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[[File:Panthera tiger in a marshy area in captivity.jpg|thumb|[[Tiger|Tiger ''Panthera tigris'']]]]

'''Wildlife''' traditionally refers to un[[domesticated]] [[animal]] [[species (biology)|species]], but has come to include all [[plant]]s, [[fungi]], and other [[organism]]s that grow or live wild in an area without being [[introduced species|introduced]] by [[human]]s.<ref>{{cite book |author = Usher, M. B.|year = 1986|title = Wildlife conservation evaluation: attributes, criteria and values |publisher = Chapman and Hall|location = London, New York|isbn = 978-94-010-8315-7}}</ref>

Wildlife can be found in all [[ecosystem]]s. Deserts, forests, rain forests, plains, grasslands and other areas including the most developed [[urban area]]s, all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists agree that much wildlife is affected by human activities.<ref>{{cite book|url=|title=Wildlife: Destruction, Conservation and Biodiversity|publisher=Nova Science Publishers|year=2009|author=Harris, J. D. Brown, P.L.|accessdate=14 December 2016}}<!-- note: this definition has been copy-pasted from https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=16334 -- prior to editing this ref> --></ref>

Humans have historically tended to separate civilization from wildlife in a number of ways including the legal, social, and moral sense. Some animals, however, have adapted to suburban environments. This includes such animals as domesticated cats, dogs, mice, and gerbils. Some religions declare certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times concern for the natural environment has provoked activists to protest against the [[exploitation of natural resources|exploitation]] of wildlife for human benefit or entertainment.

The global wildlife population has decreased by 52 percent between 1970 and 2014, according to a report by the [[World Wildlife Fund]].<ref>https://www.wsj.com/articles/report-wildlife-numbers-drop-by-half-since-1970-1412085197</ref>

==Food, pets, and traditional medicines==
{{see also|Wildlife trade}}
[[File:Kob Thanin Market.jpg|thumb|A mesh bag full of live frogs waiting for a buyer at [[Chiang Mai]]'s Thanin market. Frog meat in Thailand is mostly used in stir-fries and Thai curries. ]]
[[Anthropologists]] believe that the [[Stone Age]] people and [[hunter-gatherer]]s relied on wildlife, both plants and animals, for their food. In fact, some species may have been hunted to [[extinction]] by early human hunters. Today, hunting, [[fishing]], and gathering wildlife is still a significant food source in some parts of the world. In other areas, hunting and non-commercial fishing are mainly seen as a [[sport]] or [[recreation]], with the edible meat as mostly a side benefit of it.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} Meat sourced from wildlife that is not traditionally regarded as game is known as [[bush meat]]. The increasing demand for wildlife as a source of traditional food in [[East Asia]] is decimating populations of [[shark]]s, [[primate]]s, [[pangolin]]s and other animals, which they believe have [[aphrodisiac]] properties.

In November 2008, almost 900 plucked and "oven-ready" owls and other protected wildlife species were confiscated by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Malaysia, according to [[TRAFFIC]].  The animals were believed to be bound for China, to be sold in wild meat restaurants.  Most are listed in [[CITES]] (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) which prohibits or restricts such trade.

{{cquote|Malaysia is home to a vast array of amazing wildlife. However, illegal hunting and trade poses a threat to Malaysia's natural diversity.|||Chris S. Shepherd<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.traffic.org/home/2008/11/12/huge-haul-of-dead-owls-and-live-lizards-in-peninsular-malays.html|title=Huge haul of dead owls and live lizards in Peninsular Malaysia|last=Shepherd|first=Chris R.|author2=Thomas, R. |date=12 November 2008|publisher=Traffic|accessdate=14 July 2012}}</ref>}}

A November 2008 report from biologist and author Sally Kneidel, PhD, documented numerous wildlife species for sale in informal markets along the Amazon River, including wild-caught marmosets sold for as little as $1.60 (5 Peruvian soles).<ref>[http://veggierevolution.blogspot.com/2008/10/monkeys-and-parrots-pouring-from-jungle.html Veggie Revolution: Monkeys and parrots pouring from the jungle]{{Self-published inline|date=July 2010}}</ref> Many Amazon species, including peccaries, agoutis, turtles, turtle eggs, anacondas, armadillos, etc., are sold primarily as food.  Others in these informal markets, such as monkeys and parrots, are destined for the pet trade, often smuggled into the United States. Still other Amazon species are popular ingredients in traditional medicines sold in local markets. The medicinal value of animal parts is based largely on superstition.{{Citation needed|date=November 2015}}

