How People Cause Problems For Wildlife - With Solutions

When we think about conflicts between humans and wildlife, we often think in terms of ourselves first. The fact of the matter is that we have more impact on wildlife than wildlife has on us. The conveniences that we take for granted can be dangerous to a wild animal. What kind of problems do we cause? Here are some examples of how things that we take for granted can harm wildlife:

City Lights: Many migrating birds mistake the lights left on in skyscrapers at night for stars in a clear sky. Millions of birds are killed annually when they crash into these buildings.
Solution: Some caring people in Toronto, Canada have formed the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) to encourage building managers to turn off the skyscraper lights during the spring and fall migration. It's a simple solution to a big problem, but more buildings need to participate.

Mine Shafts: Old abandoned mines can be dangerous places for wildlife, for pets and for young children. But the mines provide a wonderful home for many species of bats.
Solution: Installing a "bat friendly" gate ensures the safety of people and animals while allowing the bats to get in and out of the mine.

Highways: Imagine you're a raccoon or a turtle and you need to cross a busy highway. Our busy roads often spell disaster for animals.
Solution: Wildlife tunnels build underneath highways aren't a perfect solution, but they do help animals cross a little more safely.

Garbage: Our trash can be dangerous to wildlife. The plastic rings that hold six-packs of soft drinks and other beverages can become tangled around a foot or face and cause injury or even death.
Solution: How can you help? Simply snip the rings apart with a scissors before you throw them away so nothing can become entangled in them.

Fishing Nets: Commercial fishing nets often catch things that weren't supposed to get caught, like dolphins or sea turtles.
Solution: There are special "turtle-excluder" devices that fishermen can use on their shrimp nets to prevent accidents from happening.

Helium Balloons: Those bouncy bright helium-filled balloons we love so much can kill sea turtles and other marine creatures.. When these balloons land in the ocean they can look like jelly fish—a favourite food of sea turtles. The turtles accidentally eat the deflated balloon, which then becomes caught in their stomachs. Deflated balloons can also break and entangle small mammals and birds.
Solution: Stop using helium balloons or make a protected (covered) zone and assign people to collect the balloons later.

source

Little things like this can have lasting impact on wildlife

[edit on 6-2-2010 by December_Rain]

Originally posted by December_Rain

Highways: Imagine you're a raccoon or a turtle and you need to cross a busy highway. Our busy roads often spell disaster for animals.
Solution: Wildlife tunnels build underneath highways aren't a perfect solution, but they do help animals cross a little more safely.

Reminds me of the old lady who called the cops to have the "Deer Crossing" sign moved. She didnt feel that was a safe place for the deer to be crossing.

How are those skyways in the Northwest for the bears working out? I knew they were built but havent heard anything since.

Yeah it's kind of like when a car veers towards me to tell me I'm biking the wrong way and I'm therefore going to get hurt. I mean just try sucking on an exhaust pipe for a while -- some animals are still out there breathing real air. haha.

20 years left of fresh water on the planet.

Still there are those plastic diapers showing up in farmer's fields -- and what about the ground nests that get wiped out from the tractors?

This type of thinking is what we humans need MORE of. Actively seeking Solutions.

Granted some of the solutions are thought up on the spot and may not work so well, but they are a good start for a discussion that will lead us to better ideas.

And sharing information about simple things like cutting the 6ring plastic from soda is a great way to start mitigating the negative effects of our society on the nature around us.

I am 100% for this type of thinking and attitude.

Very good developments among some humans. Very promising. It gives me hope that we will be a smart species one day!

[edit on 6-2-2010 by muzzleflash]

reply to post by December_Rain


See on this sort of thread I will agree with you. I always cut up the plastic rings from soda 6 packs; I have for nearly 20 or more years now.

The under the road pathways for animals is a good idea. But also it would be nice is people just watched what they were doing. I always slow down and drive around turtles and if I am sure it is safe remove them off the road.

When it comes to deer though we just have to rely on people being observant. Sadly this sort of thing is fading or seems to be any way.

I also always wondered why they fill in or collapse old mines when they could just find a way to make it work for wildlife but keep people out.

Raist

I removed my comment. It wasn't really appropriate. I was ranting against depopulation.

[edit on 6-2-2010 by m khan]

It's a shame we can be so subjective with which species that get the nod for survival and which one's perish.

Ten of millions of butterflies, giant silk moths, honey bee's, many species of dragon flies, and multitudes of other insects all fall victim to the vehicle grill. I know it's something that we have learned to live with and not give a hoot about, but just saying if we really valued all wildlife it wouldn't be just the cute ones, but rather entire ecosystems, not just a species here or there.



sparrow

Those are all excellent ideas December but there is one very critical issue left off the list.
Curious? Trash thrown from cars even if it has no food in it may still smell of food and attract animals to the road where they get hit. Think again before you throw out an apple core to "help" some hungry animal.

As for turtles crossing the road if I see one I'll stop and help it across.

Like with the skyscrapers I think we could shut down wind generators for maintenance during times of peak migration for birds that get killed by them, from what I understand hawks suffer the greatest loss in numbers.

Don't use fertilizer or herbicides on your yard, if you must use organic manure. Any runoff from rains goes straight into your local creek and kills amphibian and fish eggs. RoundUp does NOT break down like they say, pull weeds by hand.

