EXAMPLES OF ISSUES IN CARNIVORE CONSERVATION
* More information on these topics coming soon*
|
|
WHAT IS CARNIVORE-HUMAN MITIGATION?
Carnivore-human mitigation is an area of conservation that deals with the often-tense relationships between carnivores and people. Whether it be due to livestock predations, mythology, culture, politics, human encroachment/development, land limitations, etc., mitigation is a vital tool and helps both carnivores and humans.
Carnivore biology and mitigation can take many, many forms. It can be a study (like mine) aiming to find peaceful solutions between carnivores and predators. It can be a simple conversation between yourself and someone who would prefer to shoot a carnivore on sight. It can be educating children in conservation and the important role carnivores play in the ecosystem. It can be studying how carnivores behave in order to recommend to the public ideas about coexistence. It can be dispelling a myth about a carnivore. It can be building livestock enclosures in order to lessen the chance of farmers or ranchers using lethal methods to kill nearby carnivores. The possibilities are endless. |
How cAN I Help?
Like I mentioned above, the possibilities for carnivore-human mitigation are endless. Here's some good places to start.
1. Learn. Perhaps the most important thing is to educate yourself. Learn. Read. Talk to people with differing opinions. Make sure that the sources you're reading and believing are legitimate. Many times, propaganda or false facts are common tools to encourage violence against carnivores for no good reason. 2. Be open. Whether you love or hate carnivores, there will always be people who disagree with you for a variety of reasons. Some people have had very negative interactions with carnivores, like the loss of livestock or a pet dog. Have sympathy, listen, and then use facts and sound science to debate. Try to avoid negativity or being mean (I am not a saint at this) even though it's very hard. Try not to stereotype, or you're going to make entire populations angry. That means if you hate hunting, don't comment on a post of a hunter's trophy with "All hunters must die" or "You're a monster" or "I'd rather shoot you". That means if you love hunting, don't comment on animal activist's/lover's photo "Tree hugger" or "Libtard" or "The only good _____ is a dead ____". 3. Community service. I recently helped build a boma- circular livestock enclosure in northern Tanzania in cooperation with the Tarangire Lion Project. We served 2 widowed families that day that had lost many goats and sheep to hyenas in the area. Building the bomas gave the families a more secure place for their livestock, and also greatly decreased the chances of them wanting to kill hyenas whether in protection or retaliation. You don't have to travel across the world to engage in community service, however. Volunteer at a carnivore rescue center near you. Make your backyard/property wildlife-friendly. 4. Talk to kids. Cliched or not, kids are the future. Teach them about conservation, or if there's a controversial predator in your area, talk to them about why that animal is controversial and ways to live peacefully with that animal. If you have young siblings, kids, cousins or kids you babysit, take them to the zoo. Make sure it's a reputable zoo first! Seeing animals first hand is a fantastic way of appreciating wildlife and promoting a wildlife-friendly attitude. This means all animals, from spiders and snakes to whales. 5. Contact a representative. If there's an upcoming bill, act, or law with a comment period- meaning the public can comment- regarding wildlife, especially carnivores, you can take action! In the United States, contact your House Representative and/or Senator. Email them, try to set up a meeting, write them a letter, or sign online petitions for or against that act. Government officials want your input so they make their constituents happy, mostly so they can be re-elected. Sign the online petition to keep gray wolves on the Endangered Species List here. 6. Educate other people. Whether it's cub petting, canned hunting, shady zoos, or just general animal issues, a lot of people don't actually dislike animals. They just don't know what's wrong. For example, Black Jaguar White Tiger is a very popular big cat "sanctuary" due to celebrity input, but what most people don't know is that it's a total sham. Animals go missing, you get blocked if you question the animal's welfare, you don't see cubs with moms because they're raised apart so humans can play with them, etc. Same for Myrtle Beach Safari, The Real Tarzan, and 99% of facilities that let visitors directly interact with/play with carnivores, especially cubs. Fun fact- the conservation fund by Myrtle Beach Safari isn't even registered with the IRS. They still money. In Africa, lots of people visit "conservation" facilities where they can play with baby lions or tigers (for the record, tigers don't live in Africa- BIG RED FLAG) under the guise that the cubs will one day be released into the wild, or their genetics are used for science. Most often, it's another scam. Those cubs are being bred so they can be sold to game reserves and shot in canned hunting. But people playing with the cubs probably hate lion hunting and want to help animals- but they don't know any better. Learn about these issues and tell people about them so they can help you help wildlife. |
|
Careers in carnivore conservation/mitigation
|
Header image: me working with the Tarangire Lion Project to track a pride. Photo credit: Justin Kozma
|