Wildlife is generally synonymous with untamed wild animals, but it has now expanded to include all creatures that develop or exist in the wild without being introduced by humans[1].  With this definition we see that wildlife includes both wild fauna and flora.  Plant life is an important aspect of wildlife and plays a vital role in carbon sequestration, which reduces carbon levels in the atmosphere.  Wildlife is a complex interdependent system of living organisms that differ significantly depending on the ecosystem in which they live.

Generally, wild species of animals are what is known as wildlife.  Each wild animal plays a key role in keeping the ecosystem in which they exist in balanced.  Wild animals are hunted by humans to harvest their body parts for different purposes. Game and Bushmeat are two terms used to describe wild animals that are hunted. Bison, Buffalo, Antelope, Reindeer, Elk, and Deer are examples of Game Animals that are traditionally hunted for meat.  Bushmeats are illegal in the United States and most developed countries.  The term “Bushmeat” refers to raw or minimally processed meat that comes from wild animals in certain regions of the world including Africa and may pose a communicable disease.  Bushmeat comes from a variety of wild animals, including bats, nonhuman primates (monkeys), cane rats (grasscutters), and duiker (antelope)[2].

It has more recently been discovered that wild animals play an important role in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.  For example, the recovery of wildebeest in the Serengeti has been shown to result in a 10% reduction in the area burned by wildfires, and hence a net reduction in CO2 emissions, with around 10% less land burned every 100,000 animals restored. What is the mechanism? Through their excrement, wildebeest transfer carbon from above-ground vegetation to the soil, enhancing carbon storage. The Serengeti's role as a net CO2 sink is thought to have been restored as a result of this reintroduction[3].

Wildlife is an important resource that is in many part of the world exposed to exploitation.  This year’s theme for World Wildlife day is “Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration”.  Keeping the biodiversity to ensure that ecosystems are sustainably intact.  For instance, if certain predators in an ecosystem go extinct, it generates invasive species with no predators to keep their population at a sustainable level, which in turn will wreak havoc on that ecosystem. Biodiversity can only be maintain through international conservation and restoration efforts.  Through the proper steps wildlife on the brink of extinction can be restored.  For instance In 2017, Brown Bats made history by becoming the first of their kind to be removed from the United States' endangered species list. Fewer than a thousand remained in existence thirty years ago. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service believes that there are about 200,000 of these bats in the United States and Mexico[4].