As the world marks World Animal Day on October 4, African Climate Reporters has warned that climate change is increasingly threatening the survival of wildlife and domestic animals across Africa.
Head of Communication and Strategies of the organisation, Ibrahima Yakubu, said rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, extreme flooding, wildfires and changing rainfall patterns were creating increasingly dangerous conditions for animals.
Yakubu, in a statement made available to journalists, said many African wildlife species depended on forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers and other ecosystems for food, water and shelter. He warned that the degradation of these ecosystems was forcing animals to travel longer distances in search of basic necessities, exposing them to greater risks.
According to Yakubu, extreme heat can cause heat stress, dehydration and death, while prolonged drought destroys vegetation and reduces access to water. Floods and wildfires, he added, can wipe out breeding grounds, nests and natural habitats, leaving vulnerable species with fewer places to survive.
He further warned that climate change was disrupting animal migration, reproduction and feeding patterns, potentially pushing species already threatened by habitat destruction, illegal hunting and pollution closer to extinction.
Yakubu said the crisis also affected livestock and other domestic animals through heat stress, water shortages, declining pasture and climate-sensitive diseases, threatening the livelihoods of communities that depend on animals for food and income.
He called for stronger climate and environmental journalism to deepen public understanding of the link between climate change, animal survival and ecosystem protection. Journalists, he said, should report disappearing habitats, declining water sources and changing wildlife patterns while highlighting practical solutions.
Yakubu also urged governments, conservation organisations, communities and environmental groups to intensify efforts to restore degraded ecosystems, protect forests and wetlands, improve water management and reduce activities that drive climate change.
“As the world celebrates World Animal Day, the occasion should go beyond celebrating animals and serve as a reminder that their survival depends heavily on the health of the planet,” Yakubu said.
“Protecting animals from climate change means protecting their habitats, ecosystems and the future of life itself.”
