Success Stories of Conservation Are a Result of the Combined Government and Public
There is a lot of politics surrounding conservation.
Should the government be in charge of wildlife?
Should the people be in charge of wildlife?
The answer: A combination of both!
Failure Turned Success: The Emu War of 1932
One of the biggest failures in wildlife management was the Emu War in Australia, in 1932.
A majority of Australia’s population lives on the coast, leaving the middle as a vast land where the animals are in charge. One of these animals in charge is the emu, the cousin of the ostrich.
Both are giant, flightless birds, that can run between 35–40mph, and are basically bulletproof because of how thick their feathers are.
In the 1930s, an emu population of about 200,000 had wandered from Central to Western Australia in search of water. Not only did they find water, but they also found the nation’s wheat fields — which they ravaged.
The farmers, many of whom were ex-military, called for action and petitioned for military help from the Minister of Defense, George Pearce. Major Meredith and the Seventh Heavy Battery of the Royal Australian Artillery arrived at Campion, Western Australia.
They spotted a flock of about 50 emus that they surrounded and rained bullets upon. However, at the end of the day only about a dozen emus were killed despite the thousands of rounds shot.
A few days later they tried to ambush them at a dam, but their Lewis gun got jammed. In another attempt, they mounted a machine gun onto a truck, but the truck couldn’t keep up with the birds.
Meredith described the birds as being able to, “…face machine guns with the invulnerability of tanks.”
Within the first week, Australia recalled its troops and gave victory to the emus.
Eventually, they were able to get their population under control by instituting bounties, money for killing a certain, usually difficult, animal. Bounties were carried out by local farmers who were then paid by the government.
Making a Comeback-A Success Story: Bald Eagles
The Bald Eagle is the national symbol of America and it was endangered!
The bald eagle became endangered in the mid-1900s due to habitat destruction, illegal shooting, and contamination of their food source from DDT, an insecticide.
Their population was able to turn around when the government listed them under the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. This protected their habitat, banned the use of DDT, and the American public stopped killing them.
In 2007, the Bald Eagle was taken off of the Endangered Species Act because its population was able to recover. However, they remain under the other two acts as a precautionary to protect America’s National Symbol.
Because of conservation efforts, it was able to make a comeback, and I personally saw the effects of it.
I grew up right by Jordan Lake, NC, which is a protected nesting habitat for the bird, and have gone there as long as I can remember any time between late April and early September, depending on the weather.
I remember catching my first fish while tubing with my best friend, watching a water moccasin slither across our campsite scaring the crap out of my neighbor, turtles sunbathing on a log while we splash around the water, blue herons silently standing in the shadows as we cruise by, and even once a fish bite my dad on the butt while we were in the water.
But I don’t remember seeing bald eagles.
However, as I have gotten older I have seen them; I have seen how protecting their nests has allowed their population to grow.
Now every time I am at the lake I see an eagle, sitting atop a tree, soaring in the air, or diving for some fish food.
Still Have a Long Way To Go-A Success in the Making: Sea Turtles
Save the Turtles is a popular phrase that refers to reducing the use of your plastic to protect turtles.
A staple in all seven species of sea turtles’ diet is jellyfish, which can look like clear plastic bags to them. If plastic bags are ingested, they can cut holes in their stomachs, block their guts, and lead to death.
Pollution is not the only human threat to sea turtles; fisheries bycatch, coastal development, direct take, and climate change also further endanger sea turtles.
Fisheries bycatch are poorly managed and unsustainable fisheries that catch more than intended fish because of exhausted resources. Their methods of catching fish, like trawling, also damage the ocean habitat.
Coastal development takes the land where sea turtles nest and hatch to make more condos, hotels, and beach houses for tourists. This development not only disrupts their nesting grounds with construction and literally takes away their land, but also increases nearby boat collisions and light pollution, which confuses baby sea turtles who naturally follow the moon to get to the water.
Sea turtles’ eggs are also taken straight from their nest to be consumed in soups and stews or to be made into jewelry.
Climate change has resulted in increased temperatures, rising sea levels, and higher storm frequency. Increased storms and high sea levels damage and take away their habitats, while the increased temperatures affect the rate at which they reproduced because they have a temperature-sensitive incubation.
Not all is bad news for sea turtles, however, as many educational programs and conservation efforts have happened to help protect them globally.
On the small island of Aldabra, off the coast of Africa, they have protected the nesting habitat of green sea turtles for over 50 years, since September 1968. This is the first protection and monitoring of the green sea turtle’s nesting site in the Western Indian Ocean.
Aldabra Atoll is the second largest coral reef in the world and the Seychelles Islands Foundation’s research has been very successful.
The green sea turtle egg clusters rose from 2–3,000 per year in the late 1960s to over 15,000 in the late 2010s.
But they also showed that conservation is a hard, long, and generally boring effort.
“This study demonstrates the importance of long-term monitoring, which is often seen as less glamorous and valuable than targeted research.”-Cheryl Sanchez
We Have to Help the Cute and Scary-Who Needs to be Saved: Sharks
Humans have endangered many, many creatures across the world, but only seem to want to help the cute and cuddly ones like sea turtles, manatees, lemurs, and giant pandas.
But, we need to help even the ugly and scary ones because when you take one creature out of the ecosystem, the whole chain falls apart.
Sharks are generally perceived as scary and people don’t want to help them, but they need our help.
Sharks have eight fins total-two pectoral, two pelvic, one anal, one caudal, and one-two dorsal, depending on the species.
A delicacy in China that dates back to emperors is shark fin soup. It was a way for the emperor and upperclassmen to showcase their wealth. As it increased in popularity, the soup spilled into the middle class.
This soup is made from a variety of sharks. The fins of the shark are cut from the shark, and then the shark is thrown back into the ocean. The shark is unable to swim, bleeds out, and soon dies.
Some actions have been taken to ban this soup, but loopholes have been found. The European Union banned shark finning in its water in 2003. Obama signed the Shark Conservation Act in 2010 and the Shark Fin Elimination Act of 2016.
China banned the soup at official banquets in hopes of shifting the cultural perspective of the soup.
The biggest success stories in wildlife have been when the people are in charge with the support of the government.
The emu population was put under control when the farmers led and the government supported them by giving incentives and rewards.
The bald eagle population was able to recover when the government put protects in place and the people followed.
Sea turtles are recovering because of governmental protections and scientific monitoring.
Sharks are trying to make their recovery with the government putting up protections, and trying to make a cultural shift for the people to follow.
The fact of the matter is that saving wildlife and the planet is not political. There is no planet b or no one party or person that can save it.
The planet can only be saved when all humans work hand-in-hand and come together with different minds on a shared goal.
