Archive for the ‘ Animals ’ Category
Several years have passed since studies conclusively demonstrated hat global warming is altering where and when many animals feed and breed.
In 2003, two benchmark reports showed that more than 100 species have shifted their ranges toward the poles at an average of 4 miles a decade and that thousands of others were emerging, migrating or breeding days to weeks earlier than they did a century ago... Read more [...]
The creators of "Jaws" had it backwards. People prey on sharks far more than sharks prey on people.
For some, sharks are the stuff of nightmares. Others rely on them for a living – and humankind has driven many species into decline. Perhaps it is time to think again about how we treat these beautiful creatures.
Shark fins have no taste and no nutritional value, but they're nonetheless a hot commodity in Asia. People consider shark fin soup a high-status, luxury dish, and their demand for the soup fuels the decline of shark populations around the world.
To feed that craving, fishing fleets capture millions of sharks each year, cut off their fins, and in many cases, toss the dying animals back out to sea to make more cargo space on board for the fins. Slow to mature, sharks are often killed before they have a chance to reproduce...
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The elephant is a regal, powerful creature that has been intrinsically linked to the earth’s economy and environment since it first came to be. The elephants’ role in history as important, having served as beasts of burden; in some civilizations, elephants even have been regarded as gods and served as symbols of royalty.
Their tusks are prized for their ivory and their intelligence has been used in a variety of ways; in popular culture, they have entertained millions in circuses worldwide.
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Habitat loss and fragmentation is another important reason why tigers disappearing. Without a safe and healthy home for tigers and their prey, neither can survive in the wild. Humans are rapidly encroaching into wilderness areas that were once ruled exclusively by the tiger. In India, which is home to over one third of the world's wild tigers, the human population has exceeded one billion inhabitants.
As tigers compete with humans for land, they find less and less to eat. Local people hunt the same prey as tigers do, pressing tigers to resort to domestic animals and, on rarer occasions, even humans....
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