Wilderness in the context of "Wildlife"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Wilderness in the context of "Wildlife"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Wilderness

Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally referred to terrestrial environments, though growing attention is being placed on marine wilderness. Recent maps of wilderness suggest it covers roughly one-quarter of Earth's terrestrial surface, but is being rapidly degraded by human activity. Even less wilderness remains in the ocean, with only 13.2% free from intense human activity.

Some governments establish protection for wilderness areas by law to not only preserve what already exists, but also to promote and advance a natural expression and development. These can be set up in preserves, conservation preserves, national forests, national parks and even in urban areas along rivers, gulches or otherwise undeveloped areas. Often these areas are considered important for the survival of certain species, biodiversity, ecological studies, conservation, solitude and recreation. They may also preserve historic genetic traits and provide habitat for wild flora and fauna that may be difficult to recreate in zoos, arboretums or laboratories.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Wilderness in the context of Wildlife

Wildlife refers to undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game, birds and mammals hunted for sport. Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems, both wild and most developed urban areas, forming distinct groups. While the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human existence, most scientists agree that much wildlife is affected by humans. Some wildlife threaten human safety, health, property and quality of life, but many wild animals have value to humans, whether economic, educational, or sentimental.

Humans have historically tended to separate civilization from wildlife in a number of ways, including the legal, social and moral senses. Some animals, however, have adapted to suburban environments. This includes urban wildlife such as feral cats, dogs, mice, and rats. Some religions declare certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times, concern for the natural environment has provoked activists to protest against the exploitation of wildlife for human benefit or entertainment.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Wilderness in the context of Artemis

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Artemis (/ˈɑːrtɪmɪs/; Ancient Greek: Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. In later times, she was identified with Selene, the personification of the Moon. She was often said to roam the forests and mountains, attended by her entourage of nymphs. The goddess Diana is her Roman equivalent.

In Greek tradition, Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin sister of Apollo. In most accounts, the twins are the products of an extramarital liaison. For this, Zeus's wife Hera forbade Leto from giving birth anywhere on solid land. Only the island of Delos gave refuge to Leto, allowing her to give birth to her children. In one account, Artemis is born first and then proceeds to assist Leto in the birth of the second twin, Apollo.

↑ Return to Menu

Wilderness in the context of Green belt

A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which have a linear character and may run through an urban area instead of around it. In essence, a green belt is an invisible line designating a border around a certain area, preventing development of the area and allowing wildlife to return and be established.

The more general term in the United States is green space or greenspace, which may be a very small area such as a park.

↑ Return to Menu

Wilderness in the context of Conservation movement

The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is an environmental, social, and political movement, that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, plant, and fungus species as well as their habitat for the future. Conservationists are concerned with leaving the environment in a better state than the condition they found it in. Evidence-based conservation seeks to use high quality scientific evidence to make conservation efforts more effective.

The early conservation movement evolved out of necessity to maintain natural resources such as fisheries, wildlife management, water, soil, as well as conservation and sustainable forestry. The contemporary conservation movement has broadened from the early movement's emphasis on use of sustainable yield of natural resources and preservation of wilderness areas to include preservation of biodiversity. Some say the conservation movement is part of the broader and more far-reaching environmental movement, while others argue that they differ both in ideology and practice.

↑ Return to Menu

Wilderness in the context of Footpaths

A footpath is, in Australian/British/Irish English, a type of thoroughfare, pedestrian way, walking trail, or nature trail, that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide variety of places, from the centre of cities, to farmland, mountain ridges, National parks, nature preserves, conservation areas and other protected wilderness areas. Urban footpaths are usually paved, may have steps, and can be called alleys, lanes, steps, etc.

The term 'footpath' includes pedestrian paths that are next to the road in Irish English, Indian English, Australian English, and New Zealand English (known as pavement in British English and South African English, or sidewalk in North American English).

↑ Return to Menu

Wilderness in the context of Landscape

A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal. A landscape includes the physical elements of geophysically defined landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of land use, buildings, and structures, and transitory elements such as lighting and weather conditions. Combining both their physical origins and the cultural overlay of human presence, often created over millennia, landscapes reflect a living synthesis of people and place that is vital to local and national identity.

The character of a landscape helps define the self-image of the people who inhabit it and a sense of place that differentiates one region from other regions. It is the dynamic backdrop to people's lives. Landscape can be as varied as farmland, a landscape park or wilderness. The Earth has a vast range of landscapes including the icy landscapes of polar regions, mountainous landscapes, vast arid desert landscapes, islands, and coastal landscapes, densely forested or wooded landscapes including past boreal forests and tropical rainforests and agricultural landscapes of temperate and tropical regions. The activity of modifying the visible features of an area of land is referred to as landscaping.

↑ Return to Menu

Wilderness in the context of El Shaddai

El Shaddai (Hebrew: אֵל שַׁדַּי, romanizedʾĒl Šadday; IPA: [el ʃadːaj]) or just Shaddai is one of the names of God in Judaism. El Shaddai is conventionally translated into English as God Almighty, as Deus Omnipotens in Latin, and in Arabic: إله الشديد, romanizedʾIlāh Ash-Shadīd.

El means "God" in the Ugaritic and the Canaanite languages. The literal meaning of Shaddai, however, is the subject of debate. Some scholars have argued that it came from Akkadian shadû ("mountain"). The Deir Alla Inscription contains shaddayin as well as elohin rather than elohim. Francesca Stavrakopoulou suggested translating this as "shadday-gods," taken to mean unspecified fertility, mountain or wilderness gods.

↑ Return to Menu