From Australia to Africa, fences are stopping Earth’s great animal migrations

Apr 15, 2019

A herd of zebras is seen in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings - RC19B7576A50

Fences are the enemy of migration. Image: REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Bill Laurance

Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University

Penny van Oosterzee

Adjunct Associate Professor James Cook University and University Fellow Charles Darwin University, , James Cook University

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Emus attempting to cross the Rabbit-Proof Fence in Western Australia. Image: Western Australia Department of Agriculture & Food

A zebra noses a fence in Kenya. Image: Duncan Kimuyu

Elephants and Banteng graze in Kuri Buri National Park in Thailand, vestiges of a once-massive fauna that migrated annually across Indochina. Image: Pattarapong/iStock

Cost-benefit assessment for 33 massive ‘development corridors’ that are proposed or under construction in Sub-Saharan Africa. Image: William Laurance

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Lions attacking an Angolan Giraffe, one facet of Botswana’s complex migratory ecosystems. Image: Michael Cohen

Botswana is expected to have over 40,000 tourism-related jobs by 2028, showing their key importance to the national economy. Image: Travel & Tourism Economic Impact: Botswana 2018

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