How habitat fragmentation affects animals

Habitat fragmentation not only leaves animals with less space and freedom of movement, but it also causes a number of short-term and long-term impacts on the health of individual species and their ecosystems. 

Human activity is the major driver of habitat fragmentation, but some natural processes also play a role. Luckily, there are ways we can work to stop habitat fragmentation and help impacted species flourish. 

That’s what we aim to do here at IFAW. Along with partners around the world, we’re striving to protect and reconnect fragmented habitats. One example is our Room to Roam initiative in Africa. By connecting and securing the space elephants and other wildlife need, IFAW is helping animals and people thrive together. 

Habitat fragmentation negatively impacts wildlife and biodiversity. It affects species’ ability to find food, water, and a mate. According to research published in 2025, fragmented landscapes have 12.1% fewer species than those that aren’t fragmented. 

What causes habitat fragmentation? 

Many common causes of habitat fragmentation are linked to human activity, including urban and infrastructure development, resource extraction, climate disasters, and conflict. There are some natural causes too. 

Urban and infrastructure development 

Building roads, railways, pipelines, housing, cities, and other infrastructure can divide wild areas. Human settlements not only physically block animals from reaching parts of their habitat, but they also use up resources, effectively decreasing the suitable habitat available to these animals. 

Resource extraction 

Other human activities that fragment wildlife habitats include oil and gas exploration, farming and agriculture, and diverting water through technology like dams. For example, freshwater fish face severe limitations when dams are built in rivers. They can completely block their migration routes and cut them off from areas where they were once plentiful. 

Natural causes 

The causes of habitat fragmentation aren’t just limited to human activity. Natural processes like changes in the course of a river, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and wildfires can also cut habitats into pieces. 

Climate disasters 

Climate change is another driver of habitat fragmentation, as it increases the frequency, severity, and unpredictability of disasters like fires, severe storms, and drought. As climate change worsens, so will habitat fragmentation. 

Conflict 

Human conflict can degrade landscapes, fragment habitats, and displace wildlife. It also causes a decrease in enforcement against poaching, illegal mining, and other illicit activities that harm the environment.   

What are the consequences of habitat fragmentation? 

Habitat fragmentation has a devastating impact on animals and their ecosystems. It can also lead to human-wildlife conflict. 

Injury and death 

Some effects of habitat fragmentation on animals are immediate, such as injury and death due to car collisions, water diverting technologies, and other equipment. 

Limited access to food and water 

Other effects of habitat fragmentation take longer to manifest. These include starvation and dehydration, as animals are cut off from food and water sources. 

Habitat fragmentation also affects migratory species. Animals struggle to find places to rest and feed on their long journeys. 

Limited access to resources can lead to human-wildlife conflict. When animals are pushed into smaller and smaller pockets of habitat, they may be forced to roam into human settlements in search of food and water. This can lead to crop raiding and livestock predation, and can threaten human safety. 

Reduced genetic diversity 

Fragmentation also prevents animals from accessing their breeding or nesting sites, leading to drastic drops in their populations. Inbreeding can also become an issue, as animals living in fragments become restricted to smaller sub-populations. This can affect the long-term health of the population, as it lowers genetic diversity, making animals more vulnerable to disease and less able to adapt to changes in the future. Ultimately, inbreeding makes a species more vulnerable to extinction. 

Disrupted food chains 

Habitat fragmentation can also affect species whose habitats may not be directly impacted, as it disrupts natural food chains. For example, if the brown bear population declines due to a road constructed through their forest habitat, salmon swimming in a nearby river won’t necessarily experience fragmentation, but they may experience overpopulation due to a reduction in predators. 

The edge effect of habitat fragmentation 

One result of habitat fragmentation is a phenomenon known as the ‘edge effect’. The edges of a habitat can differ drastically from the more interior parts. For example, many forest-dwelling animals are safer and can access more resources deeper in the forest than in its outer reaches.  

The plant life also differs between the interior and edges of a habitat. For instance, the edges of forests often contain more plants that require more sunlight and are more tolerant of dry conditions. This alters the availability of food sources for animals in these habitats. 

When a habitat becomes fragmented, there are more edge areas. If the pockets of habitat continue to grow smaller, there will be hardly any interior space left, causing edge effects that can negatively impact the animals living in the fragment. 

How to help prevent fragmentation and reconnect habitats 

There are a few ways you can help wild animals with fragmented habitats in your own garden or backyard. 

