How Animals Will Need to Migrate to Survive Climate Change

Although the animated projections below unquestionably look awesome, the reality they represent looks much grimmer. We all know that global warming alters wildlife habitats, and thus it comes as no surprise that animals will adapt to changes by seeking cooler climates. According to Audubon, “[this is] how the world’s fauna survived climatic changes in the past”, but this time around, animals will have to face many man-made obstacles.

The maps below created by Dan Majka for The Nature Conservancy show the average direction mammals (pink), birds (blue), and amphibians (yellow) need to take to track hospitable climates in North and South America.

The animals’ migration will be made more difficult by fences, roads, walls, bridges, cities, etc., and they could even cause them to go extinct if unable to overcome them. And yes, we can help them: Establishing wildlife corridors to reconnect natural regions is possible by “removing fencing, adding wildlife overpasses (or underpasses) to major roadways, and better routing of pipelines and power lines”, says The Nature Conservancy.

Below is the same map, but with the focus put only on the projected major paths that birds will take to reach cooler climates.

For the full map, click here

via Matador Network