Preventing mass extinctions of big mammals will require immediate action

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/preventing-mass-extinctions-of-big-mammals-will-require-immediate-action

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Preventing mass extinctions of big mammals will require immediate action[/font]

[font size=4]UCLA professor, co-authors warn that steps must be taken now if gorillas, rhinos, lions and tigers are to be saved[/font]

Stuart Wolpert | August 05, 2016

[font size=3]Preventing the extinction of gorillas, rhinoceroses, elephants, lions, tigers, wolves, bears and the world’s other largest mammals will require bold political action and financial commitments from nations worldwide. In an article in the journal BioScience, 43 wildlife experts write that without immediate changes, many of the Earth’s most iconic species will be lost.

“The loss of these magnificent animals would be a tremendous tragedy,” said Blaire Van Valkenburgh, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and one of the article’s co-authors. “They are all that is left of a once much more diverse megafauna that populated the planet only 12,000 years ago. And more importantly, we have only just begun to understand the important roles they play in maintaining healthy ecosystems.”

Among the most serious threats to endangered animals are illegal hunting, deforestation, habitat loss, expansion of livestock and agriculture into wildlife areas, and human population growth, they write.

The scientists, who represent six continents, write that humans have “an abiding moral obligation to protect the Earth’s megafauna,” or large mammals. “We must not go quietly into this impoverished future.”

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[pscot]

1. mass extermination is nearer the mark

[CrispyQ]

2. This is the saddest thing I've read today.

I was hiking yesterday & a little black bear crossed our path. I hike a lot & it was the first time I've seen a bear!

I don't see humanity changing in time to avoid the shit that's coming down the pike. So sorry for all the animals that have to share the planet with us. We don't share.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. As for Black Bears, in our area at least, they’re booming

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7215.html

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Black Bear Management[/font]

[font size=3]Once limited to small, isolated populations in only the most inaccessible mountain regions of the state, conservative bear management has allowed black bear populations to increase dramatically in number and distribution in recent decades. However, as bear populations increase and more people choose to live and recreate in areas occupied by bears, human-bear conflicts also increase. Thus, managing bear populations is critically important and managers are challenged to balance diverse public interests in bears with concern for public safety.[/font]

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