Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh Why?

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh Why?By Carylanne Joubert

Introduction and Description of ProjectMy name is Carylanne Joubert and I am 14 years old. I have been home-schooled since kindergarten; with my mom teaching me from K-8 and then enrolled fully with FLVS for high school. I am currently in 10th grade and will be finishing within two months. For 9th grade, I completed these FLVS courses: Honors World History, Honors English I, Honors Algebra, Honors Earth-Space Science, Spanish I, and Honors Biology. For 10th grade I have taken: Honors Geometry, Life Management Skills, Psychology, Spanish II, and will be completing my Honors Chemistry, Honors English II, and Latin I courses soon. I have been interested in a scientific career as a zoologist and ecologist since I was four years old. I have always been fascinated with science and have had many opportunities such as visiting an active volcano, and the best observatory in the world both located on the Big Island of Hawaii; and I have been to numerous zoos and aquariums. Science is a very important part of my life and it will continue to be so.

This project researches the negative effects of mans encroachment on ecosystems; this includes the effects on the ecosystem when the apex predators are taken out of the natural balance whether because Man hunts them to extinction or Man destroys their natural habitats. Several specific examples of these animals will be provided, with an in-depth look at one of the examples. The project will include what is being done and why these measures are not working. Finally, the presentation will include how the events that occur because of Man affects humans themselves. The main questions that are being researched are why these endangered apex predators are important to the ecosystems and Man; and why the environmental programs that have been put into place for the protection of endangered species are not working.

Benefits of Apex PredatorsIn an ecosystem, there are three types of animals: the herbivores, mesopredators and apex predators. The apex predators in an environment are the largest predator and they are the animal that is at the top of the food chain in that ecosystem. The mesopredators are the smaller predators that are just below the apex predators on the food chain of an ecosystem. Examples of apex predators are polar bears, sharks, lions, grey wolves, dingoes, Eurasian lynxes, jaguars, and Siberian tigers.

Besides being at the top of the food chain, apex predators provide many benefits to the surrounding environment. These benefits include managing herbivore populations through eating; managing mesopredator populations either by eating or killing them; indirectly lowering the rate of erosion on a river bank; and providing nutrient hotspots. Apex predators lower erosion rates of river banks because they hunt the herbivores that eat the plants; and these plants stabilize the river banks. Also apex predators provide what are called nutrient hotspots. These hotspots are created at the site where the apex predators prey is left after being eaten. The digestive fluids in the remains of the prey contain nutrients which seep into the soil, enriching it and encouraging plant growth. These chemicals are inorganic nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and bacterial and fungal fatty acids.

Effects on Environment When Apex predators are Taken Out of the EquationThe services that the apex predators provide to the ecosystem are invaluable because they cannot be given without the apex predators. When an apex predator species in an environment is exterminated, many negative effects are forced to occur in the ecosystem. The first negative effect of an apex predator species disappearance is with prey species populations. When an apex predator is not in the environment to control the prey species populations, and the species is allowed to reproduce without hindrance from the apex predators, the population of the prey quickly increases. This means that there are more herbivores who will eat more plants and trees, killing off plant species or affecting the growth of certain plant species such as trees. With less plant species in the area, the riverbanks are no longer reinforced by the plants. Without reinforcement from the plants, the river widens which causes the water levels to decrease, and this affects the aquatic animals. When the water level decreases, higher temperatures are also experienced by the entire ecosystem. Another problem that is caused is that without the apex predators kills leaving nutrient hotspots, the plants do not have the nutrients they need from the soil to grow properly. Finally, when an apex predator is taken out of the natural equation, the mesopredator populations increase rapidly and disproportionately. Most mesopredators are omnivores or scavengers. This means the mesopredators hunt a wide array of animals causing the bigger prey animals to increase and destroy plant habitats; and causing the smaller prey animals to be hunted more often, causing these species populations to plummet. Examples of apex predator and mesopredator species relationships are jaguars and ocelots; lions and hyenas; Siberian tigers and Ussuri brown bears; dingoes and Australian foxes; sharks and sting rays; polar bears and Arctic foxes; wolves and coyotes; and Eurasian lynxes and European weasels.

