Species-Rich Places and the “Robin Hood” Conservation Strategy

Charles Darwin’s first trip to the Galapagos Islands caused ecologists to start wondering why some places have so many species and others have so few. ©Longjourneys/Shutterstock.com

Ever since the HMS Beagle arrived in the Galapagos Islands with a young Charles Darwin aboard—who was soon to meet a fateful family of finches—ecologists have struggled to understand a particularly perplexing question: Why is there such a ridiculous abundance of species in some places on Earth and a scarcity in others? In other words, what are the exact factors that drive animal diversity?

Scientists think that they have now found an answer to that fundamental ecological question. They’ve discovered that what an animal eats—and how that interacts with the climate—shapes the planet’s biodiversity.

And when it comes to biodiversity, we’re now losing it so rapidly that we’re no longer able to ask what’s going on with every species individually. So, researchers have developed a framework that can help scientists understand trends in biodiversity by using data from well-characterized species to provide insights on data-deficient species. It’s called the “Robin Hood approach.”

Africa has an abundance of meat-eating predators. Rain patterns and plant growth are responsible. ©Mogens Trolle/Shutterstock.com

Rain drives animal diversity

Have you ever noticed that certain locations—such as Africa or places in the far North like Greenland—have a plentitude of meat-eating predators? And that herbivores are more common in cooler areas, and omnivores tend to be more dominant in warm places?

It turns out that two key factors were crucial in shaping these patterns: precipitation and plant growth.

This conclusion comes from a Department of Watershed Sciences research team at Utah State University’s Quinney College of Natural Resources that had access to a mammoth set of global-scale climate data and a novel strategy.

Madagascar, where precipitation patterns have an equal, six-month split between a wet season and a dry season, had the ideal ecological mix for herbivores, such as lemurs. ©OHudecek/Shutterstock.com

Historically, say the researchers, studies looking at the distribution of species across the Earth’s latitudes have overlooked the role of trophic ecology, which means how what animals eat impacts where they are found. This new work, published in the science journal Ecology Letters in September 2023, shows that herbivores, omnivores and predators are not randomly scattered across the globe. There are patterns to where these groups of animals are found. And precipitation across time plays a huge role in determining where different groups of mammals thrive. Geographical areas where precipitation varies by season, without being too extreme, had the highest levels of mammal diversity.

However, the total amount of rain was not the determining factor. If you imagine ecosystems around the world on a scale of precipitation and season, certain places in Utah and the Amazon rain forest fall on one end with low variability; they have steady levels of precipitation throughout the year. Other regions, such as southern California, have high variability, getting about 75% of their annual precipitation between December and March. But the sweet spot for herbivores and predators fell in a middle zone between the two extremes.

For example, places such as Madagascar, where precipitation patterns had an equal split between a wet season and a dry season (six months each), had the ideal ecological cocktail for promoting conditions for herbivores and predators. Omnivore diversity tends to thrive in places with very stable climates.

It was surprising to find that plant growth was more important for predators than herbivores and omnivores. Why remains a mystery. ©Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock.com

The second important factor that was discovered to relate to mammal diversity was the amount of plant growth in an area, measured as “gross primary productivity.” While it makes intuitive sense for plant-eating animals (herbivores and omnivores) to benefit from plant growth, surprisingly this measure impacted carnivores the most, according to the research. Why remains a mystery. But the strong relationship between predators and plant growth highlights the importance of an abundance of plants on an entire food chain’s structural integrity.

Although evolutionary processes are ultimately responsible for spurring differences in species, climate conditions can affect related factors—such as animal dispersal, extinctions and rates of evolutionary change—influencing species and trait-based richness. Identifying the ecological mechanisms that help drive richness patterns, as this research has done, provides insight for better managing and predicting how diversity could change under future climate changes.

Robin Hood inspires biodiversity tracking

As the above research demonstrates, animal diversity can act as an alarm system for the stability of ecosystems. And now, to better understand and protect the world’s biodiversity, a research team at Michigan State University has developed a “Robin Hood” approach.

The IUCN lists orcas (killer whales) as “data deficient.” That means that they lack the data needed to inform their conservation status. ©Jeroen Mikkers/Shutterstock.com

That is to say that they’re using information from well-quantified animals to reveal insights about less common, harder-to-observe species. So, they’re taking insights from the data-rich and giving to the data-poor.

Currently, about one in seven species are classified as “data deficient” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). That means that these species lack the data needed to establish their conservation status, which, in turn, helps determine conservation strategies. We need more rapid and efficient assessments of those species if we want to figure out how to conserve and protect them.

To that end, the Michigan State University team has introduced a framework based on what are known as “integrated community models.” In their paper, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology in October 2023, the researchers show how they design and implement these models to utilize data from the best-characterized species in a community to assess other members of the group.

