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Table of Contents

Cover Story

Grades 4-6

Whose Habitat Is It?

--By Kathryn Satterfield

They emerge from the woods when darkness falls. They're hungry. Black bears are smart but not picky--birdseed, chicken bones or other table scraps will do. "It's been going on for about three years," says Gregg Baker, 49, who lives in Margaretville, New York, at the edge of a forest. Last October, he woke to the sound of banging. "I went running downstairs," says Baker. "There was a bear on the picnic table attempting to get in the kitchen window."

In Georgia, alligators have made a splash in neighborhood pools. One was spotted strolling down a sidewalk in Savannah! In Big Pine Key, a Florida island, Key deer are munching people's flower beds. And in western New Jersey, black bears make themselves right at home.

WE PAVED PARADISE

Life in some U.S. suburbs is getting wilder. That's because new homes are popping up in places where wildlife is accustomed to roaming free. Called urban sprawl, such construction eats up about 2 million acres of open space each year.

Sprawl upsets ecosystems and harms biodiversity, the variety of plants and animals in an area. When humans move into a habitat, some of the land and water the animals need to survive are lost. According to the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife, 85% of the species at risk of extinction in the U.S. are hurt mainly by habitat loss.

On January 8, a woman in Southern California was attacked by a mountain lion while biking along a wilderness trail near her home. She was badly injured, but she is recovering and was in fair condition as of last week. Although rare, such attacks show what can happen when humans invade animal territory.

A SHRINKING WORLD

When big highways or other structures are built, an animal may be separated from its food supply. Its usual migratory path may be disturbed. Some species are able to adapt and survive. White-tailed deer thrive in many states, because their natural predators--wolves and cougars--are gone. But when there are too many deer grazing on small plants and undergrowth in the forest, ground-nesting birds lose their homes. Small, isolated chunks of land just can't support many species.

During the fall, New Jersey's black bears rambled through neighborhoods in search of food. Last month, the heavily populated state held its first bear hunt in 33 years. Some residents were horrified; others were relieved.

Conservationists say that we can protect animals before their ecosystems are thrown out of whack simply by changing the way we build new communities. For example, in the Florida Everglades, builders made special bridges and tunnels so that alligators, panthers and bobcats can now cross roads safely. Deer and other animals have also been protected by nature-friendly building projects.

Michael Klemens, a senior conservationist for the Wildlife Conservation Society, is helping urban planners build a better future. "We know more about ecosystems and these species than we did 20 years ago," he says. "We can take that knowledge and make better decisions."

Next: To the Moon and Beyond!