'Trophy lion' hunts unsustainable
Trophy hunters are killing too many lions and leopards in Tanzania, a country were they have hunting blocks in which tourists hunt for sport. Hunting in these blocks is meant to regulate the overpopulation of the cats but is actually causing their population to decline since people are hunting mostly the older males, which are necessary for breeding and producing more offspring. Even if Tanzania is now doing something about it, some other parts of Africa don’t have a budget that allows them to protect more of their holdings and pay salaries of their game scouts.
This article is from BBC Earth News and was published on 13 September 2010.
This article is biased against the companies who are not doing much about lion and leopard hunting. They blame over-hunting for sport as the reason why lions and leopards are diminishing in population, which could not necessarily be the only reason for their decrease in numbers. There are other factors that could play into their decrease in numbers. This article is pro-environmentalist because it is trying to let the reader know that if the lions and leopards are over-hunted, this could affect the population of each species, which could change the environment for the worse.
II. The Living World
A. Ecosystem Structure (Biological population and communities; ecological niche)
B. Ecosystem Diversity (Biodiversity; natural selection)
VII. Global Change
A. Loss of Biodiversity
- Extinct species
- Maintenance through conservation
Even though this article is biased, i believe the people of Tanzania should stop the hunting blocks. Killing the lions and tigers in contests will definitely speed up their extinction. Of course this brings tourism which adds money into their economy but if they overkill these animals they will be left with nothing. If they are going to keep on doing it they should at least find a way to make the lions and tigers last so they can keep making money off of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author of the article because even though hunting the animals may not be the only explanation for their decline, it is definitely the top reason. The people in Tanzania need to find a balance in hunting these animals because if they kill them all, they will be left with no tourism, which will in turn leave them with no income.
ReplyDeleteTheir attempt to control overpopulation is good in theory, but it needs to be carried out in a more thought out way. They could try and regulate which lions and leopards they kill, not just the adult males. There is also an overarching theme of the need for funds in these areas. Understandably, there is a general lack of funds as well as other sections of the governments that need funds just as badly, but foresight is something that is deeply lacking in the assignment of funds. If they can see that extinction will have lasting detrimental effects on their community in more ways than one, they might reconsider the monetary distribution.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree that there may be other explanations for the decline in population such as habitat destruction.