Unfortunately, the most popular animals to study aren’t necessarily the ones most in need of attention. After analyzing almost 16,500 papers published between 1900 and 2010, the big winner was bears (family “Ursidae”), averaging more than 250 papers per species. The closest runner-up was the walrus family (“Odobenidae”), with only 145 papers. By borrowing strength from the species that have the most information available, scientists can get species-level estimates for all members of a community. ©Ludmila Ruzickova/Shutterstock.com

By borrowing strength from the species that have the most information or are most common, scientists can get species-level estimates for all members of a community and a comprehensive understanding of what’s going on with the community as a whole.

This new report acts as a how-to guide for anyone who wants to draw insights from a variety of different data sources describing multiple species. In this guide, the scientists provided three case studies: forest birds in the northeastern United States, butterflies in the Midwest and a simulation scenario for 10 hypothetical species. The results show how integrated community models can be used to estimate species’ trends and demographic rates over space and time, even for rarer species.

The immediate goal for the report was to get these methods into the hands of more researchers. The next step will be working with partners in government and nongovernmental organizations who can use information from the models to develop conservation strategies that move from a species-by-species approach to one that’s more holistic.

According to World Wildlife Fund’s “Living Planet Report 2022,” freshwater animals, such as this Amazon pink river dolphin, have been hit the hardest: they have declined by an average of 83% since 1970. Habitat loss and barriers to migration routes account for about half of the threats to these populations. ©COULANGES/Shutterstock.com

The Living Planet Report provides context—and caution

World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2022 held some alarming news: the world has seen an average 69% drop in amphibian, bird, fish, mammal and reptile populations since 1970. The dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change are driven by the unsustainable use of our planet’s resources. Scientists are clear: unless we stop treating these emergencies as two separate issues, neither problem will be addressed effectively.

Both crises have negative consequences for all the world’s ecosystems. Forecasting how climate change will disrupt animal systems going forward is extremely important. The Utah State University research and the new “Robin Hood” framework could be the first steps in our better managing future conditions for wildlife—and, thus, for ourselves—around the globe.

Here’s to finding your true places and natural habitats,

Candy

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Introspective Figures Navigate Surreal Worlds in Simón Prades’ Illustrations

All images © Simón Prades, shared with permission

Stories come to life on the page and introspective figures explore inner worlds in the dreamlike illustrations of Simón Prades (previously). His surreal scenes often feature silhouettes of people peering into the unknown, whether toward a distant memory, the wilderness, or the future. Rendered in deep hues with an emphasis on the effects of light and contrast, he draws attention to human nature and universal, emotional experiences of hope, nostalgia, and wonder.

Prades has worked as a freelance illustrator for more than ten years, finding visual language to express ideas in editorial and book publishing, film, music, and advertising. His clients have included The New York Times, Penguin Random House, Scientific American, and many more. “While I still love solving problems for clients, I must say that the urge to work on more personal projects has been growing and might manifest in a book or something like that soon,” he tells Colossal.

Prades is looking forward to a project next year that merges illustration with his other passion, cycling. During a 10-day tour through the Pyrenees, he plans to capture the experience in his sketchbook. Explore more of his work on his website and Behance, and follow updates on Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Introspective Figures Navigate Surreal Worlds in Simón Prades’ Illustrations appeared first on Colossal.

Karma is a Cat

By Christina Armstrong, WWF’s Development Officer, Regional Philanthropy, East

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping song Karma off her Midnights album was on repeat in my head in Brazil’s Pantanal while on Natural Habitat’s Jaguars & Wildlife expedition in July 2023. Yes, the song is a current, popular release, and I love Taylor Swift, and music in general, but the reason the song was in my head was because our amazing Expedition Leader, Zapa, kept repeating to our group, “Karma!” Then, I would sing to myself, “Karma is a cat,” from Taylor’s song, as we searched for jaguars along the riverbeds in the heart of the Pantanal, Brazil.  

© Christina Armstrong / WWF-US

“Why would Zapa say that?” you might be wondering. As one of the first Natural Habitat Pantanal groups in 2023, we estimated that we saw 146 species of birds and 177 species of animals in just six days. I couldn’t even name that many species in one sitting, let alone comprehend how inspiring it would be to experience one of the world’s most biodiverse areas. Did you know that the Pantanal is mostly privately owned? About 95%! 

We saw numerous threatened and near threatened species living their best lives, such as jaguars mating, giant anteaters carrying their young on their backs, giant otters chomping on fresh fish over a log alongside a riverbed of mangroves, marsh deer sniffing native, vibrant-colored flowers, and hyacinth macaws building a home in an innovative box with their lifelong mate.

