Wildlife in 'catastrophic decline' due to human destruction, scientists warn

[UngulateNerd92]

Wildlife populations have fallen by more than two-thirds in less than 50 years, according to a major report by the conservation group WWF.

The report says this "catastrophic decline" shows no sign of slowing.

And it warns that nature is being destroyed by humans at a rate never seen before.

Wildlife in 'catastrophic decline', report warns

 

[Dassie rat]

I read about it. I think zoos should be protecting more species and not bothering with variants of ABC species. Large species should be protected in situ, rather than ex situ, and shouldn't be kept in small zoos with little space for decent enclosures. There is another site (American Burying Beetle Loses Endangered Status Despite Major Threats From Oil Development, Climate) about American burying beetles. I don't remember ever seeing a zoo exhibit for live burying beetles, although such an exhibit could be interesting for visitors and aid conservation. Zoos should use more imagination about interesting visitors in smaller, endangered animals and not rely on an assumption that Joe Commons isn't interested in them.

 

[birdsandbats]

I read about it. I think zoos should be protecting more species and not bothering with variants of ABC species. Large species should be protected in situ, rather than ex situ, and shouldn't be kept in small zoos with little space for decent enclosures. There is another site (American Burying Beetle Loses Endangered Status Despite Major Threats From Oil Development, Climate) about American burying beetles. I don't remember ever seeing a zoo exhibit for live burying beetles, although such an exhibit could be interesting for visitors and aid conservation. Zoos should use more imagination about interesting visitors in smaller, endangered animals and not rely on an assumption that Joe Commons isn't interested in them.

I agree, zoos should focus more on captive breeding small endangered species, as there is much more room for them. American Burying Beetles and Partula snails seem to be the only endangered inverts zoos are breeding. And did you know that the Bali Myna and is the only threatened passerine species that US zoos have programs for? Zoos should focus more on animals like these. Zoos wouldn't even have to phase out their ABCs for room. Any zoo with a reptile house, aviary, insect house, ect. could just bring many more endangered species to replace the other species.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I read about it. I think zoos should be protecting more species and not bothering with variants of ABC species. Large species should be protected in situ, rather than ex situ, and shouldn't be kept in small zoos with little space for decent enclosures.

Well said and I totally agree, you've pretty much described in that comment my own opinion / stance on the whole charismatic African and Asian megafauna in zoos thing.

Zoos should use more imagination about interesting visitors in smaller, endangered animals and not rely on an assumption that Joe Commons isn't interested in them.

Once again I totally agree with you on this. Zoos should focus on keeping the smaller endangered animals whether they be mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians , invertebrates or mollusks. I think that the benefits of this approach are manifold when it comes to proper ex-situ conservation management and a genuine environmental education for the public.

I also think that zoos can create a "self fulfilling prophecy" when it comes to assuming (a kind of bigotry of low expectations maybe ?) that the public always want to see the larger and often more common African and Asian ABC wildlife rather than smaller endangered species in zoos.

By having this unchecked bias and putting this into action in the running of their institutions these zoos perhaps actually just continue perpetuating this mentality / attitude in the minds of the public when it comes to both zoo visits / expectations and in a wider sense wildlife and the natural world.