It is no longer shocking to be confronted with articles in magazines that formulate predictions of mass species extinction as a result of severe climatic changes, especially rising temperatures on the Earth. This ever-present danger of global warming that looms ahead of animals has forced many species to adapt to an unnatural way of life and this deviant behavior can wipe out approximately one-third of the total species of animals on Earth by 2050. The loss in biodiversity that the world is witnessing today can be traced to rising temperatures, extreme climatic changes, melting of glaciers and an abrupt overlapping in the food chain.
Changes in Food Chain
The plight of animals around the world is not just confined to the changing weather conditions, but also touches on the shifting pattern in the food chain that has been a constant since time immemorial. There are some significantly observable variants in the behavior of animals seeking food around the globe which is indicative of these exponentially accelerating changes, especially as they are directly related to global warming. These deviations from the norm are daily becoming more and more noticeable as the disruption continues to cause animals to seek foods from alternate sources as their current supply is killed off. This is a chain reaction that knows no bounds.
Hibernation Habits
Hibernating animals and migrating birds enrich the ecological elegance that the Earth has been carrying since the dawn of time. Certain hibernating animals like hedgehogs, ground squirrels and bears have started coming out of hibernation early because of the changes in the temperature of the atmosphere. Some animals have stopped hibernating altogether. When animals come out of hibernation, they start looking for food and with the dilapidation of natural habitats and natural homes of these animals, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to find food.
Migration Habits
Migratory birds like penguins, flamingos and other small birds might be going the way of dinosaurs. Birds tend to migrate to places with warmer temperatures and the climatic changes have caused the spring season to arrive early in North America and as a result, the birds start migrating early. The natural route for migration is not ready by the time spring arrives and this forces these birds to alter their migration destination or not migrate at all. This results in lack of food and habitat which eventually causes mass destruction of these birds. Even if the birds manage to reach their migratory destination, they have nothing to eat and all their effort is in vain.
Loss of Habitat
Forests and grasslands are natural homes to many insects and animals on Earth. These forests are nourished by annual rains. Deforestation has caused the temperatures to rise and most forests are going through a dry spell. Rains have been scarce and trees have been dying off waiting for the waters to return. This trend spells disaster for herbivorous animals and these animals have started dying because of malnutrition and starvation. There have been certain landscapes at the poles that have completely submerged, thus devastating the habitats of many insects and animals. With the unavailability of food and water to plants and trees, the animals have nothing to survive on, and as a consequence the food chain is ruptured to a great extent.
Natural disasters and catastrophes like storms and earthquakes also pose threats to sea life and land animals. Animals like lemmings have been struggling to preserve their breed and the numbers of these animals have been going down at a very fast pace. The present times seem to be the end of the last era for many animals and unless the necessary steps are taken to forestall global warming, many species will continue to disappear.
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