© Aaron Clausen / WWF

WWF has done great work with hyacinth macaws in this region, and it was interesting to learn about the importance of certain trees that macaws need to build their nest. They prefer soft trees called manduvi palm trees that have been cut down through the years – destroyed by deforestation, fires, clearing for cattle pastures, or logged for furniture and other products. The challenge is that even if these trees are replanted, the macaws will only make their nests in the ones that are 60-80 years old, so it takes an entire generation to regrow one manduvi tree.

As an alternate solution, WWF and other local programs created nesting boxes to encourage the macaws to build their nests. They also wrapped the trees in a metal strip so that predators could not make their way up the trees and destroy the nests. This has been a huge success in the return of hyacinth macaws, and it was rewarding to learn that WWF played a part in the return of the macaws.

WWF also has worked to protect jabiru storks, which we saw several times, and jaguars are a growing priority within WWF’s current wildlife strategy. It was fascinating to see jaguars up close (yet at a safe distance), swimming across the river, hopping from branch to branch, and snoozing in the sunshine, like my puppies do. “Karma!” 

In addition to fauna, we saw the flora of the Pantanal. The brilliant pink ipê tree bloomed across the region as we flew from the North Pantanal to the Southern region. This vibrant tree is only in bloom for about 7-10 days a year usually in August or September. It was the end of June and serendipitously, we were there to see it.

© Christina Armstrong / WWF-US

The good fortune continued as we saw the tail of a jaguarundi as it ran across our trail and capuchins played above our heads. That evening, a tapir ran by our tour vehicle as foxes danced in the spotlight. While the jaguars were readily seen, I didn’t expect to see the elusive puma during the day, but we did.

The researchers had jaguar traps set up through various areas in the Pantanal, and one morning, we quickly drank our coffee, scurried into the tour vehicle, and drove around the other side of the lake of where we were staying to see that one of the traps had safely captured a puma, and it’s currently the only puma in the world to be collared.  

Karma is a cat… 

© Kelvin Brown

About the Author

Christina Armstrong joined WWF in 2022 on the philanthropy team, working with supporters up and down the East Coast of the United States. She’s led fundraising teams on causes ranging from families experiencing homelessness to helping youth in Latin America through enrichment and nutrition programming. Christina has a passion for music, traveling, and hiking with her husband and two Frenchies.  

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2024 Climate-Focused Departures in Greenland, the Amazon and Canada

Did you catch this stunning statistic in the news last week? A major new report announced that the last 12 months were the hottest period Earth has experienced in the last 125,000 years. The numbers are sobering. And it’s imperative that we understand the impact on natural habitats and how we must respond.

Nat Hab travelers explore Greenland’s icebergs by Zodiac © Expedition Leader Colby Brokvist

We have created a special trip series—Climate Change & the Wild World— to deepen your awareness of how a warming climate is affecting the natural world, and to inspire hope and action. Our experience has shown us that educating travelers about climate change through personal experience has a wide-reaching positive impact.

We have three 2024 departures planned:

Greenland: The Fate of the Arctic in a Warming World
Aug 2-11, 2024 

Amazon: Climate Change & the World’s Greatest Rain Forest
Oct 5-13, 2024 

Churchill: Polar Bears in a Changing Arctic
Nov 9-15, 2024 

The hyacinth macaw is a parrot native to the eastern Amazon Basin. It’s listed as vulnerable due to habitat loss caused by climate change, deforestation and the wildlife trade. © Expedition Leader Cassiano “Zapa” Zaparoli

Each trip features a special WWF climate expert who will discuss what is at stake in that destination. There’s no more powerful way to spark an incentive toward climate action than to personally experience places that are undergoing potent impacts. And when you book one of these trips, we will offset the entire CO2 output of your life for a full year.

But we know offsets aren’t enough. Nat Hab, which became the world’s first carbon-neutral travel company in 2007, is upping the bar on climate action—increasing our efforts to decarbonize, launching our first electric safari vehicle, supporting the development of sustainable aviation fuel…and there’s much more we must do. 

We believe travel can be a net benefit for conservation when we visit wild places responsibly, providing economic support for local communities and creating incentives to protect natural resources and wildlife. Our travelers go home as advocates for the planet, influencing others.

