Wildlife: A Fight for Survival ~ Pawprints and Purrs, Inc.

Wildlife in the World Today:

Threatened by pollution and pesticides, killed for "sport," trapped for skins, furs, feathers, organs, etc., poached, and large-scale land reclamation projects, the world's wildlife population is on the decline, with many species nearing extinction. Despite efforts to protect endangered species, conservationists are warning that action needs to be taken to prevent further degradation. The threat is more evident where urban expansion projects have forced hundreds of species of wild fauna, fish, birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and amphibians from their natural environments.

The wildlife population in and around the urban areas has been decimated. Some rare wildlife species are on the brink of extinction. A few will get the bulk attention from preservation programs, other less notable species are seriously threatened. The most serious threat to the ecosystem is the potential extinction of these so-called "lesser" species. We need to protect animals on every level of the food chain, not just a few.

While conservationists are quick to point out that some species of animals are on the comeback — as a result of the introduction of more trees to the so-called "green belts," and limits on the use of pesticides — they admit that little is being done to control urban sprawl.

Developers have overturned vast areas of soil, driving animals from their habitat, uprooting rare plant varieties and downing trees. Land reclamation projects are posing a serious threat to cities' ecosystem by forcing birds and animals from their natural surroundings.

Poaching and human consumption is another major problem. Governments have made good on efforts to plant more trees and create more parks and open spaces to attract animals. However, these projects must be carried out gradually, so as not to disturb the natural order of the area's ecosystem.

Many wildlife and plant populations are shrinking as old-growth forests are cut and land is developed for farming and urban growth. Too little is known about fungi, lichen, slugs, bats, bugs and flies to determine whether their populations are healthy or not. A square yard of undisturbed forest soil can contain 250 species of arthropods -- insects, spiders, centipedes and millipedes. Temperate forest soil and litter layers may contain the greatest number of species and densities of arthropods in the world. The most commonly identified cause of declining population is habitat loss caused by urban or agricultural development; however, the status of many of these plants is poorly known.

Increasing ultraviolet radiation from a thinning of the ozone layer of the atmosphere is believed to loom large in a general worldwide decline of frogs, but more localized factors also were cited in the report. The negative effect on amphibians of large-scale habitat modification and chronic sedimentation in streams may persist for decades. Endangered species have virtually disappeared because of urbanization, farming, and pollution.

Some species easily adapt to the presence of humans and have prospered despite widespread persecution and trapping because they are highly fecund and readily exploit many habitats and food sources, but human and wildlife toxicologists face the challenge of identifying specific chemicals responsible for toxic effects in cases of complex dietary exposures. Ultimately, it is the weight of evidence from laboratory, semi-field, and epidemiological studies that highlights pesticide impacts as a significant threat to the health of wildlife and humans.

Painful lessons have been learned from the catastrophic loss of wildlife. These are applicable to all endangered species. Perhaps the hardest lesson of all is the realization that money alone is not enough to save species; poverty, corruption, ignorance, and war have been strong driving forces behind wildlife's decline. The challenges ahead are considerable, but building on lessons learned and the substantial successes recorded over the past few years, there is still hope for the world's wildlife.

General Wildlife Information:

Approximately $40 million from taxpayers fund the trapping, poisoning, gassing, and gunning of nearly one million wild animals and birds each year in the name of "livestock protection" and "pest control." For additional information, see STATISTICS: Animal Damage Control. (Please note that Animal Damage Control is now called Wildlife "Services".)

Almost two-thirds of all large mammal species are threatened or endangered in the lower 48 states. Less than 10% of all endangered and threatened species in the United States are improving.

20% of endangered and threatened species are harmed by grazing.

The illegal international trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth $5 billion annually.

