Bali tiger – became extinct in 1940’s
Caspian tiger – 1970’s
Javan tiger – 1980’s
The number of sub species of tigers left at present:
Indian = 3,000 – 4,500
Indochinese = 1200 – 1700
Amur = 360 – 400
Sumatran = 400 – 500
As you can see, Sumatran tigers are one of the most endangered sub species. What is being done about this? Well, this is where conservation of species comes in with the help from ZSL and other organisations. Conservation of species is to stop or prevent animals such as these tigers becoming extinct, therefore, the issue of endangered animals is one of the reasons why conservation action is being taken around the world. Breeding programmes are also being introduced when situations become serious; this is why zoo’s are vital in preventing the extinction of species. Many people may see this as a serious ethical issue to be keeping these animals within cages rather than in the wild, but they need to understand that without doing this, there would be no tigers left today. Zoo’s such as London zoo have successful breeding programmes where the animals in their zoo are matched up to another animal of their species. For example, when more Sumatran tigers need to be bred because they are on the brink of extinction, the zoo will find another Sumatran tiger from another zoo at another location if they do not already have a good match, eg. The other tigers they have are related to the one that is needed to be bred. Obviously the tiger cannot be bred with relatives, so when a match is found from another zoo, both tigers are put together and hopefully offspring will be produced. Unfortunately, many of these tigers in the zoo never make it back to the wild after they have successful been bred, but then again, if they were in the wild they would probably already have been killed for their fur or medicinal qualities. To keep them in zoos all their life, and never get to be in the wild, may seem unethical, but they would not survive in the wild because they are likely to be hunted by humans. On the other hand, there are many other species of animals which are bred and do make it back into the wild because they are successfully protected by conservation programmes.
An organisation called 21st Century Tiger is a fundraising partnership between the Zoological Society of London and Global Tiger Patrol. It has provided over a million pounds to a total of 40 tiger projects in seven countries. This is a really important economic issue, because without this money, these tiger projects would not exist and neither would the tigers. It is organisations like this that are working on the conservation and protection of these tigers and many other species of animals around the world. ZSL is just one organisation trying to make this difference and bring species back into the wild where they belong.
Conservation
What is conservation?
Conservation is the “wise use of natural resources” (quoted from Earth 911) such as: nutrients, minerals, water, plants, animals etc. Planned action can be taken to preserve or protect living and non living resources. There are many threats to wildlife, which is why action is being taken by ZSL to create conservation programmes to help certain species under threat. The threats to wildlife are:
- Over harvesting
- Air pollution
- Habitat destruction
These factors are destroying animals and their habitats around the globe, which is why ZSL has chosen to focus its conservation work around certain vital areas. I am going to be studying just two of the many areas ZSL focus on providing conservation case studies. The two areas are:
- Desert and rangelands
- Marine and fresh water
Desert and rangelands
Case study - Asian elephant conservation in Thailand
The desert and rangeland areas of the earth contain unique plant and animal species that have adapted especially to live in their extreme environments. A conservation programme ZSL are running is for the Asian elephants in Thailand. The Asian elephants there are forest elephants and it is thought that fewer than 50,000 are thought to survive in total. Barely 1500 of these elephants survive in the wild, and there are twice that number in captivity. The reason for this decrease in their population is due to infrastructure development, human encroachment and the logging industry. These factors have been minimising the size of the forests, therefore forcing the elephants to live in a much smaller area. Another reason is the conflict between the elephants and human. One nocturnal raid on a human crop field can deprive a family of all their food: rice, or cash crop (maize, mango’s, or sugar cane). This is a serious economic implication for the farmers of their crops, because if their yield has been destroyed, where is their income going to be coming from? This may cause social implications as well, because they may need to move location to prevent this happening or to earn an income elsewhere. In this project, ZSL aiming to have a better understanding of the nature and scale of the crop raiding problem around the forest areas by documenting it in detail whilst also recording the distribution of elephants in the forest throughout the seasons. The forest has been made a protected area, where project teams work with rangers from the department of wildlife conservation. They also work with the local Thai village to help increase their knowledge and understanding of the elephants living in the forest. Overall the project is aiming to find a sustainable solution to human and elephant conflict so to give these animals some chance of survival in the future.