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Contemplative Women Emerge Through Subtle Grids in Stelios Pupet’s Paintings

“Les murmures du jardin,” oil on canvas, 200 x 200 centimeters. Photo by Auryn F. All images © Stelios Pupet, shared with permission

Whether working on a wall or canvas, artist Stelios Pupet begins with a grid. What starts as uniform blocks slowly morph into varied, angular shapes as he works, adding depth and structure to his largely figurative compositions. Viewed through the subtle distortion of the grid, his subjects are often crouching amid cacti and potted plants or curled into themselves in moments of contemplation. He describes his process:

I am focusing on creating a nice image, different or contemporary and easy on the eye. Sometimes, there is a personal story behind a canvas or a painting on a wall that makes the artwork more powerful or important (to me at least)…I believe that if you give everything in the creation of an artwork, somehow a part of you is captured and in this way, feelings are being created (for) the viewer.

Following a busy few months of working on murals across Europe, Pupet is currently creating a small piece in a park near his home in Athens. Follow his progress on Instagram.

“Amongst Greenery,” oil on canvas, 120 x 120 centimeters

Detail of “Les murmures du jardin,” oil on canvas, 200 x 200 centimeters

“MR Tlaloc,” Athens. Photo by Dimitris Maniatis

“Amidst the Cacti,” Zaragoza, Spain. Photo by Marcos Cebrián

Remake of the Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painting, “Portrait of Madamme Gaudry” (1864), acrylic and crayons on canvas , 40 x 40 centimeters

“Solitude of Contemplation,” Antonis Tritsis Metropolitan Park, Athens

Study for the canvas “They keep coming,” gouache on paper, 25 x 18 centimeters

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Contemplative Women Emerge Through Subtle Grids in Stelios Pupet’s Paintings appeared first on Colossal.

Nat Hab’s 2023 Sustainability Report Shows We Really Do Have the Power to Change the World

In July 2019, Natural Habitat Adventures pulled off the ultimate travel experience: the World’s First Zero Waste Adventure, a week-long excursion through Yellowstone National Park that diverted 99% of all on-trip waste from the landfill through recycling, composting, reusing, reducing and refusing. Basically, all the waste that they produced fit snugly inside a quart-sized mason jar. 

From the park’s scenic Lamar Valley to its gurgling and bubbling Upper Geyser Basin, the group’s 12 participants worked together to produce as minimal waste as possible while enjoying Yellowstone’s vast offerings. They shared meals at restaurants to reduce food waste, opted for bulk snacks rather than individual bags of chips and pretzels to cut down on packaging, and utilized reusable cutlery and containers for their to-go meals. It was a groundbreaking journey, and a successful one, too. It’s also just more than one of a dozen conservation travel milestones highlighted in Nat Hab’s 2023 Sustainability Report, an inaugural publication bringing together nearly 40 years of Nat Hab conservation work into one cohesive study.

“Frankly, we’re probably a little overdue,” says Court Whelan, Nat Hab’s Chief Sustainability Officer, “but it kind of had to be the right time for the company in terms of our collection of stories, the momentum of information, and the impact.” 

Nat Hab’s Zero Waste Adventure in Yellowstone National Park © Court Whelan

Nat Hab’s 2023 Sustainability Report Findings 

Founded in 1985, Nat Hab has always been a conservation company first in many ways, as well as a travel company. “Both this report and our tours prove that you can be both,” says Whelan. 

Partnership with World Wildlife Fund 

In fact, the 40-page compilation showcases a multitude of positive and life-changing projects, milestones, and partnerships that are a direct result of Nat Hab’s “Conservation through Exploration” ethos. These include the company’s 20-year partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which initially began in 2003 as an affinity group, or a coming together around common interests. “Like how an alumni group or museum may book out a trip and then sell it to their members,” says Whelan. As the two organizations continued working with one another, however, they realized they shared many of the same values and viewpoints. So in 2013, Nat Hab and WWF formed a strategic partnership in which the former would run 100% of the latter’s member trips. “In this way, we each get to do what we’re best at and support each other along the way.” 

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For instance, Nat Hab’s many adventures help showcase areas around the globe that WWF has deemed “priority places” and are in need of added support. One example is leading expeditions to the Arctic, where WWF supports renewable energy options for local communities. Or bringing travelers to Baja, California, home to the highly endangered vaquita—to see firsthand the extraordinary diversity of marine life that requires protection. This, in addition to the 45 million dollars that Nat Hab travelers have donated to WWF over the years, and the 1% of gross sales from all Nat Hat trips (as well as $174,000 annually) that goes toward supporting WWF’s conservation efforts worldwide. 

Nat Hab & WWF in Peru © JJ Huckin

Nat Hab’s In-House Philanthropy

Then there’s Nat Hab’s own in-house philanthropy, which is currently providing funds for 14 different projects across four continents. “These are small-scale projects that may not even be on the radar of many conservation groups,” says Whelan, “but where a little bit of money goes a long way.” Local enterprises like Uganda’s Ride4aWoman, an NGO empowering women in Buhoma, Uganda, who are struggling with things like poverty and domestic violence.

