Giraffes, Zebras Face Surprising Top Threat: Hunting

National Geographic
Jane J. Lee
May 1, 2015

Link to article


The safari is one of the few places on earth where you can see animals such as the elephant, giraffe, zebra, lion, hippo, etc. in their wild forms. A popular tourist destination this iconic symbol of Africa is coming under threat. This article is explaining how hunting is now becoming a larger concern to the loss of wildlife in the safari than habitat loss. Most of us have already read about or heard of the hunting of rhinos and elephants for their horns and tusks. These animals are rapidly being poached to extinction. However they are not the only species that are coming under threat. As the article on National Geographic explains, because of increased demand of "wild meat", populations of zebra, giraffe, and the 72 other 100 kilogram plus herbivores are all being over hunted and could soon be faced with extinction. In fact around 60% of these herbivores are already facing extinction, and if the hunting rates do not drop then that number will continue to climb. And with the diminishing number of large herbivores the whole safari will be affected. These large herbivores eat the vegetation, taking away from potential fuel for wildfires. Also because they can cover such large distances their dung transports seeds much further, spreading plants and trees helping to keep the habitats species frequency up. Additionally without large herbivores Africa's famous carnivores such as the lion and the cheetah will start dying out due to loss of their major food source. All this just because some people want a few souvenirs or exotic meats.

Because of this heightened interest in herbivores as a food item they are just as in danger as the carnivores hunted for their pelts. Of course not all the zebras and giraffes and other 100 kilogram plus herbivores are killed just as a exotic thing on a menu. There are those who depend on these animals as a food source, and they are growing in numbers. Between the demand from cities and the increasing numbers of hunters, it is no wonder that these large herbivores may soon be threatened with complete extinction.

Of course, hunting for food is not the only cause of concern. Along with the rhino and the elephant. Animals such as hippos, gorillas, and cervids (deer) are also being over hunted. Hippos for their ivory rich teeth, gorillas for their body parts to be used as decoration, and cervids for their antlers. 

I think that this article raises a lot of concerns on the ethical guidelines when it comes to what we can or can't hunt. One of the major problems with hunting these animals for meat is that their meat is not banned in most places, which means that they are shipped off to places such as the States or China or the UK as specialty items. It gives us a lot of information on whats being hunted, for what purpose, and to what effect which I think makes the article a lot more powerful. The article also encourages us to read from other articles on National Geographic to improve our background knowledge such as the farming of African lions in the US or the farming of Tigers in Southeast Asia. In my opinion there should be stricter rules on trafficking and use of wild animals in restaurants to prevent them from becoming endangered and leave them for the people who depend on them for sustenance.  This would need to be a world wide effort as countries would need to adopt new policies regarding wild animals. However at the end of the article it talked about how National Geographic is trying to pass a bill in the States to sanction countries that allow the import of rhino horns and elephant tusks. This shows that there is still hope for change as long as everyone contributes.



Bibliography
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150501-herbivore-largest-africa-hunting-poaching-conservation-science/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/news/2015/04/30/herbivorethreat_nationalgeographic_1911066.adapt.1190.1.jpg