Nature’s Survivors - The Adaptability of Wildlife

Extreme weather events are nothing new. Many creatures have had to adapt to big changes, over millions of years. But the climate crisis is putting flora and fauna under unprecedented pressure.

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Sendung: Dokumentation " Naturkatastrophen - Wie Tiere und Pflanzen überleben" — Image: ZED

Some animals can sense imminent natural catastrophes and take the necessary steps to protect themselves. Over the millennia, fires, flooding and storms have compelled these creatures to develop survival strategies - and in some cases, even learn to take advantage of catastrophes.

There are many examples. Take, for example, the island of Puerto Rico. It’s home to ants that survive floods by forming compact rafts that can keep them afloat for weeks.

And Australian flora and fauna have adapted to the annual bushfires on their continent: certain species of bird benefit from the blazes, which make their prey easier to find.

But current pace of climate change, which has been accelerating since industrialization, is very fast, giving animal species little time to adapt. The rise in sea levels and the increasing frequency of destructive hurricanes and large-scale forest fires exceed anything seen on the planet thus far.

Scientists are concerned by the rapidity of change, and uncertainty of what awaits us in future. It’s impossible to predict how far creatures will be able to adapt effectively to the changes in store in the decades to come.

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Nature’s Survivors - The Adaptability of Wildlife

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