Remarks from the Fray:
What is the ugliest animal? It may be us.
To the farmers of eastern Madagascar, who see the rain forest as land that needs to be cleared for farming, maintenance of planetary biodiversity is a concept only in the minds of others. Their thoughts and concerns reside on the lowest level of Maslow needs. The only things they understand is that farmland is scarce, their kids are hungry, the forest canopy shades out their crops and the trees they plan on cutting will provide building materials and fuel for their cooking fires.
We see the Aye Aye as an important indicator of the overall health of our planet. The residents of Madagascar see him as a creature of the night and an evil omen of their superstition. To them, he is nothing more
It is difficult for those who are concerned with such things to see so many species vanishing from existence. Surely, we (in the USA) understand the forces that cause extinction, since we have experienced and have been responsible for a number of excellent examples of species extinctions in our land. In pioneer days, Carrier Pigeon flocks in the central part of the US contained so many birds that they would all but blot out the sun as they flew over. Now, they are gone, having been hunted to extinction. There was a time when the Texas Gray Wolf was common. I believe there are no more of them, now. At one time, ivory billed woodpeckers inhabited the old growth forests of the South East. Now, there may, or may not be as many as a half dozen of these birds left. There are other examples of species that could not compete with our desire to cut and clear land for agriculture, timber sale or animal husbandry.
There are also a few well known near misses of extinction. The Whooping Crane and American Bison are two that immediately come to mind. The bison seems secure, The Whooper came back from 14 or so to am amazing 600 +- birds. IN my book, they may not make it either, since one good storm or a bird virus could easily take out that many birds.
Internationally, most species of whale may or may not be in danger, depending on the success of the last whaling season and the number of countries that will allow whaling this year. Apparently, the entire ocean fishery is now at risk, due to "Improvements" in netting that allow for virtual sterilization (of fish) of the waters behind the trawlers who drag miles long nets, harvesting the ocean to satisfy ever growing demands for certain species of fish.
Our desire for black market Ivory evidently resulted in the illegal harvest of several thousand African elephants last year. Rhinos (either black or white, I can't keep them straight) may not make it because their front horn are a favored handle for those curved knives Arabs like to carry to prove their manhood (oh, sorry, and for protection).
World wide, thousands of Hectacres of important forest land are lost each year to land development for farming or mining.
It seems very hypocritical for Americans to criticize poverty stricken farmers in third world countries for clearing land, when there is almost no old growth timber in the USA. In my state, there is no old growth timber at all. Although there is quite a bit of timber, it is all second to forth (fifth?, Sixth?) generation growth of carefully managed softwood, managed by the paper industry. I am certain this timber converts massive amounts of CO2 to Oxygen every year, it provides little of the habitat that was once available for native wildlife. The animals who thrive here are animals who were ale to adapt to life in managed forestland (think rows of pine trees).
I very much enjoy looking at the photos such as those displayed in today's slideshow. My fear is that man of these creatures will soon be photo-creatures only. It is a shame. The part of me that would like to ask for lands to be set aside knows that almost no land was set aside in my country. The part that agrees that we could purchase land and set it aside fears for the future of the native peoples of these wild places if we buy all of their land and keep them from using it to feed their kids.
I wish I had an answer. I wish I could figure out these no win problems. I wish I didn't think that I may be the ugliest animal.
--meridiantoo
(To reply, click here.)
(3/2)
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The aye-aye may be one of the most repellent animals in the world. It also happens to be on the verge of extinction. Click here to read a slide-show essay about an effort to save the endangered species that got hit with the ugly stick.
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Remarks from the Fray:
What is the ugliest animal? It may be us.
To the farmers of eastern Madagascar, who see the rain forest as land that needs to be cleared for farming, maintenance of planetary biodiversity is a concept only in the minds of others. Their thoughts and concerns reside on the lowest level of Maslow needs. The only things they understand is that farmland is scarce, their kids are hungry, the forest canopy shades out their crops and the trees they plan on cutting will provide building materials and fuel for their cooking fires.
We see the Aye Aye as an important indicator of the overall health of our planet. The residents of Madagascar see him as a creature of the night and an evil omen of their superstition. To them, he is nothing more
It is difficult for those who are concerned with such things to see so many species vanishing from existence. Surely, we (in the USA) understand the forces that cause extinction, since we have experienced and have been responsible for a number of excellent examples of species extinctions in our land. In pioneer days, Carrier Pigeon flocks in the central part of the US contained so many birds that they would all but blot out the sun as they flew over. Now, they are gone, having been hunted to extinction. There was a time when the Texas Gray Wolf was common. I believe there are no more of them, now. At one time, ivory billed woodpeckers inhabited the old growth forests of the South East. Now, there may, or may not be as many as a half dozen of these birds left. There are other examples of species that could not compete with our desire to cut and clear land for agriculture, timber sale or animal husbandry.
There are also a few well known near misses of extinction. The Whooping Crane and American Bison are two that immediately come to mind. The bison seems secure, The Whooper came back from 14 or so to am amazing 600 +- birds. IN my book, they may not make it either, since one good storm or a bird virus could easily take out that many birds.
Internationally, most species of whale may or may not be in danger, depending on the success of the last whaling season and the number of countries that will allow whaling this year. Apparently, the entire ocean fishery is now at risk, due to "Improvements" in netting that allow for virtual sterilization (of fish) of the waters behind the trawlers who drag miles long nets, harvesting the ocean to satisfy ever growing demands for certain species of fish.
Our desire for black market Ivory evidently resulted in the illegal harvest of several thousand African elephants last year. Rhinos (either black or white, I can't keep them straight) may not make it because their front horn are a favored handle for those curved knives Arabs like to carry to prove their manhood (oh, sorry, and for protection).
World wide, thousands of Hectacres of important forest land are lost each year to land development for farming or mining.
It seems very hypocritical for Americans to criticize poverty stricken farmers in third world countries for clearing land, when there is almost no old growth timber in the USA. In my state, there is no old growth timber at all. Although there is quite a bit of timber, it is all second to forth (fifth?, Sixth?) generation growth of carefully managed softwood, managed by the paper industry. I am certain this timber converts massive amounts of CO2 to Oxygen every year, it provides little of the habitat that was once available for native wildlife. The animals who thrive here are animals who were ale to adapt to life in managed forestland (think rows of pine trees).
I very much enjoy looking at the photos such as those displayed in today's slideshow. My fear is that man of these creatures will soon be photo-creatures only. It is a shame. The part of me that would like to ask for lands to be set aside knows that almost no land was set aside in my country. The part that agrees that we could purchase land and set it aside fears for the future of the native peoples of these wild places if we buy all of their land and keep them from using it to feed their kids.
I wish I had an answer. I wish I could figure out these no win problems. I wish I didn't think that I may be the ugliest animal.
--meridiantoo
(To reply, click here.)
(3/2)