Ride4AWoman

“We provided two commercial sewing machines to the co-op there, and they’re crushing it,” says Whelan. “They’re making amazing things for their village, as well as to sell to tourists. It’s just fantastic seeing them generate income for the local economy.” Another is the Oncafari jaguar program in Brazil’s Pantanal, which promotes ecotourism while increasing the tolerance of jaguars to the presence of safari vehicles. “Say, one of their camera traps might have been ripped down by a jaguar in the middle of the night and they need a new one,” says Whelan. “We’re there to deliver.”

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Conservation Milestones 

Along with successfully pulling off the World’s First Zero Waste Adventure, Nab Hab has garnered a bevy of conservation travel milestones. In 2007, it became the world’s first 100% carbon-neutral travel company, offsetting our carbon footprint by investing in a variety of programs that align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). These include supplying energy-efficient cookstoves in rural Ethiopia, which helps reduce the greenhouse gas emissions (not to mention pressure on surrounding forests) that come with cooking over open fires, and contributing to Tomorrow’s Air – Direct Air Capture, a process that extracts CO2 directly from the atmosphere and stores it away permanently. The following year, Nat Hab built the world’s first hybrid safari vehicle, SafariOne, for use on U.S. national park trips. 

Nat Hab’s Electric Safari Vehicle © Justin Sullivan

Setting the Bar High 

Not only are these types of industry-firsts like the above a great way to turn heads, says Whelan, but they also get people to pay attention to next-level sustainability ways of thinking. “They’re a fantastic podium,” he says, “the idea that if you do something really difficult—you know, aim for the stars and land on the mountain sort of thing—you can still have a really meaningful impact.”

For example, going zero waste may not be in the cards for everyone (“It’s actually pretty difficult to do,” says Whelan), but knowing that it can be done might help other organizations go into their next projects or adventures with a more discerning eye. “You start thinking, maybe we can’t be zero waste, but what about 80 or 90% waste-free?” he says. “Before asking, ‘What are some of the biggest waste offenders out there? What steps can we take that will be most effective?’”

Nat Hab Expedition Leader teaching travelers about the Canyons of the American Southwest © Courtney Kent

Nat Hab 2023 Sustainability Report Takeaways 

In addition to an opportunity to highlight just how far Nat Hab has come since the company’s inception, the report is also a way to inspire travelers—both armchair and on-the-ground—to continue perpetrating conservation culture wherever they happen to be. “Not every single person has to be 100% behind every conservation or sustainability cause,” says Whelan, “but just thinking about it, paying attention to it, and learning what’s possible.” Maybe it begins with composting and recycling regularly or using package-free shampoo and conditioner rather than single-use bottles when you travel. Once we incorporate manageable things like these into our daily lives, he says, then it’s about taking the next right step or learning the next right thing “to move forward.”

Nat Hab traveler enjoys morning coffee using our eco-friendly thermos mugs. Sustainability is our priority, even on safari in Tanzania! © Andrew Morgan

While Whelan believes that sustainability reports should be industry standard, he also realizes that Nat Hab has a superpower in its ability to provide larger-scale success stories that inspire, which in turn can help create or further propagate a larger conservation culture. In fact, that’s Nat Hab’s modus operandi: finding ways to propel both the travel industry and society further when it comes to conservation. “It only takes one more Jane Goodall or revolutionary idea to really change the paradigm on things,” he says. 

And travel is one of the best ways to stir these kinds of ideas. Whether it’s tracking Namibia’s endangered black rhinos in the company of experts from Save the Rhino Trust or witnessing millions of monarch butterflies in Mexico’s forested highlands, “Our trips are having crazy impacts on peoples’ lives,” says Whelan, “changing their viewpoints and their worldviews, often forever.” 

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The Peculiar Story of How the Puffin Returned to Maine

A Feather in Your Cap

The year is 1886, and you’ve just moved from the verdant countryside to the urban sprawl of the big city. Billowing smokestacks have replaced your morning view of the misty mountains, steel monoliths stand in for ancient deciduous trees and the screeching sound of trains on tracks silence bird song.

Though you’ve knowingly traded a life spent in the wilderness for the grandeur of the Gilded Age, you long for the sublimity only nature can provide. And, because you are a woman, you can only experience the wonders of the world through the stories and treasures brought back by male explorers, colonizers and trophy hunters.

In an attempt to satisfy society’s standards, you don a hat embellished with exotic feathers and strut down the streets of Manhattan.

The words of naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace echo in your mind: “All the beauty is in the feathers…I almost think a feather is the masterpiece of nature.”

How can you argue with Darwin’s contemporary—the co-founder of evolutionary theory? You flaunt your beauty and your fitness in the hope that a courting suitor will recognize your value.

