Wildlife Conservation Club Newsletter #2:
Due to Poaching, African Elephants Are Evolving Without Tusks
By: William Cox '20
Elephants have always been under the constant threat of poaching. Their tusks, which represent one of the largest sources of ivory for poachers, are used as luxury goods and for human entertainment. Though other animals have ivory, it is not to the same degree as elephants. Of the two places where elephants exist (Africa and Asia), poaching is worse in Africa, where two of the three species of elephant are found.
In one east African country, Mozambique, African elephants are evolving to lose their tusks—which just may save their lives. As poaching continues in the country, in some effect financing the civil war in the country, many elephants are being killed. However, the few born without tusks as a result of a genetic defect survive. Of the 200 female elephants left in Gorongosa, a park in Mozambique, 51 percent of them are tuskless (a phenomenon that typically only affects 2-4 percent of female elephants). As the rest are wiped out, these few individuals will be all that is left, introducing a new age of tuskless elephants. In another, more extreme example, 98 percent of the 174 female elephants in Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa are reported to be tuskless. In other areas, such as in Kenya, tusk size has significantly decreased for both males (⅕ smaller) and females (⅓ smaller).
Though the change may help elephants survive intense poaching, there are still unknown repercussions for the ecosystems these organisms belong to. Being a keystone species, elephants affect practically every other species living in that ecosystem. Elephants typically use their tusks to debark trees and dig holes in search of water. Lower species such as lizards, for example, have learned to build their existence around these actions, and the removal of such habits will surely have an effect on them.
Help is always needed, and there are several organizations that work to protect elephants and halt poaching. If you’re interested in joining the cause, check out Save the Elephants, which works full time to defend the diminishing populations of this beloved species.
Snow Leopard Populations Are on the Rise
By: Nicholas Chiu '20
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), known for its white-gray coat spotted with large black rosettes, is native to the rocky climates of twelve Central Asia—including countries such as China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, and Mongolia. They are a key species as they are both a top predator and an indicator of the health of their mountainous habitat. Over the past decades, snow leopards have faced challenges such as poaching, retaliatory killing by local farmers, and habitat loss. Furthermore, climate change, a prevalent issue in modern society, is predicted to be the biggest long-term threat: impacts from climate change could result in a loss of up to 30 percent of the snow leopard habitat in the Himalayas alone! The current estimate of the snow leopard population is 4000-6500 individuals.
Although the number of individuals is very low, there is good news! Conversation efforts appear to be paying off, with a recent study showing a stable snow leopard population in Russia. Also, after 45 years of being on the IUCN endangered species list, the Snow Leopard is now classified as ‘Vulnerable.’ Programs such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Snow Leopard Trust have been working hard to reduce the threats snow leopards face. Engaging local communities for conservation, studying snow leopard behavior and their habitat, and creating new programs and policies have all helped slow the decline of snow leopards. You too can help the conservation effort by raising awareness of snow leopards, giving donations that would fund conservation programs, and volunteering some time and energy! Together, we can help bring back the snow leopard from the brink of extinction.
Why Honey Bees Are Still in Decline
By: Myles Ross '21
With a disputed seven to eleven species and 44 subspecies, the honey bee, Apis mellifera, is one of the most well-known and recognizable insects on the planet. Concentrated in tropical and forested areas with an abundance of flowering plants, the honey bee is native to regions in Central Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Asia, Southeast Asia, and some parts of Indonesia. The honey bee has an average lifespan of 122-152 days and has an average size, approximately, 15 mm. There are about 88 million bees worldwide.
The overarching reason why the number of honeybees is declining is the advancements in industrial agriculture. In particular, bee-neutralizing pesticides destroy habitats and precipitate the decline of honeybees. Monocultures, as well, further decrease the biodiversity which bees need to survive. Recently, research has shown that some routinely applied pesticides, containing concentrations of chemicals like Capsaicin and Bendiocarb, have detrimental effects on individual pollinators and the hives which they serve. Though there has been some debate on the extent to which insecticides harm honeybees—some say that the effect of insecticides is negligible, while others say that insecticides undermine insects' immune systems and make them more susceptible to other diseases—most scientists have come to a consensus that bees exposed to pesticides do exhibit behavioral changes. These changes usually result in a decreased rate of gestation and an average decline of approximately 40 percent per year.
Now, many animal activist organizations like The Animal Liberation Front and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal (PETA) are protesting against larger farming corporations. These activists aspire to protect all animals by promoting ecological farming through banning unsustainable industrial agriculture and pesticides which result in the death of a myriad of species. By spreading the word and educating about the ramifications of chemicals used by promoters of industrial agriculture, we can all do our part to actively help those who cannot help themselves.
Japanese Whaling Resumes
By: William Cox '20
Whales have been a part of Japanese culture for thousands of years, beginning between 14,000 and 300 BCE through their consumption. However, it was only in 1570 that organized whaling began in the country. The whale was mainly hunted for its meat, but parts of the animal were used to make lamp oil, soap, fans, fertilizer, and more. Modernization of organized whaling in the 1900s led to heavy over-exploitation, and Japan was no exception.
In 1946, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was created to work towards the conservation of whales and eventually led to the formation of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1949. Japan joined the organization in 1951. A moratorium was enacted by the organization starting in 1986, which was heavily opposed by Japan. They continued whale hunting regardless, under the guise of conducting scientific research on whale populations. Their victims include Antarctic minke, common minke, sei whales, sperm whales, fin whales, and more.
In December of 2018, Japan announced its withdrawal from the IWC, reasoning that the organization failed to reach its objective of conserving whale populations while also maintaining the global whaling industry. Almost immediately after, it resumed commercial whaling, under heavy criticism from other countries. The U.S. did little to convince Japan to stay, and the country’s exit from the IWC set a precedent of consumerism over conservation for the rest of the world. Organizations such as Whales and Dolphins Conservation (WDC) actively campaign against whaling in Japan and other countries, including Norway, Greenland, and Iceland. To support their work only takes a quick google. These organizations send petitions to the Japanese government to pressure them into discontinuing whaling, challenge the legality of their practices, cut off whaling supply routes by appealing to conservation-friendly governments, and campaigning to expose the atrocities committed in the whaling industry. All they need is public support to maintain their effectiveness, which is as easy as signing a petition online. Whaling is lucrative, and if the public does nothing, Japan will continue to decimate whale populations—but we still have the chance to change it.
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