Marine and Fresh water
Case Study: Seahorse conservation programme
Marine and fresh water ecosystems cover almost 70% of the earth’s surface, and therefore are essential for supporting life on the planet or else many species may become extinct. ZSL’s Marine and fresh water conservation Programme focuses on many areas, but one main species that are under serious threat are seahorses. ZSL are working closely with Project Seahorse to try and help conserve the seahorses and their habitats while respecting human needs. We mention human needs, because in the Philippines, using seahorses is a way of life for the people there and without them, they have no other way of earning a living. This is a serious economic issue for these people, because they have no other way of making a sufficient income. Therefore this can lead to many social implications because these people may end up having nowhere to live, no food or water. The people there make souvenirs out of the seahorses to sell to tourists. These people do not know of any other way to earn money, which is why Project Seahorse has stepped in to help. As well as monitoring the population of seahorses, they work closely with the local people to show them alternative things to make and sell to tourists, which would provide a decent income. Producing these alternative items reduces the amount of seahorses being killed to be used to make souvenirs. Another reason why Project Seahorse are so worried about these beautiful creatures is because they are being killed off rapidly by many other reasons, not just the souvenir trade. They are being used in medicines, because some cultures believe that parts of the seahorse have healing powers; they are also being used in the pet trade. Using these creatures in the pet trade is unacceptable, because seahorses are specialist creatures, which means they have to live in certain conditions or else they cannot survive. For example, if the water they are being kept in is not at the right temperature, then this would be fatal for a seahorse. Seahorses are also very fussy, if not given the correct type of food, they will die. Project Seahorse are also acting in the response of destructive seahorse fishing. These animals are not only being hunted, but dynamite fishing that is used to kill other fish is killing them.
Case study: Coral reefs
Coral reefs are one of the world’s most threatened habitats. Nearly 60% of coral reefs are threatened by humans, as well as being destroyed by them. Reasons for the destruction of these beautiful habitats are because of the collection of coral and seashells; these are collected for the tourist trade. This is such a threat to the reefs because when the coral is touched or damaged, that area completely dies off. As the reef is being tampered with a lot because of tourists, most of it is dying. The coral is not just bits of rock, it is alive with tiny little animals, and when it dies, this is the hardened part that you see in the shops for tourists to purchase. Silting is another problem why coral is dying. Forests that have been cleared inland are causing the rain to wash the soil into the sea, which is potentially killing the coral because the sea conditions are changing. Another reason why the sea conditions are changing is pollution. The coral is very sensitive and small changes can prove fatal; sewage and fertilisers being pumped into the ocean are causing pollution. Destructive fishing such as using dynamite fishing is killing the coral as well as over fishing for the aquarium trade. This is seen as a serious ethical issue to many people, because these fish are being taken out of their natural habitats to be sold as pets and other purposes where they probably will not survive for very long because of the conditions. Humans are held mainly responsible for ruining this habitat; unregulated tourism means that the anchors from boats are damaging coral. Although humans are being blamed here, natural causes can also damage this habitat such as hurricanes; the strong ocean currents can damage the coral and therefore it will die.
Why is conservation so important?
If we cut down timber without planting new trees or allowing sapling to grow, forests will disappear. It is important to conserve species and habitats for their beauty and out of compassion. The most important reason for conservation though, is that each and every organism on the earth is a single threat of a vital web of life. If any of these threads are broken, it makes this web weaker.
Conservation Worldwide
People and organisations around the world are trying to conserve species around the globe to prevent total extinction of the ones at threat. Organisations which I found that are trying to make a difference and future developments are: The Royal Society for protection of Birds; WWF; Greenpeace; Friend of Earth International; The Wildlife Trusts; English Nature; ZSL; The World Conservation Union.
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