Easter Parade, New York City, 1911. Courtesy Library of Congress.

Unbeknownst to you, Frank Chapman, an ornithologist with the American Museum of Natural History, is conducting a feathered hat census in New York City. You are among the 700 women he counts during a two-day observation period. Roughly 40 native bird species, including herons, owls and woodpeckers, were poached, plucked, disassembled and stuffed in the name of fashion.

Though eye-opening, Chapman’s study represented a mere fraction of the staggering death toll associated with the feather trade. In 1886, over 50 North American species were slaughtered for their feathers.

Entire populations of terns, herons, egrets and other shorebirds were decimated all along the Atlantic Coast. In its winter issue, Good Housekeeping reported: “At Cape Cod, 40,000 terns have been killed in one season by a single agent of the hat trade.”

By the end of the 19^th century, more than five million birds were killed annually to supply the booming American millinery industry.

In response to the plumage plundering, socialite Harriet Lawrence Hemenway and her cousin Minna B. Hall founded the Massachusetts Audubon Society in 1896. The organization’s lobbying resulted in the passage of the 1900 Lacey Act, which prohibited the importation of wildlife that had been harvested against local laws in its country of origin.

Unfortunately, nations that supported the trade continued trafficking exotic species into the United States. On its fateful maiden voyage, the Titanic was carrying more than 40 cases of feathers destined for New York milliners. The crates were insured for over $2.3 million in today’s dollars. In 1912, only diamonds were worth more pound for pound.

Puck magazine illustration, 1911. “The woman behind the gun.” Courtesy Library of Congress.

In 1918, Mass Audubon’s advocacy laid the groundwork for the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which made it unlawful to “pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, possess, sell, barter, purchase, or transport any migratory bird, [body] part, nest, or egg” in the U.S. and Britain.

The federal ruling was lifesaving for a plethora of species, but it could not undo the loss suffered by birds in the decades prior. For some species, like the Atlantic puffin, it was too late.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

Atlantic puffins once flourished on many nesting islands along the Gulf of Maine, but heavy exploitation of eggs, meat and feathers caused their populations to dwindle.

The hunting of terns further impacted puffin survival. Puffins often nest under the protective wing of terns, as they are notorious for fiercely fending off eagles, gulls and other predators from their young.

By the turn of the 20^th century, Atlantic puffins had disappeared entirely from the U.S.

For decades, it seemed as if puffins had been effaced from North America’s collective consciousness. That is, all except for one person named Stephen Kress.

In 1971, Kress was an ornithology graduate student at Cornell University and spent his summers as a wildlife instructor at Hog Island, a coastal field station in Bremen, Maine.

Kress was at the local library when he discovered Maine Birds, written by Smithsonian ornithologist Ralph Palmer. He was shocked to read that Atlantic puffins once bred on a windswept island known as Eastern Egg Rock a mere six miles south, but they had not returned to their natal site since their extirpation nearly a hundred years earlier.

Enraged and inspired, Kress set to work on Project Puffin—his ambitious goal to reestablish a breeding colony. He planned to translocate puffin chicks (called pufflings) from neighboring Canada to Maine, where they would be hand-reared until they were ready to paddle out to sea. A couple of years later, the Canadian Wildlife Service agreed to provide six pufflings from Newfoundland as a pilot project.

Stephen Kress holding a puffin on Eastern Egg Rock. © Wikimedia Commons

Because puffins float on the open ocean for most of the year and only return to land to breed, Kress had between April and August to make Egg Rock feel like home.

Armed with a crew of Audubon biologists, Kress constructed a series of artificial burrows out of sod and visited the 10-day-old fosters multiple times a day to hand-feed them forage fish. As the pufflings approached fledging age, they received a leg band so the scientists could follow their journey.

From 1973 to 1981, 954 Newfoundland puffin chicks were transplanted to Egg Rock; however, after fledging, none returned to raise offspring of their own.

Kress and his field team observed a few familiar puffins fly by the island. Still, they chose to nest at existing colonies on Matinicus Rock or on Machias Seal Island in Canadian waters instead.

Determined to make Egg Rock more inviting for puffins, Kress added mirrors and hand-painted wooden decoys to his arsenal, unwittingly inventing “social attraction” as a new wildlife management strategy. He rigged four-sided mirror boxes and set them amid the decoys to stimulate scuttlebutt.

The charade was working! Puffins flocked to the mirrors, preening their feathers, pecking at their reflection and cozying up to the glass to rest. But, just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished with the ebbing tides.

Gulls in pursuit of an Atlantic puffin carrying sand lance in its beak.

Kress and his team knew they would have to outsmart the island’s predators for the puffins to stay.