• Line your yard or garden with trees and hedgerows. These natural property boundaries can help native wildlife move between fragmented woodland habitats. 
• Plant more native trees, wildflowers, and grasses. Local and migratory animals will enjoy these resources. 
• Put out water sources for animals. Something as simple as a bowl or a bird bath can help species that are struggling to find natural water sources in their fragmented habitats. 

You can also support conservation initiatives to rewild and establish protected areas. Rewilding is the practice of letting nature take over in an area that has been damaged or deteriorated by human presence. 

What animals are experiencing habitat fragmentation? 

Countless species around the world are contending with habitat fragmentation, and many are being pushed to the brink of extinction. These are just a few examples of animals impacted by habitat fragmentation today. 

African savannah elephants 

On perhaps the largest scale, elephants serve as a prime example of the effects of habitat fragmentation. African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) typically have ranges of over 30,000 square kilometres—about the size of Belgium or Massachusetts. 

However, due to human expansion, their territories have shrunk and become divided from one another. With slow reproduction, their inability to find adequate resources and seek out mates is only exacerbating their population decline. African savannah elephants are an endangered species. 

Asian elephants 

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are also victims of habitat fragmentation, as humans continue to expand into the tropical forests where they live. Less available space means Asian elephant populations are cramped into smaller and smaller areas. This raises the risks of human-elephant conflict in nearby communities and has blocked traditional migratory routes. Asian elephants are endangered. 

In China, we’ve been working to reverse that trend. We’re working with community rangers to educate their communities and prevent human-elephant conflict. We’re also restoring Asian elephant habitat, supporting local communities to participate in conservation in Yunnan province. 

In India, we’ve been working alongside the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) on a decade-long mission to designate and protect 101 elephant corridors. These corridors enable communities and animals to coexist by allowing elephants easy passage between habitats.  

African wild dogs 

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are particularly impacted by farms and grazing areas, which continue to take up space in their habitats. Habitat fragmentation increases their contact with people and domestic animals, in turn increasing human-wildlife conflict and exposing African wild dogs to new diseases. As of 2025, there are just 1,409 mature African wild dogs left in the wild, and they are an endangered species. 

Black rhinos 

Also in Africa, black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) face habitat fragmentation from agriculture, plantations, mining, and tourism. Black rhinos are territorial, and when they are forced to live in close proximity to one another, they experience clashes and fights, lower breeding rates, and higher rates of disease. Black rhinos are listed as critically endangered. Today, there are just 3,142 mature individuals left in the wild. 

Indian rhinos 

Indian rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis), also known as the greater one-horned rhino, are the largest rhino species on Earth. Today, there are just 2,200 mature Indian rhinos left in the wild. 

These rhinos can be found in just 12 protected areas in India and Nepal. One of these is Manas National Park in India. Three decades ago, ethnic conflict led to the fragmentation and deforestation of this habitat, and more than 100 one-horned rhinos died. 

IFAW partnered with WTI and the Assam Forest Department to create the Greater Manas Landscape, restoring keystone species, like the one-horned rhino, and expanding protected land so it is now double what it once was. 

Koalas 

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are facing habitat fragmentation caused by land clearing and climate change in Australia. Impacts include predation by dogs, vehicle strikes, and disease. Koalas living in fragmented habitats are also more susceptible to drought-induced death and injury from bushfires. 

Koalas are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN but the combined population of koalas in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory was listed as endangered by the Australian government in February 2022. Their numbers are plummeting because of habitat loss and fragmentation. 

At IFAW, we’re working to build climate corridors for koalas and other wildlife in Australia. These help koalas cope with a changing climate and landscapes by giving them safe spaces to move to as conditions and food sources shift. We also support a team of dogs who sniff out sick and injured koalas. We can then rescue, rehabilitate, and release healthy koalas back into safe wild habitats. We work with private landholders and local groups on the ground to reconnect fragmented habitats through community tree-planting events. 

Bison 

In North America, urbanisation, agriculture, and industrial development have fragmented the habitat of bison. Through much of their range and their migratory paths, grasslands that formerly served as grazing areas have been converted to farmland. 

The American bison (Bison bison) is classed as near threatened by the IUCN. 

Caribou 

The tundra and forest habitats of caribou are becoming fragmented by things like transportation infrastructure, energy plants, tourist resorts, and forestry. When groups of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) become separated from each other, it becomes more difficult for them to breed and to migrate in large herds. This affects not only the caribou themselves but also, as a result of altered feeding patterns, the vegetation in their ecosystems. 

According to the IUCN, caribou are vulnerable to extinction, and their population numbers are decreasing. 

Help us combat habitat fragmentation and support innovative solutions to reconnect wild areas.