A habitat is a place that a plant, animal, or other organism lives. Habitat destruction is the destruction on habitats, usually by humans. This leads to animals getting endangered. Endangered species are species which are at risk of extinction, one with small populations. Some examples are tigers, giant pandas, and polar bears.
Endangered species can be caused by both nature and human activity. Natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and tornadoes can all make species endangered. The 2008 Sichuan Earthquake destroyed 23% of giant panda habitats. Over half of endangered species are caused by urbanization. As towns and cities expand, animals get forced out of their native habitats and are forced farther away, sometimes into areas where they cannot survive. Many of these animals are endangered — and some even go extinct.
There are a lot of consequences to habitat destruction. When ecosystems are destroyed, animals can lack the things they need to survive, and die off. If those animals are primary predators to pests, the pests can multiply and harm humans. If the animals are food to other animals, it can lead to animals eating them to die off, which leads to animals eating them to die off, and what happens is a domino effect, eventually killing a lot of humans.
We can prevent habitat destruction and protect ecosystems by slowing urban sprawling. Cities can expand into habitats and kick animals out. We can also be careful where we build roads. When roads go through an animal’s habitat, it will have a hard time crossing it. Cars and trucks using the road could hit and hurt them.
In conclusion, habitat destruction can result in animal endangering, and that can lead to extinction. Humans have always caused habitat destruction and harmed animals in many ways. We have killed off animals, but we can prevent further harm by slowing urban sprawling and be careful where we build roads.
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