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World Wildlife Day; Big Cats: Predators Under Threat

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The theme for 2018’s World Wildlife Day is “Big cats: predators under threat“.  Big cats include: lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars. cheetahs, snow leopards, pumas and clouded leopards. The biggest threat to big cats (and all animals) is humans. We destroy their habitat and food source, We humans kill them for fun and trophy hunting, We humans kill them for medicine, We human kill them for food and We kill them to protect. They are road killed and poisoned,

I Just Got To Eco You:

  • 80% of the 40 wild cat species are shrinking and 16 species are considered vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.
  • 600 lions are killed yearly on trophy hunts, including lions in populations that are already declining from other threats. Approximately 60 percent of all lions killed for sport in Africa are shipped to the U.S. as trophies. (National Geographic_
  • 1,000 wild tigers have been killed by poachers over the last 10 years.
  • $6 billion per year estimated medicine value of tiger parts.
  • 3% of revenue from trophy hunting ever makes it to the communities affected by hunting. The rest goes to national governments or foreign-based outfitters.  (International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation)
  • 2005 and 2014, more than 1.26 million wildlife trophies were imported to the U.S., with an average of more than 126,000 trophies every year.
  • January 22 2018, the Eastern cougar was officially declared extinct in the U.S. and removed from the endangered species listby the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Donald Trump Jr. Big Cat Hunting in zimbawee. Image Credit Unknown

The list of endangered Big Cats is long but here are a few highlights 

Cheetah: Only around 12,400 cheetahs remain in the wild in twenty-five African countries

Iberian Lynx: 309 living in the wild and is considered the most endangered cat. The Canadian Lynx is also endangered.

Image:

Jaguars: Destruction of their habitat, poaching for their fur and medicinal value. and conflict with ranchers has led to a decline. It is estimated that there are now only around 15,000 jaguars left in the wild. The Jaguar is critically endangered in Brazil, primarily due to the fact the Rainforest is gone. Jaguars in Mexico are endangered, Jaguars (Panthers) in Florida are endangered.

Leopards: The Clouded Leopard was declared extinct in its native Taiwan. Total numbers are estimated to be less than 10,000. Snow Leopard  4,000 and 6,5000 individuals left in the wild. Everyday at least one Snow Leopard is killed. The Amur Leopard is critically endangered with only 19–26 wild Amur Leopards were estimated to survive.

Lions: Between 30-50% of lions have been lost in the last two decades alone, and there are now only around 47,000

Pumas, Mountain Lions, Cougars: 30,000 mountain lions in the western United States. The Florida panther, is critically endangered with a population of less than 100. (Defenders) The Costa Rican puma and the Eastern puma are endangered. California has an estimated number of 4,000 to 6,000 pumas. In Colorado, there are estimated 4,500 – 5,000 Pumas.

Tigers–  Less than 2500 Tigers are left in the wild. Humans are killing tigers faster than they are destroying their habitat. The most haunting proof that poaching is the greatest threat to tigers? “Empty forest syndrome:” Roughly 620,000 square miles of what should be tiger habitat currently lies unoccupied. (USA Today)

Image: Againess Tiger (farmed) cut in half by smugglers that were caught by Thai highway police May 2004 (Wild Aid Thailand)

Big Cats are crucial to healthy eco systems. They eat the sick and the weak. They cull herds of animals, which in turn keeps the environment including plants healthy. When gone… think about being overrun with mice, rats, rabbits and other vermin that are at the bottom of the food chain.

Organizations 

Resources  and More Reading 

 

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