Gulls feed opportunistically on seabirds and their chicks, and without the nuisance of territorial terns to keep the gulls at bay, puffins are left defenseless. Using a combination of recorded tern calls and decoys, the team broadcasted that Egg Rock was suitable for colonization.

In 1980, terns began nesting on Egg Rock for the first time since 1936. Then, in 1981, the first puffling was reared by puffin parents on Egg Rock.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

The restoration experiment was so successful Project Puffin spread its wings to the Galapagos to make a refuge for the islands’ resident petrels. The team cordoned off rat-free areas and constructed artificial burrows. Within the first year, petrels began to nest and establish new colonies.

Today, 50 years after Project Puffin’s founding, scientists around the world are implementing Kress’ pioneering methods at more than 500 sites, targeting one-third of seabird species. Conservation efforts are supported by Audubon’s Seabird Institute, the proud purveyor of social attraction products, including 45 species of decoys.

Decoys of the endangered short-tailed albatross helping to establish healthy seabird colonies in Hawaii.

Eastern Egg Rock is now home to a stable colony of puffins and a healthy population of other seabirds, including roseate terns, black guillemots and razorbills. Recent records indicate there are 1,300 breeding pairs of puffins across five Maine islands.

“I hope that Project Puffin inspires people of all ages to learn that individuals can make a real difference for wildlife,” declared the now-retired Dr. Kress in an interview with Yale University Press.

The Seabird Institute continues research efforts on a network of seven islands in the Gulf of Maine. These colonies provide nesting habitat to 100% of Maine’s roseate terns, about 80% of its common terns, 65% of its Arctic terns and nearly half of its least terns.

“It’s not just a conservation story for us here in Maine, even though it’s a great one for locally,” says Don Lyons, director of conservation science at the Seabird Institute. “It’s really a worldwide conservation success story.”

Least tern parents feeding their chick.

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush

Globally, Atlantic puffins number in the millions, but their population is decreasing due to prey scarcity from climate change and overfishing. The species is also vulnerable to oil spills and other forms of marine pollution.

Iceland is home to more than half the planet’s Atlantic puffins, and the country’s Westman Islands harbor the largest colony in the world. In the southern half of the country, warming ocean waters have changed the availability of sand lance (commonly known as “sand eels”), causing almost complete breeding failure each year for more than a decade. Puffin territory has also shrunk due to the invasive American mink, which decimated nearly all the mainland colonies in the 1930s.

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For centuries, puffins have been harvested sustainably for human consumption in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, but trophy hunting operations are causing a sharp decline in numbers. Although the Atlantic puffin is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, they receive no protection in Iceland.

Photographed on Vigur Island in Iceland by Nat Hab Expedition Leader © Eddy Savage. Check out Eddy’s tips for getting the shot in his Good Nature Travel story.

“This is a time for bold stewardship and commitment by government and individuals in the precious commodities of species…We live in the age of human-caused extinction, and inaction will leave a progressively depleted planet for future generations.” —Dr. Stephen W. Kress

You can positively impact puffin populations by booking a trip with Natural Habitat Adventures and our travel partner World Wildlife Fund. Search for Atlantic puffins amid the glaciers of East Greenland and photograph Iceland’s colonies on a Photo Pro Expedition, or watch for the tufted and horned puffin species on an Alaska wildlife safari!

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You can also support WWF’s global efforts to protect wild animals and their habitats by making a symbolic species adoption.

Thanks for reading, my fine feathered friends!

The post The Peculiar Story of How the Puffin Returned to Maine first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.

Six Pygmy Wildlife Species and Where to Find Them

When it comes to wildlife, the term ‘pygmy’ refers to animals that are smaller in size than their more typical counterparts. In many cases, these reduced measurements also result in them being unbelievably cute. However, we’ve rounded up six pygmy species from around the globe that are here to tell you, they’re not all about good looks. For instance, when it comes to threats such as habitat loss, hunting, and poaching, they’re just as susceptible as the rest. Here’s an opportunity to learn more about these relatively ‘pint-sized’ creatures, where to find them, and why they need our help. 

And if some adorable wildlife images also happen to accompany the text? Well, that’s just icing on the cake…

Borneo Pygmy Elephant

The pygmy elephant is the smallest subspecies of Asian elephant, as well as one of the least-studied elephants in the world. These eye-catching animals are endemic to the Pacific island of Borneo, with only about 1,500 of them left in the wild. Most pygmy elephants live within the forests of Sabah, a Malaysian state occupying the island’s northern portion. 

In the early 2000s, WWF used DNA evidence to determine that the elephants inhabiting northeast Borneo are their own genetically distinct subspecies, naturally isolated from other elephants hundreds of thousands of years ago. 

