Many of our iconic and charismatic wild life species are now threatened with extinction. As per a latest study, nearly 59 per cent of the world’s biggest mammalian carnivore animals and 60 per cent of the largest herbivores, are now listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red list of Threatened Species.
The study titled “Saving the World’s Terrestrial Megafauna”, written by 43 wildlife experts from six continents appears in the latest edition of BioScience published by American Institute Of Biological Sciences. It covers a gamut of species from the from the not so known — the scimitar-horned oryx, to more familiar species including tigers, lions, gorillas and rhinoceroses. (Mega fauna refer to large terrestrial carnivores, exceeding 15 kilograms and large herbivores of more than 100 kilograms).
The Conservation biologists called for a worldwide strategy to prevent their extinction citing threats like hunting, habitat loss and population growth as causes behind their imminent extinction.
For the Indian co-author of the study, Varun R Goswami, human-wildlife conflict is a serious existing threat for many species. “With simultaneous loss of wildlife habitat and expansion of human populations and agriculture, negative interactions between people and wildlife are bound to rise.”
For wide-ranging mega fauna like elephants and tigers, we need landscape-scale conservation strategies, taking into account the increasing interface between wildlife and people, he adds. Goswami is also the Senior Scientific Consultant, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), India Program.
These large species under threat play critical roles in their respective ecosystems providing a suite of vital ecosystem services as ecological engineers, dispersing seeds and nutrients across vast areas, he adds.
Dr Elizabeth Bennett, Vice President of Species Conservation in WCS and another co-author on the study says, “Perhaps the biggest threat for many species is direct hunting driven by a demand for meat, pets, and body parts for traditional medicines and ornaments.”
The study further points out that certain megafauna face the threat of obscurity. The loss of elephants worldwide to poachers in pursuit of ivory is well-known and is the focus of extensive efforts to shut down this trade, but many species are at risk from many similar threats but are so poorly known that effective conservation efforts to save them are difficult.
The paper includes a 13-part declaration that highlights the need to acknowledge the threatened status of many large mammals and the vital ecological roles they play. The declaration also cites the importance of integrating the efforts of scientists and funding agencies in developing countries where many species occur; the need for a new global framework to conserve megafauna; and the moral obligation of saving the world’s biggest mammal species.