==Religion==
Many animal species have spiritual significance in different cultures around the world, and they and their products may be used as [[sacred]] objects in [[religious]] rituals. For example, [[eagle]]s, [[hawk]]s and their  [[feather]]s have great [[cultural]] and [[Spirituality|spiritual]] value to [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] as religious objects. In [[Hinduism]] the cow is regarded sacred.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/encyclopedia/Indiansandeaglefeathers.htm|title=The Significance of the Eagle to the Indians|last=Bélange|first=Claude|year=2004|work=The Quebec History Encyclopedia|publisher=Marianopolis College|accessdate=14 July 2012}}</ref>

[[Muslims]] conduct sacrifices on Eid-ul-Adha to commemorate the sacrificial spirit of Ibrahim [Abraham] in love of God. Camels, sheep, goats, and cows may be offered as sacrifice during the three days of Eid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/03/eid-al-adha-2014_n_5927040.html|title=Eid Al-Adha 2014: Muslims Observe The Feast Of Sacrifice|publisher=Huffington Post|accessdate=3 March 2015}}</ref>

==Tourism==
Many nations have established their tourism sector around their natural wildlife. South Africa has, for example, many opportunities for tourists to see the country's wildlife in its national parks, such as the Kruger Park. In South India the Periar Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park and Mudamalai Wildlife Sanctuary are situated around and in forests. India is home to many national parks and wildlife sanctuaries showing the diversity of its wildlife, much of its unique fauna, and excels in the range. There are 89 national parks, 13 bio reserves and more than 400 wildlife sanctuaries across India which are the best places to go to see tigers, lions, elephants, rhinoceros, birds, and other wildlife which reflect the importance that the country places on nature and wildlife conservation.

==Destruction==
[[File:World map of prehistoric human migrations.jpg|thumb|350px|Map of early [[human migrations]], according to [[Mitochondrial DNA|mitochondrial]] [[population genetics]]. Numbers are [[millennia]] before the present.]]
This subsection focuses on [[human impact on the environment|anthropogenic]] forms of wildlife destruction.

[[Exploitation of natural resources|Exploitation]] of wild populations has been a characteristic of modern man since our exodus from [[Africa]] 130,000 – 70,000 years ago.  The rate of [[extinction]]s of entire species of plants and animals across the planet has been so high in the last few hundred years it is widely believed that we are in the sixth great extinction event on this planet; the [[Holocene Mass Extinction]].

Destruction of wildlife does not always lead to an extinction of the species in question, however, the dramatic loss of entire species across Earth dominates any review of wildlife destruction as extinction is the level of damage to a wild population from which there is no return.{{clarify|date=July 2012}}

The four most general reasons that lead to destruction of wildlife include overkill, [[habitat destruction]] and [[habitat fragmentation|fragmentation]], impact of introduced species and chains of extinction.<ref>Diamond, J. M. (1989). Overview of recent extinctions. Conservation for the Twenty-first Century. D. Western and M. Pearl, New York, Oxford University Press: 37-41.</ref>

===Overkill===
Wildlife is an invaluable treasure but it is being exploited due to illegal trade of many of its species.Overkill happens whenever hunting occurs at rates greater than the reproductive capacity of the population is being exploited.  The effects of this are often noticed much more dramatically in slow growing populations such as many larger species of fish.  Initially when a portion of a wild population is hunted, an increased availability of resources (food, etc.) is experienced increasing growth and reproduction as [[Density dependence|density dependent]] inhibition is lowered.  Hunting, [[fishing]] and so on, has lowered the competition between members of a population.  However, if this hunting continues at rate greater than the rate at which new members of the population can reach breeding age and produce more young, the population will begin to [[resource depletion|decrease in numbers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conservationandwildlife.com/critical-species/|title=Critical Species|publisher=Conservation and Wildlife|accessdate=14 July 2012}}</ref>

Populations that are confined to islands, whether literal islands or just areas of habitat that are effectively an "island" for the species concerned, have also been observed to be at greater risk of dramatic population declines following [[Unsustainable fishing methods|unsustainable hunting]].

===Habitat destruction and fragmentation===
{{main article|Habitat destruction|Habitat fragmentation}}
[[File:Amazonie deforestation.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Deforestation]] and increased road-building in the [[Amazon Rainforest]] are a significant concern because of increased human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to [[biodiversity]].]]
The [[habitat]] of any given species is considered its preferred area or territory.  Many processes associated with human habitation of an area cause loss of this area and decrease the carrying capacity of the land for that species.  In many cases these changes in land use cause a patchy break-up of the wild landscape.  Agricultural land frequently displays this type of extremely fragmented, or relictual, habitat.  Farms sprawl across the landscape with patches of uncleared woodland or forest dotted in-between occasional paddocks.