Wildlife Facts:

The Lynx is ideally suited to a winter forest habitat...from its lush, warm coat, to its distinctive, oversized paws, this magnificent cat moves with quiet grace across the snow. To us, their magnificent coat is a thing of beauty. To the lynx, it is useful camouflage. The stripes and mottled colors blend in with trees and shadows to hide the cat from predators and prey. These amazing cats are excellent climbers and swimmers, and their big, padded paws have a snowshoe effect, enabling them to walk easily over deep snow. There are few lynxes left in the contiguous United States, fewer than 800 survive in the lower 48 states. The densest population, in Washington state, is estimated at only 15 to 23 individuals. Yet for years the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refused to list the lynx under the Endangered Species Act. After a long wait, this rare, precious and beautiful animal is finally being recognized for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Additional information is located here.

Owls - With keen eyesight and hearing, owls are excellent hunters. Their huge eyes can see very well with little light, but barely move in their eye sockets. So if an owl wants to see something, it has to turn its entire head. Their fluffy feathers make them virtually silent when flying, allowing them to sneak up on their prey. They usually sleep during the day, and their feathers camouflage them from predators. The Northern Spotted Owl is a threatened species because the old-growth coniferous trees this bird calls home in the Pacific Northwest have very high value in the logging industry. The Northern Spotted Owl is one of approximately 72 species of birds, fish and wildlife that will be covered by a Habitat Conservation Plan for 633,000 acres of Oregon state forestland. Additional information on the Northern Spotted Owl is located here.

Pollinators - As butterflies float from flower to flower each spring to sip nectar, they also pollinate the flowers and enable them to reproduce. But butterflies, bees, and other natural pollinators are in decline, their habitats disrupted by human activities. The Monarch Butterfly, because of its size, beauty and spectacular annual migrations is well known to most citizens of the world. Most people do not realize, however, that the Monarch's overwintering roosts in Mexico of are in a precarious state. Additional information on the Monarch Butterfly is located here.

The Wood Duck is among 80 different American birds that depend on standing dead or hollow trees, nicknamed "wildlife trees," for habitat. Wood duck chicks are raised in hollowed-out nests in wildlife trees until they are big enough to follow their mother by dropping from the nest. Additional information on the Wood Duck is located here.

The mighty Grizzly Bear, hunted to near extinction in the lower 48 states, has a chance for a comeback in its native Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in Idaho and Montana. Additional information on the Grizzly Bear is located here.

The Sea Turtle - All eight species of sea turtles, are threatened or endangered - their decline hastened by shrimping nets that entangle and drown these fascinating animals.

The Florida Panther (Felis concolor coryi, a subspecies of the cougar family. Endangered.) - Fewer than 50 of these magnificent creatures are left in the wild and their chances of survival are slim as long as their Everglades habitat remains threatened. CURRENT POPULATION: 30-50 adults. TOP PREDATOR IN AREA, necessary element to regulate food chain, keeping deer, wild hogs, and raccoons in balance. PROGNOSIS: If current conservation efforts fail, the Florida panther will become weakened to the point that it can only survive in captivity. CRITICAL FACTOR: If the population becomes too small to reproduce successfully, the Florida panther as a distinct subspecies will become extinct. (Info courtesy of National Wildlife Federation.)

The Meadowlarks depart to their tropical homes during the winter months and return in the spring to their lush grassland habitat. However, the eastern meadowlark's population has recently been cut in half, due to the disappearance of America's grasslands.

The Gray Wolf (aka Timber Wolf) has recently made a triumphant reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park which has marked a shining moment in conservation history...and serves as a living lesson about flexible, commonsense wildlife protection.

The Bison - One of our nation's last free-roaming herds of bison live in and around Yellowstone National Park - a fragile link to the 60 million bison that once thundered across our vast plains.

Seals - Although seals are not very agile on land, they are excellent swimmers. They can plunge to depths of 2,000 feet and stay submerged under water for over an hour. Harp seal pups are probably the most appealing seals (or pinnipeds) with their soft, white coats and luminous black eyes. But their white coats darken to gray after the pups are a few weeks old. Some adult males develop a harp-like "U" shape on their backs, giving them their name.

