AP

African elephants are being forced to migrate further and more frequently due to droughts caused by climate change.

Rising sea levels, abnormal rainfall patterns, floods, drought, and climate change caused by global warming are forcing the world’s wildlife populations to scatter, which in turn will decrease their ability to feed and breed, eventually resulting in extinction.

According to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund’s Coastal East Africa Initiative, only 10 percent of the original east African coastal forests remain, which have been fragmented into 400 patches covering more than 6 000km² in Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique.

These coastal forests are home to thousands of species of plants and animals, with more than 400 new species discovered in the last 10 years, making them some of the most biologically diverse regions on the planet.

But scientists are worried. Due to large-scale clearing of these forests for timber, animals are being pushed away.

WWF Coastal East Africa Initiative leader Peter Scheren said: “Up to 90 percent of timber extracted from these regions is illegally logged, and is then exported for prices well below the actual value of the wood.

“This adds to the local demands for timber from the growing population, and large-scale clearing of forests.”

By 2070, the Bengal tiger population could be wiped out as their habitat is destroyed by sea level rising.

REUTERS

In our lifetime, we could see a devastating decrease of elephant, lion, tiger, polar bear and other populations. In 1994 and in 2001, 30 percent of Africa’s lions died from diseases caused by infrequent flooding and droughts. This is expected to get worse as weather conditions become more extreme with global warming.

Drought caused by climate change directly affects the fresh water supply and plants that elephants eat. According to the WWF, these animals will normally move away from drought-stricken areas, but because they have become more frequent, elephants are forced to migrate further and more frequently.

In Asia, there is a similar problem for tigers. One of the world’s largest Bengal tiger populations is found in a large mangrove forest shared by India and Bangladesh. But rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten to wipe out this forest. According to a WWF study, rise in sea levels will destroy this entire habitat by 2070, decimating the tiger population.

And in the Arctic, polar bears, which have become a symbol for the effects of global warming, are facing starvation. These animals depend on sea ice to provide a platform for resting, breeding, and hunting seals. But increased temperatures have forced the bears to spend summer months without significant food, a particularly difficult challenge for females with new-born cubs.

“The effects of climate change need to be mitigated, and fast,” said Scheren. “WWF’s mission is to ensure that the world’s valuable natural resources are being effectively conserved.”