Explanation of the Problem with the Grey Wolves and Coyotes; and Biological factors involved.Researchers in Yellowstone National Park have been studying the effects of lost apex predators since the wolves disappeared in that area in the early 1900s. Without the wolves, the elk population increased; and this affected the plant species, especially the Aspen trees. The Aspen trees were no longer growing as tall as they were when the wolves were at the park because the elk were feeding on them more often, inhibiting their ability to grow taller. Also the coyote population, the mesopredator in this situation, increased rapidly. Coyotes do not hunt elk as often as wolves do, and they prefer to eat sheep and cows more often than wolves. In addition, the coyote populations were harder and more expensive to control than the wolf populations. Biological facts that affect this problem as well: wolves have an average of six pups per year, give birth to one litter per year during the summer, reach sexual maturity at age 2 years old, and live up to seven years in the wild. Whereas, coyotes have an average of six pups per year but can have up to nineteen; reach sexual maturity at age 1 years old; and live up to ten years in the wild. Also elk have an average of one foal per year; reach sexual maturity at age 2 years old; and live ten to thirteen years in the wild.

What is Being Done to Protect the Wolves? Because of all the problems that occurred without the wolves, thirty-seven wolves were introduced back into Yellowstone National Park in the late 1990s to reinstate the wolf packs. They were also placed on the Endangered Species List in the late 1990s to protect them from further harm. In December of 2010, the total wolf count was 1,700 wolves over a total area of six states. Although the wolf packs were reinstated to Yellowstone National Park, and the population of wolves was increased in the twelve year period, the wolves are still having problems. Ranchers that live in the area of the six states that contain the wolves believe that the wolves are a menace; and they do not want the wolves to live anywhere but Yellowstone to prevent the wolves from killing their livestock. Also the government, at the behest of the ranchers, is trying to take wolves off of the Endangered Species List to allow wolves to be killed on-sight again. The ranchers see wolves as a threat to the amount of money they make per sale of livestock; and they and other people in the area are afraid of wolves and wolf attacks. There are non-lethal ways to protect livestock from wolf attacks. Items such as special tags that make a noise when the wind blows through them, rubber bullets, and flares are able to keep wolves away without harming them. Even though these methods are known, the ranchers would prefer to be able to hunt wolves to keep them away from the property or to kill wolves on-sight rather than use non-lethal ways. One statistic that proves why the wolves should not be taken off the Endangered Species List is that during the first month of temporary freedom from the Endangered Species Act, ranchers killed 37 wolves.Why are the Programs that were Created to Help the Wolves not Working?Why the Fear of Wolves was formed Man has feared wolves since the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, the legends of were-wolves and man-eating wolves were created, causing fear to be spread throughout Europe. When the settlers came to America, they brought these legends and fears with them. When the Europeans arrived in America there were over 200,000 wolves in the entire country; and today there are less than 5,000 altogether, with less than 1,700 in the northwest. As the years went by, these legends changed from being oral legends to childrens fairytales. Such fairytales as Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs were created to be told to children. These childrens stories always portrayed the wolf as an evil creature who wanted to eat little children and kill Man. As technology progressed, new versions of these legends were created, focusing on the were-wolf mostly. Movies such as American Werewolf in London, the new version of Red Riding Hood and others have been created with each new version of the wolf scarier than the next.

Opinions of Wolves from People other than ConservationistsThe Shoshones, Bannocks and Nez Perce tribes lived in the Yellowstone area until they were forced to live on the reservations. Sacagawea, the famous Native American mother who traveled with Lewis and Clark, was herself from the Shoshone tribe. All of the Native American tribes revered the wolf and lived peacefully with them. The Native Americans had no need for money, and they only took what food they needed, so they did not have a problem with the wolves. Most tribes respect the wolf because it is a great hunter and the wolves take care of their pack in the same way a human takes care of their family. The Native Americans had their own legends about the werewolf as well, but these myths were very different from the European versions. The Europeans believed that a werewolf was created when an evil wolf bit a human and the Europeans feared the wolf not the human. These evil wolves could have had rabies which would cause hallucinations and delirium in humans, causing them to act strangely and others to believe they are part animal. The Native Americans believe that the human was a witch who would abuse the powers of the wolf to kill their fellow human beings and they feared the human, not the wolf. The Native Americans have very strong feelings for the wolf for another reason. They feel that the wolves are very similar to them, in that they have both been forced out of their natural lands, they have both been considered competition , and they have both been hunted for their hair. The wolf totem in Native American culture symbolizes loyalty, perseverance, success, intuition, and spirit.

Statistics to Disprove Malformed Opinions of WolvesHuman attacks: In 2010, only 1 fatal wolf attack was reported to have occurred in Alaska; whereas, 34 fatal dog attacks were reported in 2010, with the majority of the victims being children. Also, there are 4.7 million dog bite victims in the United States alone, with 1,000 people being treated in an emergency room per day. The loss of revenue from these dog bites totals over $1,000,000 per year; and one-third of these attacks are by Pit-bulls, and one-half are by Rottweilers. These statistics show that it is more common to be bitten or killed by Mans Best Friend than by a wolf.