Wolves are superbly adapted to cold, with thick, warm fur beneath coarse, dense guard hairs. In the coldest weather, a wolf sleeps with its long, fluffy tail wrapped around its nose like a muffler. Alaska is home to the largest population of wolves in the United States. Some Alaskans advocate killing wolves to leave more moose and caribou for human hunting. Extremists have pushed Alaska policy-makers to allow the slaughter of wolves. Some researchers say that wolves can run up to 40 miles an hour. Highly intelligent, with acute hearing and an amazing sense of smell - up to 100 times more sensitive than ours - wolves are superb at adapting to the most rugged conditions. When Europeans arrived in the New World, an estimated 250,000 wolves flourished in what are now the lower 48 states. Today, just 2,500 survive in the contiguous United States.

Zebras are very social creatures. They groom each other, play racing games and engage in mock fights. Every zebra in the herd helps care for the young foals. Foals in danger just give a long squeal - and the entire herd comes to the rescue. Two subspecies of zebra have already been hunted to extinction, and of the remaining three zebra subspecies, one is listed as vulnerable, and another is endangered.

The Bald Eagle, as you might suspect, isn't really bald, but has a head of stunning white feathers. However, its head does not turn white until it is at least three years old. The bald eagle is the only eagle unique to North America, so it is appropriate that this bird of prey is America's national symbol. These powerful fliers can swoop out of the sky while hunting, remaining in control while descending at 100 miles an hour. Yet despite the strength and speed of this amazing bird, the entire species was nearly wiped out in the lower 48 states by the pesticide DDT, which caused birth defects and weakened eggshells. Just the weight of a nesting mother could crush the shell.

The Humpback Whales are known for their beautiful, complex singing. Whale songs can be heard for hundreds - perhaps even thousands - of miles under water. Scientists can sometimes distinguish one whale from another by its individual style of singing. Like the human fingerprint, the unique markings on a humpback whale's fluke (tail) identify each individual. No two are alike. Up-and-down movements of the fluke propel the whale through the water - as compared to the side-to-side motion of fish tails. Humpbacks travel in pods (groups) of two to five. They have been know to help a wounded companion by supporting its weight under the surface to keep its blowhole clear of water. There are presently about 6,000 humpbacks in the world.

The Giant Panda - Weighing up to 350 lbs. as adults these giant creatures only weigh four oz. when they are born. Pandas spend 10 to 16 hours a day eating 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo stalks and roots. Unlike the American black bear, they do not hibernate or stand on their hind legs. Fewer than 1,000 giant pandas remain in the wild, making them one of the world's rarer mammals. As their habitat in the mountains of central China rapidly disappears, the Panda population is continuing to dwindle. Giant Pandas are also threatened by illegal hunting because their dense fur carries a high price. But poachers risk a lifetime jail sentence from the Chinese government if they are caught.

The Orangutan - Clinging to their mothers for the first year of life, these creatures are among the most nurtured of species in their youth. They don't leave their mother's care until they are 7 to 10 years old. Females give birth to one infant every six years, which allows them to devote all of their attention to each offspring. These highly intelligent primates have voracious appetites, sometimes devoting the entire day to feasting on fruits, leaves, shoots and insects. Orangutans are native to the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, where poaching and habitat destruction continue to imperil their survival. Orangutans are among the most critically endangered species.

The Polar Bear is among the one of the numerous species that are threatened by global climate change. Their arctic habitat is one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth. Bear cubs may die from premature exposure to the outside world if their snow dens melt too early in the spring. And the sea ice on which the bears depend for their survival is melting at an unprecedented rate - leaving them no place to go. Native arctic peoples revere the polar bear for its ability to survive in the unforgiving land at the top of the world. But the discovery of oil in the Beaufort Sea near polar bear denning sites in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge poses a threat to the mighty white bear. In late fall, pregnant polar bears build snow dens on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain. Later they give birth to one or two cubs. The mother and cubs, remain in the dens until March or April. Denning bears are especially sensitive to human disturbances such as the drilling, pipelines and seismic work associated with oil development. Once disturbed, polar bears are likely to abandon their dens, and cubs that are unable to fend for themselves or travel with their mothers will almost certainly die. Since most females produce as few as two litters in their lives, it would be extremely difficult for polar bears to recover from any major decline in their population.

