The Climate Change Collective is an initiative where the blogging community unites behind a common goal. Today, I’m delighted to continue the conversation by sharing the most recent post in the series. In a thoughtful and insightful piece, Caroline from Enviroline Blog reminds us how climate change impacts the animal world.
This post was originally published in December 2022 and updated in November 2025.
How climate change impacts the animal world
Caroline is one of my favourite eco-bloggers. We’ve been exchanging blog post comments for a couple of years now. In her Climate Change Collective post, Caroline shared that she’s starting work on a masters degree in ecology and conservation. She is such a passionate advocate for environmental issues, so I’ll be watching with much interest. I have confidence that people like Caroline will change the world.
On National Wildlife Day, I wrote about the impact of human activity on the animal world. It always makes me sad to think of how animals are innocent victims of human greed and overconsumption.
Examples of how climate change impacts the animal world
You don’t have to look too far to see examples of animals being forced out of their habitats. In our own neighbourhood, I see foxes and coyotes roaming around because their habitats are being destroyed by urban sprawl and uncontrolled development. We’ve lived in the same neighbourhood for almost 30 years, and I had never seen these animals in the city until a couple of years ago.
Further afield, but still here in Canada, we see evidence of the impact of climate change on the polar bear population. These beautiful animals are now a vulnerable species as global warming melts the Arctic ice, disrupting their migration patterns and cutting them off from the food sources they depend on.
Even further afield, on the other side of the world, is there any better symbol of Australia than the koala? These cute, furry creatures were at risk before the devastating wildfires in recent years. Then, wildfires in 2019 and 2020 destroyed up to one-third of the koala population. (To learn more about conservation efforts to save the koalas, check out the first episode of season 2 of the inspiring Netflix series Down to Earth.)
Photo credit: Laura Morton Photography
Photo credit: Laura Morton Photography
We must act now…or it will be too late
These three examples show that the impact of climate change on the animal world is real. If you open your eyes and walk around your neighbourhood, you’ll see the evidence.
Once an animal is extinct, there’s no going back. It’s up to each of us to take action. I started this blog with the goal of sharing simple actions we can all do to reduce our impact on the planet. It’s easy to get discouraged but I still believe that’s possible. If we all do something, it will add up.
If you want to do something practical, the World Wildlife Fund is one of the world’s leading conservation organizations. As Christmas approaches, consider supporting the work they do by adopting a furry friend—an excellent gift for anyone on your Christmas list. You’ll get an adoption certificate and a cute stuffed animal to give to the recipient, along with a charitable donation tax receipt for yourself. Everybody wins!
To learn more about how climate change impacts the animal world, please read Caroline’s insightful and educational post.
I love animals and I am so passionate about conservation. I have been passionate about animals for as long as I can remember. I just think it’s so unfair that animals are forced to adapt, or potentially not survive because of the actions caused by humans.
Caroline, Enviroline Blog
How climate change impacts animals – Enviroline Blog
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About the Climate Change Collective
The Climate Change Collective started when I left a comment on a blog post by Jamie Ad Stories. Jamie and I wanted to find a way to keep environmental issues top of mind for everyone, so I posted on social media to see what kind of interest there would be in a climate-change-related blogging collaboration. The Climate Change Collective was born!
For over three years, the members our group took turns writing a monthly blog post sharing their unique perspective about climate change. After the lead post was published, the rest of the group kept the conversation going by sharing a link to the post on their blogs along with their thoughts and ideas.
More Climate Change Collective posts
Check out Two years of the Climate Change Collective series for a recap of the posts we published in the first two years.
Latest posts in the series
- Meet the Climate Change Collective members and learn about the topics we covered in year three in Celebrating 3 Years of Climate Change Awareness and Environmental Education.
- Food storage tips that will reduce waste and save you money
- Racing Towards Green: How Formula 1 is Embracing Sustainability
As Caroline shared, human activity is having a devastating impact on the animal world. Extinction is forever and there’s no going back. The time to act is now.
What can we do to reduce the impact of climate change on the animal world? Tell me your thoughts below.
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These particular examples highlight how urban sprawl and temperature rises are messing with habitats. It is such a shame but we can do something about it. Great post!
Yes! Being sad isn’t enough. We have to act. Thanks again for inspiring this series Jamie.
The way we’re destroying the world, we’ll be lucky if any animals make it to the next century
I know. It really is so sad when you look at the long list of critically endangered species.
The craziest part is the animals can’t do anything about it. We really need to get our heads out of our asses.
That’s so true. And we’re supposed to be the intelligent ones.
It saddens me that animals across the world are being forced out of their habitats by human greed. I just wish we humans stop thinking we’re the only species that matter!
It is sad and, as you say, it all comes down to greed. I’m not sure what it will take for people to wake up and change their behaviour.
Caroline’s post is great at outlining how impactful climate change is in the animal world; a truly urgent call to action for us all. When I read your response here and you included that coyotes are not being seen more in urban settings it made me think the way we’re pushing them (and other animals) into increasingly precarious situations. Thanks for sharing this reminder!
That’s the sad part. These animals are not meant to live so close to humans. Often when they wander into urban areas, it doesn’t end well for the animals or the humans.
Aww, thank you so much for the lovely comments Michelle!
You’re welcome. Thanks for being part of our climate change collective. 💚
We constantly see wildlife wandering around in our area too. Bears are a huge one and the other week at work I saw a coyote sprint by. I love the idea of adopting an animal and supporting organizations. So important to find reputable ones like you mention because there are so many companies profiting from “adopt gifts” that don’t actually fund charities.
It is alarming that the wildlife is being forced out of their habitat into urban areas. I love the World Wildlife Fund programs. We may be seeing some new furry friends under our Christmas tree this year. 😉