I suppose I will think of some more but those were on top of my head.

Starred and flagged, I think this is very important.

[edit on 6-2-2010 by Asktheanimals]

Originally posted by muzzleflash

Very good developments among some humans. Very promising. It gives me hope that we will be a smart species one day!

[edit on 6-2-2010 by muzzleflash]

Does this mean the Metrons won't make us fight the Gorns to the death?
Hurrah, the lizard people and human can live side by side!

If he has the time Doctor, if he has the time.......

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Excellent idea about trash littering on road. If you get more please do share so we can compile them and make a final thread

Nice post. S&F.

I think even more basic is that drivers need to slow down in places where they know wildlife crosses the roads.

Where I live, there are hedgehogs flattened on the roads all the time.

i always think, "how is it possible to run over a hedgehog!" they are quite slow and are easy to spot too.

Drivers slow down!!

g

Here's a few more:

Don't use corporate lawn care. They use very harsh chemicals which kill animals ( I watched a squirrel die just hours after Chem-lawn sprayed) or at a minimum poison food sources for birds and small animals.

Keep your grass cut high. It requires less water and keep weeds down. Also use the cuttings as a natural lawn mulch.

Use a human-powered push mower. It's quiet and non-polluting and much cheaper to run and maintain.

Leave a wild border on your yard if you can. Animals need shelter, food and water. Wild shrubs provide the first 2 plus nesting opportunities for birds. Poison ivy isn't a problem, it's an important food source for forest birds. Ditto for other "weeds" and vines.

Plant to attract wildife. Cardinal flower for hummingbirds, asters for butterflies, etc.

Maintain a brush pile (snakes and toads love it)

Keep your trash out of reach of animals and never leave pet food out.

In our local park we had turtles laying eggs IN the trail which is heavily used by mountain bikers. So we marked the sites with colored stakes and routed traffic around them. Not every nest survived as the eggs are important source of food for raccoons and skunks but not died by being crushed. When we spot potential problems we need to act on them, don't count on the parks department to do it, they're underfunded and too busy to deal with such things. You need no-one but yourself to make things happen.

Mountain bikes are a critical issue in outdoor recreation. We need to monitor the trail damage done and stop "freeriding" which has denuded several hillsides quite badly. When you stop to think it takes anywhere from 500 to 1,000 years to build ONE INCH OF TOPSOIL you see why it's so critical to stop erosion at it's source. There is little to no public awareness of this issue at present but it will be known eventually. Bikes are also penetrating deeper into wilderness areas than ever disturbing wildlife patterns in ways we have yet to know. I'm not against mountain biking per se, I just think there is much research and education to be done on the subject.

It has been my great fortune to have many unique experiences with wildlife and it is my greatest wish that everyone should see and feel the beauty and intensity of nature. THere is something in the wild that cannot be replaced by anything that humans can create. We need to protect nature for purely selfish reasons, without it we will wither and die as a species.
We all deserve the opportunity to see the grace of a mountain lions' walk or the dance of barn swallows in mating display. Every piece of nature from great to small is unique and important.
If we think otherwise then we aren't paying attention.

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
Those are all excellent ideas December but there is one very critical issue left off the list.
Curious? Trash thrown from cars even if it has no food in it may still smell of food and attract animals to the road where they get hit. Think again before you throw out an apple core to "help" some hungry animal.

Don't use fertilizer or herbicides on your yard, if you must use organic manure. Any runoff from rains goes straight into your local creek and kills amphibian and fish eggs. RoundUp does NOT break down like they say, pull weeds by hand.

I agree on the whole thread and, the trash thrown from cars is a issue indeed. A metal can or other non-organic items don't belong in the natural environment. In some cases i've seen whole plastic bags with trash, thrown from cars. Laziness or "we won't pay money, to get rid of it". Could be on their way to buy a HD tv...

I don't use anything in garden, besides some tools and weeds are pulled up by hand.
It's something to do with "doing something, that's not always such pleasure, but gives a good result, instead of only doing pleasant things, that gives nothing but, bad results...


[edit on 6-2-2010 by flymetothemoon]

Still deer are the most deadly animal in the U.S. due to their affinity for the car grill.

reply to post by sparrowstail

reply to post by sparrowstail


There is a difference for the most part though. Do not forget that insects can out breed any creature on earth. Closely followed by the rodents it seems.

Not that I have no care for insects I actually like them a lot. Most people despise snakes as well as bats and I find both to be an awesome bunch.

I even have a thread talking about the beauty that others do not see.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

It talks about those who got all depressed after the movie Avatar but also makes the point that even those things you might not find beautiful are in fact beautiful.

Raist

reply to post by Raist


Yeah I hear ya, the micro world is truly astonishing, I have to say I have a warm spot for the poor old Monarch butterfly who has one of the toughest battles in the insect world. An umpteen thousand mile migration through all of our filth and squalor and then an overwinter in a cold and disappearing Mexican rain forest and then back again. Poor devils.

sparrow

reply to post by December_Rain


Good post mate.

Yeah roads and wildlife dont mix, it isnt hard to slow down, i have often seen people speed up to go through birds on the road trying to hit them.. Damn people.

Another one is owners that let their cats roam free to kill birds, lizards and other native wildlife, while hiding behind the excuse of 'its cruel to lock cats up'.
Well, dont get a cat.