting for 603 birds as on February 2015, the whooping cranes - so called for its whooping sound - are found mainly in North America. Dry weather and drought affect their sources of food and lead to poor breeding. Rising ocean levels pose a threat to the survival of whopping cranes. Conservation efforts have been made but nothing significant has been achieved so far. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Giant Panda
Native to south and central China, giant pandas have been declared to be critically endangered by the IUCN. According to experts, their population is likely to drop vastly by 2020, owing to depletion of their main source of food - bamboo - with climate change being the reason. The plant's reproductive cycle spread over unusually long intervals makes it unsuitable to adapt to changing climate conditions. Conservation efforts are being made to help pandas overcome predicted bamboo famine. Currently, 864 giant pandas are estimated to be left in China. Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images
Koala
Koalas are native to Australia and herbivores. The total population of the species is estimated between 45,000 and 90,000, according to Australian Koala Foundation (AKF). With increasing droughts and bushfires caused due to climate change, the already challenged population of Koalas is expected to drop further. Ian Waldie/Getty Images
Asian Rhino
One-horned rhinos are mainly found in Northern India and Nepal. Changing seasonal patterns with irregular monsoon cycles and increasing droughts have upset the vegetation health that the vulnerable species feeds on. As of 2015, the population of the species is about 3,500. Biju Boro/AFP/Getty Images
African Elephant
The large terrestrial African elephant is worst affected by floods, droughts and wildfires caused due to climate change. Irregular weather patterns affect the level of sea water and forces the elephants to travel far away to unprotected areas in search of water, this leads to poaching when they come in contact with human population. In 2014, the population of African elephants was estimated to be around 700,000, as per the WWF. Jan Hrbacek / Barcroft Media /Getty Images
Orangutan
The species are already endangered owing to oil palm plantations that are made by destroying their natural habitat in the forests. These apes that are native to Indonesia and Malaysia are further threatened due to rising temperature levels and declining rainfall levels leading to unprecedented droughts and forest fires. Currently, the population of the Bornean orangutan is estimated to about 45,000-69,000 and that of the Sumatran orangutan to be about 7,500. Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images
Caribou
The endangered species - also classified as reindeer - are found in North America, Greenland and parts of Europe and Asia. It is listed under IUCN. Professor Russell Graham, associate professor of geosciences and director of the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum at Penn State University, U.S. believes that global warming will affect animals living in the coldest regions tremendously. Their insulated fur and sweat glands that help them survive harsh winters render them particularly unfit for hotter months. G. Cappelli/Rex Shutterstock
Cheetah
The world's fastest animal can be found in various parts of Africa and Asia. According to scientists at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and the Kenya Wildlife Service, the ability to reproduce is declining among the African cheetah due to global warming. Approximately, 9,000 to 12,000 cheetahs are left in Africa. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
Frog
These creatures found from the tropics to subarctic regions have cold blood and thin skin and, even minor changes in temperatures can be life threatening. Depletion of rainforests is therefore a contributing factor to their degeneration. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 6,000 of this species are at risk of extinction. Waring Abbott/Getty Images
Sea Otter
Sea otters are found across the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Apart from being hunted for their fur, the animals also face threat to their survival due to climate change leading to changes in ocean temperature. Currently, the worldwide population is accounted to be about 106,000. PM/AP Images
Northern hairy-nosed Wombat
These marsupials are found across south-eastern Australia. Increasing number of droughts driven by climate change account for the dwindling population of these Northern hairy-nosed wombats. As of 2010, there are 163 Northern hairy-nosed wombats on the planet. DEA / C.DANI / I.JESKE/De Agostini/Getty Images
American Pika
The American Pika, which belongs to the rabbit family, is mainly found in western North America. According to the IUCN Red List, the animal is not considered threatened, near-threatened or conservation dependent. However, It is being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act by the Wildlife Service due to global warming, which is one of the most important factors contributing to their decline in numbers. They are used to cold alpine climes and can die if exposed to heat. Currently, the population of the American Pika is around 1.8 million. Arterra/UIG via Getty Images
Musk Oxen
The species can be found in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland, and small populations in Sweden, Siberia, Norway and Alaska. These animals are used to living in the coldest regions and hence their distribution is adversely affected due to global warming. Currently, the population of musk oxen is somewhere between 80,000 and 125,000. Mark Thiessen/AP Images
Polar Bear
Polar bears spend most of their time on the ice to hunt for their main source of food – seal. But when ice rapidly melts due to rising temperatures, they tend to spend less time on ice and more time on dry land in search of alternate food sources. According to experts, there are approximately 22,000 to 31,000 polar bears left in the world. Photos_martYmage/iStock/Getty Images
