Posts Tagged ‘endangered species’
Vietnamese Food Paste From Monkeys
In Vietnam, although it is illegal to go poaching and killing animals in a national park, it happens in regular frequencies. Even before this 2011 incident, there were others like the 2009 incident where the poachers fled after being caught. They left behind two dead douc langurs who were shot and died from the bullet wounds.
The reasons for the frequency in poaching incidents is the lack of personnel. For every park, there are only about 5 rangers. This is not nearly enough to cover the ground and catch the poachers. Poachers are also well armed and even have hunting dogs to help them track the animals. They have no fear and will not hesitate to shoot a ranger if they feel they are cornered.
According to the forest rangers, they are outgunned and it is not getting any better. Poachers are becoming more daring and taking risks even with human life. They are also better trained than the rangers themselves. The rangers are not authorized to use guns on thieves or poachers. They are literally unable to protect themselves, much more the animals in the park.
According to Jonathan Eames who is the Program Manager for Birdlife International, the government of Vietnam is not doing enough. They need to wake up before they lose part of their heritage. Poachers use the animals they catch to make food paste because the meat makes dishes taste better. The bones of the douc langurs are also important because they can be used to make paste or glue. In 2006, hunting was prohibited and the use of the animal parts for seasoning or glue was banned. It managed to lower the incidents but not stop it altogether. The worst punishment poachers can expect if caught is a mere 4 to 6 years in jail. It isn’t good enough to scare them from poaching.
Indonesian Bawean Deer
You can only find this endangered species of animals in Indonesia. Most specifically, they live in a small island called Bawean island which is close to the Java Sea. This island is approximately 200 square miles but because of rampant hunting, the Bawean Deer has significantly decreased in population. The sad part is the more rare this endangered species of animals becomes, the more hunters seek them out.
The time line for the Bawean Deer’s plight began in the 1970s up to the 1980s when it was very difficult to find one in the island. Then in 1994, it was declared to be endangered. Unfortunately, the trend did not reverse and now it is critical to almost extinct. As of last count, there were only 300 Bawean Deer left in the world.
Aside from hunting, the island has been partially transformed into teak plantations which took over the homes of the deer. They lost not just a safe haven but also their food source. The Bawean Deer eats only branches, leaves, and grass. When they could not longer access the food, they began to starve and had to work harder to find their food.
The physical frame of the Bawean deer is distinct in that its front legs are not as long as the back legs. When they walk, they tend to lean forward because of the uneven lengths. They are non-aggressive and quiet. The problem being faced by these deer is not just deforestation and lack of food supply. Being an island in the tropics means they are also vulnerable to typhoons, strong monsoon rains, and other natural disasters. An earthquake could trigger a tsunami which could wipe out the entire 300 Bawean deer instantly. Even the climate changes are harder for them since they lost their forests which used to protect them from the heat of the sun.
The Indonesian Wildlife Protection agency has legislation in place to protect the Bawean Deer. They have begun to breed the deer in zoos and controlled environments. However, the government lacks will power. Take for instance the Bawean deer that was being cared for in Surabaya Zoo in East Java. Due to neglect and failure to notify the vet, the deer died along with other endangered animals like the Sumatran tiger, Komodo lizard, an African lion, a babirusa cub, and some birds. This happened just last year, 2010 in August. The cause of death was insufficient cage room and lack of medical attention. The license of the zoo has been revoked, although it is still one less Bawean deer, and one step closer to extinction.
How Can We Help Save Animals?
It is the responsibility of every human being to save array of life on earth. These efforts have brought back several animals from extinctions. However, you may be amazed on seeing the endangered species list. We can get rid of this situation by creating awareness in people. Awareness programs should start from educational levels. We should convey our message about endangered animals for kids. By creating awareness in kids, we can build up the next generation for protecting endangered animals.
Do you know that human interventions have increased the extinction rates by 100 to 1000 folds than natural rate? Studies reveal that around 137 species of plants and animals are lost every day. Forests are the main dwelling places of plants and animals. Wide varieties of plants and animal species can be found in the forests. By nature’s law, fittest animal survives in harsh conditions. In addition to that, deforestation creates more impact on these animals. This increases the extinction rate of animals. Likewise, animal hunting for collecting their skin is becoming a major cause for endangering of animals.
Creating awareness among people brought immense changes in protecting animals. They realize the need for protecting animals. As a result, several organizations are started throughout the world for preserving animal life. Some of these organizations gave importance to habitat and forest protection. Moreover, captive breeding and setting up of large number of parks helped a lot to solve the problem to an extent. From government’s side, gene banks are started for collecting genes of each of animal species.
These are the lessons that we should study from our past. We should study the impact of destruction of forests and hunting of animals. There is a harmonic between nature and animals. Anti nature behavior of people creates severe problems for both flora and fauna. This mentality of humanity has to be changed. We should know the importance of conserving forests. We should understand that they are the essential part of an ecosystem. If we succeed in conserving the forest, we can prevent the extinction of several species of animals and plants.
Reference: Illustrated Encyclopedia of endangered animals.