The Manatee - One of the Atlantic's most beloved aquatic creatures, a slow, lumbering marine mammal that feeds on aquatic grasses. Approximately 55 to 60 million years ago, a four-footed mammal abandoned the land for the sea. Although is adapted to its water environment, it remained an air breathing mammal - the manatee. Calves remain dependent on their mothers for up to two years. A manatee's teeth and 3 or 4 vestigial fingernails on each flipper are remarkably similar to an elephant, the mammal's closest modern relative. A manatee's intestines measure more than 150 feet (50m) in length.

Exotic Birds ...

Almost a third of the 145 parrot species in the Neotropics (Mexico, Central and South America) are threatened. The number of parrot chicks taken from the wild is estimated at up to 800,000 per year.

Nearly 80% of New World Parrots (parrots from Mexico, Central and South America) in the pet trade today are destined for the United States. About 150,000 are smuggled into the US across the Mexican Border each year. In the early 1990s, the United States legally imported at least 250,000 parrots a year, worth in excess of $300 million. About four-fifths of these birds were taken from the wild.

Hunting ...

Considering all expenses, deer hunting costs about $25 per pound of meat.

Hunters kill at least 130 million animals in the United States each year. These include:

35 million mourning doves

26 million squirrels

12 million quail

13 million rabbits

16 million ducks

6 million deer

In a 1995 Associated Press survey, 51% agreed that it is wrong to hunt an animal for sport.

While less than 6% of Americans hunt, 31% participate in some type of nonconsumptive wildlife related recreation. Nonconsumptive participants spend about $38 billion each year.

Up to 50% of deer struck with arrows by archery hunters are not recovered but left to die in the woods.

Recreational hunting is allowed on more than half of all 550 units of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Trapping/Fur ...

Between 4 and 5 million animals were trapped and killed in the United States for the commercial fur trade each year.

Less than 0.005% of the American population participates in trapping. The average animal income for trappers in the United States is less than $250, after equipment costs and license fees are subtracted.

Every year in the United States, steel-jaw leghold traps cripple or kill millions of non-target animals - domestic dogs and cats, owls, squirrels, chipmunks, blue jays, swans, deer, and eagles, as well as threatened and endangered species.

To make an length fur coat requires the skins of 16 coyotes, or 15 bobcats, or 18 lynx, or 60 minks, or 20 baders, or 15 otters, or 18 red foxes, or 30raccoons, or 40 sables, or 11 silver foxes, or 50 muskrats, or 15 beavers, or 100 chinchillas, or 30 rabbits.

In a 1999 Decision Research poll, 79% of Americans said they oppose trapping on wildlife refuges.

Trapping is allowed on 280 units (more than half) of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Steel-jaw leghold traps are used on 140, or half, of these 280 refuges.

Marine Life ...

All marine "salt water" species seen in home aquariums are wild caught. 70 to 100 tons of wild marine fish are captured each year for the aquarium trade.

Seahorses mate for life - when a partner is lost it is unlikely that the remaining mate will ever find a new partner.

It's estimated that 70% of global fish stocks are "over-exploited," "fully exploited," "depleted," or recovering from prior over-exploitation.

At least 44,000 albatrosses are entagled by tuna longline fisheries every year.

Sea otter fur is the thickest fur of any animal. It has up to 1 million hairs per square inch - a human has only about 20,000 hairs on his or her entire head.

There are about 20,000 species of fish in the world.

As much as 8.8 million tons of oil enters the ocean every year as the result of human activity.

Resource References (as of year ending 2003):
Animal Protection Institute
PO Box 22505
Sacramento, CA USA 95822
Phone: 916-731-5521

Additional Wildlife Information:

Jane Goodall: A Call for Public Forums

Jane Goodall: Twelve Millennial Mantras

Your Tax Dollars at Work with ADC (Wildlife Services)