Jungles: Givers of Life

            Among the greatest tragedies humanity is committing upon the earth is rampant destruction of rainforests. Every year we destroy an area of forest/jungle roughly equivalent in size to Costa Rica (19,730 sq miles or 51,100 km²). This comes out to roughly .4% of the worlds remaining forests per year. That number sounds small but if we continue at this rate (without factoring in the expected rise in this rate as the human population continues to increase) we will lose almost half of the worlds remaining forests and jungles by 2100. Jungles are destroyed for a variety of reasons; commercial logging, land conversion to farmland or pasture, firewood and other energy purposes, and clearing of land for mining purposes to name a few of the major contributors. Our destruction of the jungles of the world is having a devastating affect on wildlife all around the planet.

            So how important are jungles to the world’s wildlife? Well, basically the jungles are to land animals what coral reefs are to sea creatures. Like coral reefs, jungles have an exponentially higher level of biodiversity in comparison to other habitats (biodiversity is the variety of life in any given area, so a habitat with a high biodiversity will have a much larger number of species in a small area when compared to that of another habitat, jungle > desert). So consider that jungle only covers about 2% of the world but still contains about 50% of the worlds known species of plants and animals. This alone make them the crowning jewels of life on land and humanity should cherish and protect them.

            The most obvious way deforestation is affecting wildlife is through habitat loss. The alarming rate at which jungles the world over are disappearing is causing an even more alarming rise in the extinction rate of both plants and animals alike. Obviously once an area of jungle is chopped down there is less habitat for a given species to live in and their numbers are going to go down. This however, isn’t the only consequence of this habitat loss. As more and more forest is chopped down the remaining jungle becomes fragmented. This fragmentation of habitat can be just as lethal to a species. The reason for this is that for any area of habitat to maintain a stable population it needs to contain enough room to feed the population and sustain genetic diversity. When a population gets trapped in a fragmented patch of forest and are thus genetically isolated they begin inbreeding. Inbreeding, among many other problems, causes sterility and a population that cannot reproduce cannot survive.

Just one of the many species in danger

 

            It’s not just the animals that live in jungles that rely on them for survival either. There are countless species that rely on jungle processes that may not live anywhere near one. The reason for this is that jungles are so big and so powerful that they drive weather patterns worldwide. Water that evaporates in a jungle may not fall until it has drifted to a desert a thousand miles away making life possible in an area that otherwise may be nothing but shifting sands. The fact is the way that jungles affect the world’s climate is so complex that we have no idea how its loss will change the climate until the forest is gone and the damage is done. If the increase in the severity and frequency of major weather events in the last decade is any indication of what is to come it’s obviously in our best interests put a stop to anything and everything that is likely contributing to the problem and deforestation should be amongst the top of such a list.

The Congo is the 2nd largest, and least explored, jungle on the planet

 

            Jungles are far too important to nearly every living thing on the planet to continue to thoughtlessly destroy them. The reasons for the preservation of forests are so fundamental it’s almost unbelievable to me that there is a debate on the subject at all. Put simply we need them. We need them to stabilize climate, we need them to scrub CO² from the atmosphere, we need them to spread life giving rains around the world, we need them to provide us with ingredients for the countless pharmaceuticals that keep us healthy and cure disease. We need jungles as much as any species that calls them home. Jungles are the crown jewel of life on earth and almost every land species on earth is in some way or another beholden to their processes. It’s time we give them the respect they deserve as givers of life and protect these natural wonders, and thus the millions of species that call them home.

  

The jungles of the world are far to precious for us to allow them to be destroyed. The underlying ills responsible for their destruction can be cured and the time to do so is now.