Livestock attacks:Out of 224,000 sheep fatalities due to predators in 2004, Coyotes were responsible for 60.5% and are considered the predator that hunts livestock the most. Normal wolf packs will eat elk; however, if the pack leader, an elder wolf that teaches the pups how to hunt, is killed the wolves are more likely to hunt livestock because sheep and cattle are easy prey.

Population: From January 2010 to January 2011, wolf populations near Yellowstone increased from 1,650 to 1,700, which is a fifty individual increase. From March 2011 to July of 2012, the human population is expected to increase from 6,912,414,900 people to 7,000,000,000, which is a 87,585,100 person increase in just over a year. When compare, the wolf increase rates are drastically smaller than the human population increases.

Pit-BullRottweilerCoyoteGrey Wolf Many organizations and individual people devote their time and their lives to protecting all of these animals. Examples: The polar bears are endangered because of habitat loss due to global warming. People, such as Al Gore, are working to stop global warming which in turn helps the polar bears. In South America, jaguars face the same problems as the wolves in North America. They face habitat destruction, and farmers believe the jaguars are a nuisance. People such as Sharon Matola, the director of the Belize Zoo, dedicate their lives to saving the jaguars and trying to educate people about their importance to the jungle. In Africa, lions are endangered for similar reasons. Lions face habitat destruction; being killed for recreational sport; and being killed for their hides which are considered beautiful and are used to make clothing for royalty. People such as Dereck and Beverly Joubert, devote their entire lives trying to petition the government to protect these animals and to educate people about the dangers that the lions face. In Asia, Siberian tigers face extinction because of habitat loss and because of illegal hunting. The tigers are hunted because different parts of their bodies, such as teeth and blood, are used in ancient Chinese medicine and these parts are sold illegally on the Black Market. People and organizations such as Leonardo DiCaprio, the Russian government, and the World Wildlife Fund have funded programs to help bring the tigers back from the edge of extinction. The sharks of the oceans face like circumstances as the tiger. Sharks are killed for the use of their fins for an Asian delicacy, called Shark fin soup. Only the fins of the shark are used, and the rest of the carcass is thrown back into the sea. When shark populations are low, the sting rays eat more scallops, a human food, which causes ecological and economical losses. Many people are trying to protect the sharks by boycotting restaurants that serve Shark fin soup; other people, such as Steve Irwin, go beyond boycotting by writing research papers and talking about the issue to bring it to the public. In Europe, the Eurasian lynx faces extinction. The lynxs problems are akin to the problems of every other animal, but its biggest threat is habitat destruction. As Europe increases in population and villages, towns, and cities grow larger, forests are destroyed more and more to accommodate Europes increasing populace. Finally, in Australia, dingoes are endangered because of habitat loss and because they, like the jaguar, are considered a pest by the ranchers and farmers. Steve Irwin, who worked to protect all endangered animals, especially those from his native Australia, worked to help the dingoes as well as the crocodiles. Other people also help the dingoes because they realize how important these animals are in controlling the wild fox and feral cat populations.What about the other animals on the planet? What is being done for them?ConclusionIn conclusion, humans believe by killing these animals, they will have better lives; however, without these animals, humans suffer too. These animals, although sometimes considered a menace, help the environment which in turn helps Man economically, if for no other reason. In addition,even thoughthere are many programs that try to help animals, it is the responsibility of the entire human race to protect these animals from extinction. Not every person has to devote their entire life to saving wildlife; however, if we do little things now, such as not buying products made from endangered animals, we can save the planet a little bit at a time. When the power of one is put to use, it makes a big difference.BibliographyInformation for this project is compiled from research found at these websites: http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0202-hance_toppredators.html, http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/23730/, http://www.angelfire.com/nv/tmyst/facts/symbolic.htm, http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-totems2.html, http://www.worldometers.info/population, www.wikipedia.org, http://depts.washington.edu/metmap/facts/coyote, http://www.nezperce.com/yelpark9.html, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001164102.htm, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2010/01/wolf-attacks-on-montana-livestock-spike-stirring-backlash.html, http://www.yellowstoneinsider.com/issues/wolves/wolf-attacks-on-people.php, http://www.nass.usda.gov/, Wolves in Paradise documentary: http://www.montanapbs.org/WolvesInParadise/, and http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html

Pictures from www.goole.com