Examples of habitat destruction include grazing of bushland by farmed animals, changes to natural fire regimes, forest clearing for timber production and wetland draining for city expansion.

===Impact of introduced species===
{{main|introduced species}}
[[Mice]], [[cat]]s, [[rabbit]]s, [[dandelion]]s and [[poison ivy]] are all examples of species that have become invasive threats to wild species in various parts of the world {{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}.  Frequently species that are uncommon in their home range become out-of-control invasions in distant but similar climates.  The reasons for this have not always been clear and [[Charles Darwin]] felt it was unlikely that exotic species would ever be able to grow abundantly in a place in which they had not evolved. The reality is that the vast majority of species exposed to a new habitat do not reproduce successfully. Occasionally, however, some populations do take hold and after a period of acclimation can increase in numbers significantly, having destructive effects on many elements of the native environment of which they have become part.

===Chains of extinction===
This final group is one of secondary effects.  All wild populations of living things have many complex intertwining links with other living things around them.  Large [[herbivorous]] animals such as the [[hippopotamus]] have populations of [[insectivorous]] birds that feed off the many parasitic insects that grow on the hippo. Should the hippo die out, so too will these groups of [[birds]], leading to further destruction as other species dependent on the birds are affected.  Also referred to as a [[domino effect]], this series of [[chain reaction]]s is by far the most destructive process that can occur in any [[Biocoenosis|ecological community]].

Another example is the [[black drongo]]s and the [[cattle egret]]s found in [[India]]. These birds feed on insects on the back of cattle, which helps to keep them disease-free. Destroying the nesting habitats of these birds would cause a decrease in the cattle population because of the spread of insect-borne diseases.

==Media==
[[File:Tamiasciurus douglasii 000.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The [[Douglas Squirrel]]]]

Wildlife has long been a common subject for [[education]]al [[television show]]s. [[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] specials appeared on [[CBS]] beginning in 1965, later moving to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and then [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]. In 1963, [[NBC]] debuted ''[[Wild Kingdom]],'' a popular program featuring [[zoologist]] [[Marlin Perkins]] as host. The  [[BBC natural history unit]] in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] was a similar pioneer, the first wildlife series LOOK presented by [[Sir Peter Scott]], was a studio-based show, with filmed inserts.  It was in this series that [[David Attenborough]] first made his appearance which led to the series Zoo Quest during which he and cameraman Charles Lagus went to many exotic places looking for and filming<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/person/222/222.html?personid=222|title=Charles Lagus BSC. |publisher=Wild Film History|accessdate=14 July 2012}}</ref> elusive wildlife—notably the [[Komodo dragon]] in Indonesia and [[lemurs]] in Madagascar. Since 1984, the [[Discovery Channel]] and its spin off [[Animal Planet]] in the US have dominated the market for shows about wildlife on cable television, while on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] the NATURE strand made by WNET-13 in New York and NOVA by WGBH in Boston are notable. See also [[Nature documentary]]. Wildlife television is now a multimillion-dollar industry with specialist documentary film-makers in many countries including UK, US, New Zealand [[NHNZ]], Australia, Austria, Germany, Japan, and Canada.
There are many magazines which cover wildlife including [[National Wildlife Magazine]], [[Birds & Blooms]], [[Birding (magazine)]], and [[Ranger Rick]] (for children).

==See also==
{{Portalbar|Animals|Environment|Ecology|Earth sciences|Biology|Sustainable development}}
{{too many see alsos|date=August 2013}}
{{div col|3}}
*[[Biodiversity]]
*[[Conservation biology]]
*[[Do not feed the animals]]
*[[Ecology]]
*[[Endangered species]]
*[[European Wildlife]]
*[[Ex-situ conservation]]
*[[Gene pool]]
*[[Genetic erosion]]
*[[Genetic pollution]]
*[[In-situ conservation]]
*[[National Wildlife Federation]]
*[[Natural environment]]
*[[Nature]]
*[[Nature preserve]]
*[[Ornithology]]
*[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]
*[[Wildcrafting]]
*[[Wildlife Conservation Society]]
*[[Wildlife corridor]]
*[[Wildlife management]]
*[[The Wildlife Society]]
*[[Wildness]]
*[[World Wide Fund for Nature]]
*[[World Wildlife Day]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Natural resources}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Wildlife| ]]delete|ភាសាផ្សេង}}