A World Without Big Cats

           

            Big cat populations around the world are in drastic decline. Tigers are endangered and on the verge of extinction, Lions may be extinct in the wild by 2030 if we continue on our current course, Cheetahs and Clouded Leopards are classified as vulnerable and face greater pressure every single day, and snow leopards are endangered (possibly critically endangered, we simply don’t know enough about their population numbers because seeing them is such a rarity). There are some species that are even worse off than all of that; the Amur leopard is down to just around 20 individuals and on our current path there is little hope they will be saved, The Siberian (or Amur) Tiger is down to under 350 individuals, and the Iberian Lynx which is the rarest cat species in the world is down to around 100 individuals spread across three isolated populations. (The Amur leopard is not categorized as its own species, it is classified as subspecies of leopard despite the fact it is very different from its African brethren, otherwise it would be known as the rarest species of cat). If any one of these species goes extinct it will be the first species of feline to go extinct since Smilodon (saber-tooth). Big cats are under attack from all angles and without intervention we may lose them forever.

            These strong, powerful, beautiful, and majestic beasts have fascinated and left us in awe since we were living in caves, which is apparent when you think about how often you see a picture of a big cat. Seriously think about it for a moment, big cats are absolutely everywhere. They’re the mascots of our sports teams, they’re on our cereal boxes and family crests, they’re in the logos of countless businesses and corporations, and so many more places it is impossible to count. They’re engrained so deep in our consciousness that we don’t even realize how prevalent they are in our daily lives and how intrinsically important they are to us. If I just said the word Africa to you it’s more than likely that one of the first things, if not the very first thing, you would think of is a lion. Lions and tigers, cheetahs and leopards; Big cats are loved by hundreds of millions worldwide, probably including many of you reading this right now.

            The threats big cats face are varied, numerous and growing. Every species of big cat is poached for their pelts. Lions, tigers, and snow leopards are poached for use in traditional Chinese medicines and for consumption. Locals poison them like pests, and every day their habitats gets smaller and smaller as man continues its unyielding effort to dominate every spit of land we can get our greedy hands on. As big cat habitats get smaller and smaller the possibility of populations recovering is getting less and less likely. Their numbers fall farther every single day and the problem is so vast and ignored that the best efforts of conservationists worldwide are hardly making a dent in the global slaughter.

            So if many of us love big cats how are we letting this happen? What are the obstacles preventing us from saving big cats everywhere? Well the answers to that are very simple. Firstly people just don’t know the extent of the problem. The plight of big cats isn’t a part of our daily lives and thus nobody is really talking about it. Secondly the people and governments that are capable of making a direct difference aren’t pushing the issue properly. Thirdly some people are afraid of them and despite their admiration and respect they just want them killed so they don’t have to deal with them. And finally the greatest obstacle to conserving big cats around the globe is man’s unrelenting greed. Every problem big cats face can be directly tied to greed whether it be the rich guy whose eating a tiger paw just because he can to the corporation tearing down a forest create a new plantation. Humanities greed is the single greatest threat facing not only big cats but also nearly every species on the planet.

            So now I want you to do something……… Think of your childhood and the first time you ever saw a lion or a tiger. Remember that sense of awe and wonder you felt seeing such a magnificent beast for the first time, that lump of timid exhilaration you got in the pit of your stomach because you were at the same time excited yet a little scared. Think of the thousands of children worldwide who feel that same feeling for the first time everyday. And now imagine they all disappeared, imagine that every species of big cat went extinct overnight. No child would ever again lay their eyes upon these beautiful beasts and get that feeling in their stomach. No one would ever again be inspired by their strength, struck by their beauty, impressed by their power, or revel in their grace. I ask you, is that the world you want to live in? Do you want to be a part of making that happen? Because if we continue on the course we are on that is where we are heading. But there is still hope.

