Threatened African Lion

I have once more uploaded a paper that I wrote for my AP Environmental Science class. This one is about how the African lion populations are becoming threatened. I not only included facts, but also my personal opinion about the issue. Since this is a short paper, please consider researching more about this matter because I only covered U.S Fish and Wildlife Service's point of view. I have also posted many ways to help save the African lion from extinction in the future. 

Threatened African Lion: Are Humans at Fault?

The majectic African lion, known scientifically as Panthera leo leo, is likely to become extinct by the year of 2050, according to Dan Ashe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director. The agency has officially proposed that the African lions receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, which has the responsibility to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. There are various threats lions currently face including habitat loss, loss of their prey due to bushmeat trade, human-lion conflict, and sport hunting.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to list these lions as threatened, other than endangered, to allow the U.S. government to provide training and assistance for conservation efforts and for the gradual restriction of the lion parts trade and lion trophies into the country. With a population as low as 34,000 animals in Africa, lions face major problems since its populations have been reduced by 50 percent from three decades ago and it is still declining. Moreover, according to Ashe, lion populations in West Africa have been almost decimated to the point of local extinction.

With a growing human population of sub-Saharan Africa, it is expected that the lion habitat will be converted to agriculture, and the hunting of its prey called wild ungulates will increase. As a consequence, hungry lions are likely to attack livestock and be killed by furious farmers. Furthermore, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the biggest threats lions face are these attacks by cattle farmers, who want to annihilate as many lions as possible, in order to protect their livestock.

Another threat for the lion populations is the sport hunting that occurs in 16 of the 20 countries in which lions are located. Numbers of trophies brought from Africa to the U.S. by American hunters doubled between the years of 1999 and 2008. According to Ashe, the sport hunting does not threaten the species, because revenues from the hunt support conservation. However, through my life experience I have learned that there are several lion farms in Africa leading to the trade in lion cubs to lion parks. These parks are often called sanctuaries for the rehabilitation of lion cubs that are meant to “go back to the wild.” While volunteers pay a huge amount of money in order to go to these places where they get to pet cubs and walk with the adult lions, they think that they are actually helping lion conservation. Unfortunately, what happens is that the poor cubs end up being bought when they get a little older by the canned hunting industry. Then, they are hunted and killed in controlled situations. Even though, Ashe’s opinion supports the hunting of lions for trophies, I believe this is extremely wrong and it is definitely a threat to the species mainly because the farms are breeding thousands of lions with close relatives posing a threat to the genetic variability of the species. Also, many of these cubs are being born weak and sick leading to the spread of disease.

Sick lion cubs in Ukutula Lion Park, South Africa

In conclusion, lions are threatened in Africa mainly due to habitat loss, loss of their prey due to bushmeat trade, human-lion conflict, and sport hunting. Humans are at fault mostly because all the problems lions face are due to human activities. Even though the article is being informative, it should present more solutions and ways of preserving the African lion species, other than acquiring revenues for its conservation through sport hunting.

Ways you can help:

Go to Volunteers in Africa Beware Facebook Page where they help the future volunteers avoid the trap of breeding lion farms masquerading as conservation facilities ---https://www.facebook.com/volunteersbeware

Watch The Con in Conservation episode about hand raised lion cubs that end up in canned hunt from SABC Digital News --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hav-1GuVcWQ&app=desktop

Watch Jason Wood's speech --- https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=547847185326287&set=vb.352953834815624&type=2&theater and join him in the fight against canned hunting --- http://jasonwood.com.au/issues/canned-hunting/stopcannedhuntingnow/

                                      Works Cited

Platt, John R. "African Lions Face Extinction by 2050, Could Gain Endangered

Species Act protection." Scientific American. 27 October 2014. Web. 23 October 2014.

Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji, Japan

I have written this paper about the dolphin slaughter that happens annually in Taiji, Japan for my AP Environmental Science class. This barbaric practice is concerning me since dolphins and small whales are being brutally harmed and no one seems to care about this issue. I decided to share my article with you, giving you both perspectives from the conservationists and fishermen. This way you will be able  to come up with your own opinion about this issue. However, please consider the suffering that these animals go through in your thoughts and help activists and conservationists stop this practice. I also posted various ways that you can help the dolphins after the main article.

Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji: An Atrocious practice

In the Japanese coastal town, Taiji, the dolphin and porpoise slaughter takes place annually and it is a cruel and inhumane practice according to many conservationists and animal protection organizations. Even though it is considered a barbaric practice, locals defend the slaughter claiming that it has been part of their culture for many years.

Annually, fishermen in Taiji, use a technique called “drive hunting” to herd and capture as many dolphins as possible. Each fisherman is permitted by the Wakayama prefectural government to hunt 2,000 dolphins annually for their meat. They use metal banger poles to create a wall of sound in order to disorient the dolphins. This technique forces the dolphins to swim away from the boats into the cove where the killing takes place. Into the cove, the hunters use large metal rods to stick and penetrate the animal’s spinal cords. Then, the dolphins are left to die from bleeding or drowning. While many dolphins are killed for their meat, dolphin trainers from many international entertainment parks select the most attractive dolphins to take into captivity. Conservationists often claim that the trade in captive dolphins is the main motivation for the dolphin hunting due to the fact that each dolphin is sold for over $100,000 to aquariums and parks across the globe.

After the release of Academy Award-winning 2009 film The Cove, which exposed the slaughter that the dolphins go through each year, the Taiji controversial practice became the main target for activists and animal protection agencies. Also, countless celebrities such as Ricky Gervais, Shannen Doherty and the United States ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy have publically opposed the hunting. Doherty said, “You wonder how they (the hunters) are able to go to bed at night… I think being here rocks even the most hardened human being, because it is just atrocious.” Founder of The Dolphin Project, Ric O’Barry, who was in the past a former dolphin trainer, speaks determinately against dolphin captivity and the dolphin hunting industry. He claimed, “They’re self-aware like humans and the great apes. They look in the mirror and they know what they’re looking at. They’re not domesticated animals.” Despite the international opposition, the locals defend the practice saying that the dolphin and whale hunting is a tradition among the local residents and it is important to the economic survival of Taiji.

Environmentally speaking, the dolphin and whale slaughter is driving conservation concerns since the practice is depleting dolphin and whale populations such as the striped dolphin and pilot whales. Even when few dolphins are taken into captivity, it still can have an enormous impact on dolphin populations since important breeding individuals or matriarchs can be taken from the group. This is an important fact to learn since we are responsible for creating awareness to this conservation issue.

In conclusion, the dolphin slaughter that takes place annually in the cove of Taiji is considered an inhumane practice that is threatening dolphin populations as well as the marine ecosystem. Fisherman use the technique “drive hunting”, which is condemned by many animal protection organizations and celebrities, to kill dolphins and small whales for their meat or sell selected individuals for aquariums. Despite this, locals defend the hunting because it sustains the town’s economy. Although it is important for locals, this cruelty needs to stop before species of small cetaceans become part of the critically endangered species list. Also, both articles should talk more about solutions to this issue since they just state the problem and say why people are going against it. They should come up with solutions that would inspire more people who are not physically involved with this issue to urge for a change.

 Ways you can help: 

Go to Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project facebook page to be daily updated about what is happening in the cove --- https://www.facebook.com/ricobarrysdolphinproject

Take the pledge to not buy a ticket to a dolphin show --- http://dolphinproject.net/take-action/take-the-pledge-not-to-buy-a-ticket-to-a-dolphin-show/

Go to frequently Asked Questions on the Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project main website, so you can learn more about what is happening with dolphins --- http://dolphinproject.net/campaigns/save-japan-dolphins/frequently-asked-questions/ 

Watch the Academy Award-winning 2009 film The Cove that has inspired audiences worldwide to action

SPREAD the world videos and articles like this to end dolphin exploitation and slaughter

Work Cited

About Whales and Dolphins. “Dolphin Hunts – Conservation Concerns.” n.d.

            < http://us.whales.org/issues/dolphin-hunts-conservation-concerns>

Hume, Tim, and Junko Ogura. “Dolphins killed as Taiji’s controversial hunting season resumes in

 Japan.” CNN. 25 September 2014.

< http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/24/world/asia/japan-taiji-dolphin-hunt/>