Impacts of COVID19 on wildlife
For the last four months, the outbreak of covid19 has been a topic running in day to day headlines in most parts of the world. It has not only caused a threat to human being but also on animals at large making it to be termed as a national crisis. Despite the attempts to control it, the measures taken have not been a success, it has resulted to several impacts, economic sector, health sector, transport sector, education and wildlife at large (Singhal et al., 2019). Based on these effects researches conducted have been pointing out the relevant effects on a different field. Touching on wildlife several impacts have resulted due to the outbreak of covid19 affecting the animals in different ways.
Wildlife animals have changed their habits and ventured into the unusual bases. Due to the lockdown that has to be ongoing in most of the countries following the changes in the daily schedules in an area caused by human activities, there has been a changing environment making birds move out of their usual places. According to the researches, silence in the cities and the busy places has created a conducive environment for birds reducing the interruption caused in the normal days. As a result, birdsongs could be heard in those cities and busy towns that tend to be unusual indicating the reappearance of wildlife activities in the places. Thus it is seen that human being activities like passing near the nests or near the reproduction parameters affect the birds due to disturbances. However, it has also been pointed out that other factors like noises, chemicals emitted from industries and light pollution affects wildlife thus resulting to their increase due to the reduced rate of the activities in the cities reducing the greenhouse gas emission and atmospheric pollution in return.
It has resulted in a landscape of fear among the wildlife mammals. It is caused by the unusual activities that the animals were used to. Spaces that were occupied by human activities are vacant and have been occupied by animals who will adopt it as their environment. Human activities cause disturbances to animals causing wildlife especially mammals to increase their flight distances or even abandon the place completely. Alternatively, they adapt their map of threats to survive in the area despite the unusual environment despite creating fear in animals. Examples of the animals that have been evidenced are the Deer’s whose changes in the environment due to covid19 have affected their movement and they can be observed frequently.
There are also missed opportunities on wildlife animals monitoring their progress and adaptation to the new environmental changes. As a result, much of the wildlife animals that were closely monitored could not be due to the lockdown creating a gap in their progress. Alternatively concerning the wildlife sectors, important information that was being recorded on the particular animal’s behaviours and their movement over the period has not been a conducted thus affecting the researchers and the wildlife sector at large.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in a challenge in the protection of the African icon wildlife species. Since most of the wildlife parks in African depends on tourist visiting the parks. Lockdown and restrictions of movement have affected the sector largely posing the animals into a greater risk due to reduced or no revenue generated to take care of the animals thus can lead to their extinction.
Thus, concerning the work covered on the researches and the effects of the COVID-19 on the wildlife, I will give an opinion human activities have greatly affected the wildlife animals at large contributing to their extinction and disappearance of some species due to noise, air and sound pollution resulting to atmospheric pollution. Thus we learn that environmental changes affect wildlife movement affecting the presence of some species in an area based on human activities, hence human should play a big role in protecting wildlife. I feel that when we get back to our normal behavior the animals that could have adapted the changes in the environment will be affected in return changing their movement, habitat and behavior or even affect their breading due to fear created from disturbances.
Works cited
Singhal, Tanu. “A review of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).” The Indian Journal of Pediatrics (2020): 1-6.
“Tails Up? Is Wildlife the Big Beneficiary of the COVID-19 Lockdown?” Euronews, 30 Mar. 2020, www.euronews.com/2020/03/30/coronavirus-is-wildlife-the-big-beneficiary-of-the-covid-19-lockdown.
Special Analysis: How Will COVID-19 Impact Global Wildlife Trafficking?” Basel Institute on Governance, www.baselgovernance.org/publications/special-analysis-how-will-covid-19-impact-global-wildlife-trafficking
“Impacts of COVID-19 on Wildlife and Wildlife Economies in Africa.” ALU School of Wildlife Conservation, 8 Apr. 2020, sowc.alueducation.com/impacts-covid-19-wildlife-wildlife-economies-africa/.
“COVID-19 Impact on Wildlife Conservation in Africa.” ETurboNews | Trends | Travel News, 30 Apr. 2020, www.eturbonews.com/571395/covid-19-impact-on-wildlife-conservation-in-africa/.
“3 Ways the Coronavirus is Affecting Animals.” World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-animals-wildlife-biodiversity-tiger-boar-pandas-zoos/.