            

            We have not yet reached the tipping point and every big cat species can still be saved, but it is going to take dedication, hard work, and perseverance. Best of all everyone can help. It is going to take millions of dollars spent in hundreds of programs in many countries over decades. Sounds like a daunting challenge and I know you’re thinking how can you help that. What could you possibly do to affect such a complex, global problem? Well put simply you can talk. As I said before people aren’t talking about this issue and giving it the attention it deserves but if every one of us were just to talk about it people in positions to make a difference would feel compelled to do so. That’s what happened with the save the whales campaign. People who cared about whales got the topic on the tips of peoples tongues and governments around the world felt the pressure and acted. Granted whales once again are facing increased pressure but that’s why we need to make the topic a part of peoples every day lives and keep it there. I personally hope to one day gather all the companies, corporations, colleges, sports teams, and anyone else who uses a big cat as its logo to form a coalition and start a campaign to spread the word and sponsor projects globally to save big cats. Imagine if on every box of frosted flakes there was information about the plight tigers face or how to save them. Or if on every Detroit Lions jersey sold there was a removable tag with the same kind of information. Or if after the credits of every MGM movie there was a little two or three minute video with info on the topic. Big cats have permeated our culture so deeply that these reminders would be everywhere and once the topic is one the tip of our tongues change is soon to follow. The way I see it these companies, organizations, sports teams, etc. have been banking on the majesty of these animals without giving anything in return, this is a way they could do that. Please join me in my quest to save big cats. Please bring this topic up with your friends and have them do the same with theirs. Please join me! People we can do this!!!!

Open Season on Wolves

 

            

           From 1995 to 1997, after decades of absence, Gray Wolves were reintroduced back into the Yellowstone wilderness. From that initial group of fewer than 30 animals a thriving population of around 1,700 has spread throughout Yellowstone and its neighboring states. The reintroduction of wolves has been a resounding success and one of the greatest achievements in the worldwide battle for animal conservation. Not only has it raised the population of an endangered species but also the wolves’ presence has resurrected their entire ecosystem. All of these incredible achievements, however, are about to be erased. The Gray Wolf, under political pressure, was removed from the Endangered Species Act in the spring of 2011 giving state governments the power to reinstitute wolf hunting as they see fit, and reinstitute wolf hunting is exactly what they’ve done. The gains that have been achieved through decades of work and taxpayer dollars are about to be wiped out through the barrels of hunters’ guns. 

            To get the most up to date information on this matter, as a bill is currently being fast tracked through the Wyoming State Congress and the situation is in flux, I attempted to contact the Wyoming U.S Fish and Wildlife Service field office and the lawyers for the Earth Justice Organization’s Northern Rockies local office. The U.S.F.W.S has not returned my call as of yet but I was able to speak to the lawyers at Earth Justice. Earth Justice has been fighting for the Gray Wolf since 2003 and for a detailed explanation of who they are as well as an outline of the Gray Wolf’s inspiring story up until now go here.

Victims

            Earth Justices’ lawyers were able to inform me of the current hunting laws regarding the gray wolf across various states. Currently in Idaho and Montana anyone can kill wolves without hunting tags and there are no quotas as to how many animals that can be taken. This is called open season and the wolves in these states, numbering just under 1,300 individuals at the beginning of 2012, can be slaughtered for any reason and by any means. In just the one season of hunting since the gray wolf was delisted from the ESA 512 of the approximately 1300 animals from these two states were killed by hunters and trappers. That is just under 40% of the population in just one year, and this years hunting season is set to begin in a mere 9 days. The bill that is currently being fast tracked through the Wyoming State Congress, which will be passed this week according to the Associated Press, will grant hunters the same capability to kill as many wolves as they want in an open season format. Once the law is passed it can be instituted 30 days later meaning in Wyoming wolf hunting season will begin right around October 1^st.  Wyoming’s population of wolves numbered only around 343 as of January 1^st, 2012. Those figures account for the major populations of wolves in the Northern Rockies, all population figures are off of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ official website and all harvest data are off the respective State Fish and Wildlife Services of Idaho and Montana.

Massacred

 

            The largest population of wolves in the lower 48 is the Western Great Lakes population spread throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. According to the U.S.F.W.S this population numbered around 4,406 animals on January 1^st, 2012. Over 2,900 of these animals reside in Minnesota and the state is set to begin its first hunting season on November 3^rd. Minnesota will sell 6,000 permits for wolves but once the quota of 400 animals is reached the season will be closed. That is still, however, over 13% of the states population in just one year. Currently in Michigan, whose population is around 700, there is no set wolf hunting season however a bill was just introduced to the state legislature last week and a hunt this fall seems likely. Wisconsin will also have its first wolf hunt since the delisting beginning in October with a quota set at 201 animals. There are only around 782 gray wolves in the state, however, meaning that in just 4 ½ months (the length of the wolf season) over 25% of the states population will be killed. 

