The demand comes from Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, where some people believe that consuming rhino horn — approximate nutritional value: human fingernails — will cure everything from cancer to hangovers to a dull night out.
The black market demand for rhino horn has led to a surge in poaching of the critically endangered black rhino and the more numerous southern white rhino across southern Africa since This is especially the case in South Africa, where illegal killings hit another record high this year at in the 12 months till April. Either way, the rhino ends up dead. The western black rhinoceros went extinct in Fact: humans are the worst thing ever to happen to tigers.
We'd hunted them down to just 5, and 7, individuals worldwide by the late s. That was considered a dangerously low number then. By , it had halved. Some estimates say fewer than 2, mature tigers currently exist in the wild.
The problem is our passion for every part of them: Tiger skins, bones, teeth, claws, tails and even whiskers find a place on the black market as decorative items or ingredients in traditional Asian remedies. The illegal trade is further fuelled by tiger farms in China and Vietnam, where large numbers of the animals are bred for their body parts. Depressingly, as many as three times more tigers exist on such farms than in the wild.
The most haunting proof that poaching is the greatest threat to tigers? Oh no, they find plenty to kill in the sea, too. One of their most popular targets is the hawksbill , the tropical turtle whose beautiful yellow-and-brown shell provides the commodity known as tortoiseshell. Es En. Economy Humanities Science Technology. Leading Figures.
Multimedia OpenMind books Authors. Featured author. Douglas R. Latest book. Work in the Age of Data. Science Bioscience. Animals Biodiversity Natural Capital. Ventana al Conocimiento Knowledge Window.
Estimated reading time Time 5 to read. Poaching is now the main threat to the survival of the white rhino. It is estimated that 3, tigers survive in the wild. The whale shark is illegally hunted for its fins, skin and oil. The basking shark is easy prey because of its tame behaviour and its habit of frequenting shallow waters.
Recent censuses have detected an alarming decline in white shark numbers. Credit: Charles J. Source: U.
The polar bear closes the list of the 10 most valued species. Source: Pxfuel Javier Yanes yanes Poaching poses a growing threat to elephants, rhinos, and other charismatic animals, as well as to smaller and more obscure creatures, like certain lizards and monkeys. Poachers sometimes kill or capture animals to sell them locally or for the global trade in wildlife.
Wildlife trading is a major black market that has increased alongside rising wealth in Asia—a major consumer of wildlife—and the advent of e-commerce and social media websites. Some animals, such as birds, reptiles, and primates, are captured live so that they can be kept or sold as exotic pets. Slaughtered animals, on the other hand, have commercial value as food, jewelry, decor, or traditional medicine. The ivory tusks of African elephants , for example, are carved into trinkets or display pieces.
The scales of pangolins , small animals that eat ants, are ground into powder and consumed for their purported healing powers.
The meat of apes, snakes, and other bush animals is considered a delicacy in parts of Africa. In addition to killing for direct profit, poachers target animals to prevent them from destroying crops or attacking livestock. This happens to lions and elephants in Africa , as well as to wolves, coyotes, and other predators in North America and beyond.
Poaching has devastating consequences for wildlife. This is the case with the African elephant, more than , of which were killed between and for ivory. Poaching has also had a catastrophic impact on rhinos, with more than a thousand slaughtered a year for their horns. Most wild animals eat specialized diets found in nature, and they need space to fly, roam, and swing from branches.
Captured animals are stuffed into boxes, suitcases, or sacks, and even if they survive transport, they often suffer in their new, unnatural situations. In Africa, nearly rangers charged with protecting wildlife were gunned down by poachers between and while in the line of duty. In addition to providing on-the-ground protection for animals, many countries make poaching an offense punishable by prison or monetary fees. Because poachers in Africa and Asia are often impoverished local people who make small profits in comparison to traders and kingpins, penalties for poaching wildlife are generally less severe than those for trafficking wildlife.
There are also numerous nonprofits around the world working to end wildlife poaching.
0コメント