Environmentalism and Wildlife Conservation Discussion

Found a version of the story that's less sensationalist

That's exactly this. This group of elks might simply have been completely trapped by the pack, while usually, the wolves get the slowest/weakest ones while the fastest run away. Killing frenzy among canids is not exactly new, it happens almost every time wolves get their paws on cattle like sheep.

It may also be a sound thing. My family used to keep chickens and we'd suffer fox attacks (thus the "used to"), the fox would tend to kill whatever chickens it intended to eat plus the cockerel, because the cockerel would make a ton of noise and the fox's instinct would be to silence the alarm.

There is probably a link between the two. Sheep will become really noisy if wolves start slaughtering them...but I said canids because bears (almost) never exhibit this behavior when they attack livestock. They kill a prey, eat it, and go away. Maybe kill a second one if they are still hungry, but surplus killing are extremely rares in their case, and are more related to individual behavior than to a combination of factors favoring it.

Double-post for a bit of self-promotion: I got my first scientific article published, and it falls under conservation ecology even if it is a sociology study. The link should still be valid for a couple of weeks if you are interested.

It is about the attitudes of residents of the French Pyrénées towards brown bear presence.

80 African Rhinos will be airlifted to Australia over the next four years to establish a new sanctuary population out of the reach of poachers.

Provided that the animals can survive and mate out there in my home country, this is a really cool idea. Actually protecting the rhinos in Australia will be much easier than in Africa.

I'm interested. Thanks for flagging that. I'll be reading that as soon as I get the opportunity.

And congratulations on getting published!

edited 11th Apr '16 2:08:56 PM by Wyldchyld

This all relies on the idea extinct Australian megafauna, wiped out by humans, acted like rhinos.

Otherwise it fails.

2016 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.

Well'p we finally killed the planet.

... Dammit, what's it going to take to finally convince the world's governments that they need to clamp down hard and mercilessly on the private sector to preserve the environment?!

I'm honestly not sure what can really be done.

The primary areas where it's happening either don't have much in the way of government authority on the matter or the government literally couldn't give a shit.

I agree with Memers here. Clamping down on the private sector will slow down the growth of businesses and the economy itself due to massive limitations that will be shouldered on its development. For example, coal-fired power plants are still popular today since it's cheaper to run compared to nuclear ones. Jobs could also be compromised due to the industry slowing down. It's a gray area.

Still, it's really sad. I mean, we're dependent on this planet's resources and we're destroying nature in return. It's for mankind's survival, but still..

edited 29th Oct '16 1:17:45 AM by Jamiester

Or the Government itself owns or controls the companies involved.

Well I mean the primary places for this is Middle Africa right? It's not like most of there even has actual full on effective governments that could actually do this.

After looking back through history I think humanity as a whole isn't very smart and have very little skills when it comes to long term planning.

I've concluded that humanity as a whole isn't very smart or are good long term planners.

Whoops double posted.

edited 29th Oct '16 7:59:01 AM by Kaiseror

Wyoming, Minnesota and Wisconsin decide to declare a war against wolves.

Faith in Humanity is rapidly shrinking

You're faith in humanity is shrinking form "short sighted and not very smart?" Also, U.S. scientists officially declare 2016 the hottest year on record. That makes three in a row. with the completely coincidental side effects that:

Last year’s warmth was manifested across the planet, from the warm tropical ocean waters off the coast of northeastern Australia, where the Great Barrier Reef experienced its worst coral bleaching event on record and large scale coral death, to the Arctic, where sea ice hit regular monthly record lows and overall temperatures were also the warmest on record, at least from January through September 2016.

Among major 2016 events, the devastating bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef did not stand alone. In a catalogue of some of the extremes the planet witnessed during the year, NOAA also noted the megafire that engulfed Fort Mc Murray, in Alberta, Canada, at the beginning of May, relatively early in the year for wildfires.

My brother was trying to tell me that electric cars might not actually be any better than classic gas-powered cars because of the impacts of actually producing the car. Is this true?

'Fraid so. Turns out there's not actually that much individuals can do to go green. Carbon footprints are funny like that. You're better off contributing to larger conservation efforts and helping to elect (or at least vote for) politicians whom you think will push for environmental protection legislation.

You could also just reduce the time you spend driving in general, or take advantage of public transportation if that's an option where you live.

edited 22nd Feb '17 12:39:33 AM by M84

The problem with electric cars in my eyes is that without an actual clean energy industry and infrastructure based on renewable energy technology it functionally does not change much.

I think, even with electric cars we are still embedded in system of carbon based energy production and consumption.