            What disgusts me the most about this senseless slaughter are the idiotic reasons behind it. For the most part wolves have been delisted and hunting reinstituted simply because people want to kill them. That’s all; they just want to put a bullet through one of these beautiful animals just to say they could. Ranchers are spreading the lie that wolves are problem animals that take cattle rather than hunt wild game but there is no evidence of this. The truth is that ranchers just don’t want to have to put up fences around their cattle and just let them roam free. Wolves are not the problem; it is man’s misguided sense of entitlement thinking that just because we are here we should be able to treat the land however we want and if an animal gets in the way of that then it’s a pest and we should kill it. Man’s selfishness and greed may once again drive the Gray Wolf to extinction in the lower 48 if nothing is done and done soon. 

            Furthermore I am outright appalled at the methods being used and proposed to eradicate wolves. Ranchers are gassing wolf dens to kill cubs ensuring that there can be no annual population rebound. Trappers are laying jawed traps that either hold the animal by the paw until the hunter arrives to kill it or cuts the paw off so even if the animal does escape the odds are that it will die either of a painful infection or a long, drawn out starvation. Just as despicable is the proposed method currently going through Congress by which dogs can be taken from the pound and staked out in the woods as bait for wolves and when the wolves come in they can be shot. This method is not only cruel to the wolves but the poor strays that are cruelly used as bait. How is this method not illegal under laws preventing animal cruelty?! Then there is also aerial hunting in which people shoot wolves from light aircraft or helicopters. The killing of wolves is nothing more than a heartless cull designed for the sole purpose of once again eradicating them from the lower 48 and must be stopped.

A wolf trap

            The reintroduction of wolves to the Northern Rockies hasn’t just been a success for the wolves; it has literally saved the entire ecosystem. Before the wolves were reintroduced the ecosystem of the Northern Rockies, especially that of Yellowstone National Park, was in dire straights. Decades without the threat of predation led to an elk population that was destroying the ecosystem. Without wolves to keep them on the move the elk were grazing areas bare affecting countless species of plants and wildlife. A great info-graphic to explain the devastation the elk caused and the vast improvement the wolves have caused can be found here. The wolves saved Yellowstone; their presence improved the populations of countless species of plants and animals including beavers, grizzlies, pronghorn, songbirds, aspen, willow, ravens, magpies, and many others. Wolves, quite simply, were the missing link in Yellowstone’s ecosystem. They are unknowing caretakers of Yellowstone’s by keeping other species in check and as such the park is healthier now than at any point since the 1940’s. The Northern Rockies need the Gray Wolf and killing them off is more than ignorant, it is flat out irresponsible. 

            So how can you help? First off you can sign petitions that intend to stop the cull, some can be found here, here, and here as well as countless others on the web. Second you can call or write the congressmen, senators, governors, and U.S.F.W.S members of the states and districts in which wolves are being slaughtered. Third do not but wolf products. Many of these hunters are looking to make money by selling the pelts of the innocent animals they kill, don’t let them. Most importantly the way you can help is by raising your voice. Tell your friends, families, coworkers, tell everybody that these magnificent animals are being killed. Somehow this topic hasn’t hit the national media at all, I only learned of this tragedy through a friend of mine and must admit I was astonished. Raise your voice with us! Lets end the massacre once and for all. 

The resurgence of the Gray Wolf has been one of the greatest achievements in animal conservation. It has taken decades of work, thousands of people, and millions of dollars to save this beautiful species in the lower 48. The fact that those achievements and progress are now being erased is heartbreaking to me. These animals deserve so much more from us and we need to give it to them. Wolves are the most valuable animals to their respective environments. A healthy population of wolves keeps the whole forest healthy. We have seen what the forest looks like without wolves and we cannot allow those days to return. Please raise your voice for these innocent animals; they need us now more than ever.

Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji

           

           Every year in the small Japanese town of Taiji, thousands of dolphins are brutally killed in scenes like the one above from September to March in the annual dolphin hunt. The main purpose of killing the dolphins is for consumption, however, in recent years an increasing number are spared death for the worse fate of being captured and sold off to live in a tank for the rest of its life as a show dolphin. This slaughter is brutal, unnecessary, and should be considered a crime against nature not only in the moral sense but in a legal sense as well.

            The manner in which the dolphins are killed or captured is horrific. Boats called go out and find a pod of dolphins then proceed to harass them with the boat in order to drive them where they want to go (in the same way cowboys and horseback herd cattle).  The boats push the dolphins close to shore close to the killing cove where a group of smaller boats takes over. These boats, called bangers, then drop metal poles into the water, which they “bang” repeatedly scaring the dolphins further and further into the cove At this point the boats use nets to block the dolphins from escaping back out to sea. Once the dolphins are far enough into the cove men in the water and on the banger boats tie ropes to the dolphins’ tails and drag them up to the shoreline. This process is violent and many dolphins drown before they are pulled to the shoreline, for those who don’t however an even more horrific and painful death waits. The killing method is exceptionally heinous; a metal rod is plunged deep into the back of the fighting dolphins head to make a wound the dolphin will bleed out from without affecting any of its meat. The process of bleeding out takes minutes and is incredibly painful for the victims. No creature deserves such a horrific end. The link below is to a video of a dolphin hunt caught on tape. By seeing the process play out it is far easier to understand the treachery of the process over just reading about it. It is hard to imagine the fear and pain these animals, these families, endure in their final minutes and these murders must be stopped. Fair warning: there is a shot in the video of a dolphin being killed in the manner I outlined above and it is extremely graphic and hard to watch. It is one of the hardest things to watch that I have ever seen but I feel it is necessary to post here so you can understand how terrible this brutal killing method is.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pPZlA2c1HQ&feature=related

            Some dolphins are selected to be spared from the slaughter so they can instead be sold into slavery as show dolphins. The percentage of dolphins caught in the fishermen’s trap that are sold as a show dolphins has rapidly increased over the past few years. While the fishermen get around  $600 USD per dolphin killed, they can receive up to $300,000 USD for each bottlenose dolphin sold alive. Life in captivity for show dolphins is awful. Animals such as whales and dolphins should not be held in captivity, they are far too intelligent and putting them in a tank for their entire lives should be equated to torture. These beautiful animals are incredibly similar to humans in the fact that they need space. They need to be able to swim at top speed, have stimulating surroundings to investigate. Their minds are incredible and keeping them in tanks is cruelty. 

            Plain and simple this yearly tragedy needs to be stopped. Dolphins are far too important to their ecosystems to be taking them from the oceans. Multiple species depend on the dolphin’s success for them to survive. Also eating dolphins is actually hazardous to the consumer. Dolphins have high levels of mercury and PCBs in their meat due to our pollution of the oceans and the process of bioaccumulation. Bioaccumulation is the process of pollutants being concentrated the higher up the food chain you go meaning that the higher you are on a food chain the higher the concentration of pollutants in you’re body.  Dolphins are apex predators meaning they are at the top of their food chain and as such they have very high concentrations. Another reason killing dolphins should be illegal is their intelligence. They are not just among the smartest animals on the planet they are also self-aware. Self-awareness is an incredibly rare trait in animals and only a few species possess it. Dolphins are brilliant and there is even evidence that the communication of bottlenose dolphins may be a language. There is compelling evidence alluding to such a conclusion and many biologists are finding the concept more and more likely. Dolphins are treasures and need to be protected, not slaughtered for meat or kept in tanks for our entertainment. The annual dolphin hunt starts in less than two weeks, lets get our voices out there and bring this heinous crime to an for good.