Galapagos Penguin
The Galapagos penguins are among the smallest species of penguin in the world and is the most distinctive as it lives further north than other penguin species. They are considered endangered with less than 2,000 left. According to the World Wildlife Fund, almost half of the population has been wiped out due to severe El NiƱo weather conditions over the last few decades. Danita Delimont/Gallo Images/Getty Images
Tufted Puffin
The tufted puffin is a seabird native to North America. This species of seabirds feed primarily by diving in the water and breed in large colonies. However, due to the warming temperatures, there has been a decline in the growth rates of puffin nestlings. The WWF believes that breeding may decrease further if climate change continues to get worse. According to the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan, around 2,750,000 to 3,000,000 tufted puffins are left in the world. RONSAN4D/iStock/Getty Images
Ringed Seal
Ringed seals, the smallest seal species, live in the Arctic sea where they rely on the ice pack for their food source. The ringed seal newborns spend the first few weeks in the snow to protect them from freezing and predators. When there is less snow, the newborns are that much more vulnerable to those predators. Four subspecies of the ringed seal are listed as endangered or threatened. Franco Banfi/WaterFrame/Getty Images
Sea Turtle
Over half of the existing species of sea turtles are already classified as endangered. Two of the common reasons that have led to this extinction are rising temperatures and rising sea levels. The temperature of the nest determines the sex of a sea turtle – cooler temperatures produce male eggs and warmer temperatures produce female eggs - some turtle nests are already producing almost 90 percent females. In addition, greater erosion of our beaches provide less safe haven for the eggs to hatch. Tbanny/iStock/Getty Images
North Atlantic Right Whale
Listed as endangered since the 1970s, the North Atlantic right whale migrates along the eastern coast of the U.S. Changes in seawater temperatures have limited the amount of zooplankton in the oceans, a staple food of this whale species. It is estimated that there are fewer than 500 of these whales left and if their primary food source continues to disappear, it could affect the species' ability to survive. The total population of the species is believed to be around 450. David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Lobster
Lobsters are cold-blooded and their body temperature is dependent on the water in which they live. High water temperature makes them use more energy for breathing, which leave their bodies stressed and with less energy for other activities such as feeding, growth, energy storage, immune response and reproduction. In addition, warming waters harbor bacteria that are harmful to lobsters and scientists are seeing an increase in shell disease among lobsters. Don Johnston/All Canada Photos/Getty Images
Orange-spotted filefish
The orange-spotted filefish are completely dependent on the coral reefs where they live – the same coral reefs that are now in danger due to coral bleaching. This species is also very sensitive to warm waters. In fact, the fish is locally extinct in Japan because of warm ocean temperatures. Nicola Guaiana/EyeEm/Getty Images
Atlantic cod
In recent years, there has been a major decline in the number of Atlantic cod due to over-fishing. However, warmer water temperatures has also led to the decline. Doug Allan/Getty Images

Ivory Gulls
The number of ivory gulls has gone down over the years due to decline in sea ice. These gulls nest on rocky cliffs and fly to the sea ice in search of fish. But when sea ice melts away, the coastal nesting sites are severely affected. In fact, the number of ivory gulls in Canada has already decreased by 90 percent over the last 20 years. In 2012, the global population of ivory gulls was estimated to be between 19,000 and 27,000. Michael S. Nolan/Age fotostock/Getty Images
Walrus
Walruses use the ice edge in coastal areas as platforms to dive and feed on clams. But when the ice melts due to drop in temperature they have to go to deeper areas and sometimes even travel on floating ice in search of food. Currently, the global population of walruses is estimated to be 250,000. Wildestanimal/Moment/Getty Images
Dugong
The main food source for the marine herbivorous mammal dugong is seagrass beds. But due to cyclones, floods and heavy rainfall, the seagrass beds are disappearing leaving less food for the dugong. According to WWF, there are about 85,000 dugongs currently in Australia. Auscape/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
Coral
Rising ocean temperatures are causing a phenomenon called 'coral bleaching' in our ocean's coral reefs. Coral bleaching occurs when the warming waters cause so much stress on the corals that they expel the algae that provides them most of their food. Scientists in Australia are seeing an unprecedented 50 percent mortality rate in the coral reef near Cape York due to this. Daniela Dirscherl/WaterFrame/Getty Images
Spectacled Eider
Spectacled eider are large ducks that breed on the coastline. In winter, they gather in a small, cold, and nutrient-rich area of the Bering Sea, where they dive for clams and other marine life. But climate warming holds a potential threat to these birds and their habitat. As per the Winter surveys in the Bering Sea, the minimum worldwide population of spectacled eiders is about 370,000. Mike Powles/Oxford Scientific/Getty Images
Laysan Albatross
More than 90 percent of the Laysan albatross live in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The large birds travel through strong winds and cover hundreds of miles in a day. A major threat to these seabirds is the rising sea-levels that flood their nesting grounds. In 2006, it was estimated that 1,180,000 mature Laysan albatross birds are left. PilipenkoD/iStock/Getty Images

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