Why are great animal migrations collapsing?

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on DW or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Migration is under threat, with roughly half of the species listed in the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) showing population declines, and 22% are threatened with extinction
• Human-made barriers, habitat loss, pollution, and climate change significantly disrupt these vital ecological processes

🔭 The context: The phenomenon of bird migration, once a mystery to Europeans, has been understood through discoveries like the "Rostock Arrow Stork," which demonstrated long-distance travel between continents
• Today, we recognize that not just birds, but many species including fish, mammals, insects, and reptiles, undertake extensive migrations for survival

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Migratory journeys are critical for these species to find food, shelter, and breeding grounds
• Examples include the white stork's 10,000 km journey, the bar-headed goose flying over the Himalayas, and the Arctic tern's pole-to-pole migration

⏭️ What's next: Efforts to protect migratory species include international cooperation under the CMS, habitat conservation, and the removal of barriers along migratory routes

📈 One stat: Tens of millions of migratory birds are killed annually in the Mediterranean, and up to a billion die from collisions with buildings worldwide

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