Endowed with large ears, long tails, and round bellies, these pygmy elephants can grow up to 9.8 feet tall, and weigh 11,000 pounds—a size that’s about 20 to 30 percent less than their mainland cousins. Still, they remain Boreno’s largest land mammal and are known to be relatively tame and mild-tempered in comparison to other Asian elephants. 

© Kaisa Siren / WWF

Today, threats to their remaining numbers include habitat loss—with at least a third of Borneo’s forest lost to deforestation due to increasing palm oil plantations, pulp plantations, and illegal logging—human-elephant conflicts, poaching, and reduced genetic diversity. 

To help with the former, WWF launched Forests Forward, a corporate program that engages companies around the world, acting as a ‘one-stop-shop’ to help them reduce their forest footprint, and protect wildlife like Borneo pygmy elephants in the process. 

Pygmy Mouse Lemurs

Like all other lemur primates, the tiny pygmy mouse lemur is only found in Madagascar, an African island country off the continent’s southeastern coast. They live mostly within western Madagascar’s dry forests and are protected by two national parks: Tsingy de Bemaraha and Tsingy de Namoroka. 

With a head-and-body length of approximately 2.4 inches and a weight of less than two ounces, pygmy mouse lemurs are one of the smallest primates on the planet. These large-eyed solitary creatures forage the forest for fruit and insects at night and spend their days snoozing in tree holes or plain view. 

They’re listed as a ‘vulnerable’ species, and at one point were even thought to be extinct entirely, until someone spotted one in the country’s Kirindy Forest in 1993. 

Along with habitat loss, threats to this minuscule animal include their keeping as household pets. 

By joining WWF’s own Adopt a Mouse Lemur program, you not only support global conservation efforts, but you get an adorable plush primate to boot! 

Pygmy Hippos 

A creature that can weigh up to 600 pounds and be anywhere from three-to-six feet long doesn’t sound small, but in the world of hippopotamuses, pygmy hippos are actually quite minuscule. 

© Martin Harvey / WWF

This reclusive and nocturnal mammal resides in the forests and swamplands of West Africa, in places like the Cestos-Senkwehn rivershed forests of southeastern Liberia, and Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest National Park. They’re difficult to spot in the wild—spending much of their days cooling off in the waters of rivers and swamps, and feeding on fruits, ferns, and grasses on land under darkness—a fact that also makes them hard to study in their natural habitat. 

Shiny-skinned and pudgy-faced, they’re classified as endangered, with only about 2,000-2,500 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild. Their main threats include habitat loss and hunting. 

Pygmy Marmoset  

Residing in the rainforests of South America’s western Amazon Basin, including those in Peru and Brazil, pygmy marmosets are the tiniest monkeys on the planet. They weigh less than four ounces and measure approximately six inches (head-to-body length) max, and tend to live together in troops of 2 to 9 members, way up in the jungle canopy. 

Despite their pocket size, they have one enormous skill: the ability to leap over 30 times their body length while navigating the treetops. Their tales are longer than their bodies, and they’re extremely chatty, communicating with one another through a series of high-pitched sounds. 

Pygmy marmosets get much of their nutrients from tree gum and have furry features resembling those of a squirrel. Unlike most primates, they don’t have opposable thumbs. 

The IUCN lists pygmy marmosets’ conservation status as vulnerable, with their largest threats being habitat loss and people keeping them as pets. 

© J.J. Huckin / WWF-US

Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth

Just when you thought there couldn’t be anything cuter than a three-toed sloth, it turns out a pygmy version exists. The pygmy sloth makes its home in the red mangrove forests of Escudo de Veraguas, a small and isolated island off of Panama’s eastern coast. 

Both slow-moving and tree-dwelling like their larger brethren, pygmy sloths are also excellent swimmers, utilizing the local waters as a way to get around. They’re also about 40 percent smaller than the brown-throated three-fingered sloths living on the country’s mainland. 

With numbers estimated to be less than 100 (some calculations are as low as 48) just over a decade ago, the IUCN Red List has them listed as critically endangered, with threats including habitat loss and the presence of feral cats on the island. 

Pygmy Seahorse 

While so very little and hard to spot in the ocean because they’re so well camouflaged, pygmy seahorses are also exceedingly captivating. Google a ‘pygmy seahorse’ and chances are you’ll be pouring over pics of this miniature sea creature all day. 

Made up of several small-scale species that all measure less than an inch in length, pygmy seahorses make their home in the Coral Triangle, an area in the western Pacific Ocean that’s home to an incredibly rich diversity of marine life and coral. Here, they disguise themselves among seagrasses and gorgonians (sea fans), gliding along with their short snouts, long tails, and colorful tubercles (round nodules) looking for tiny crustaceans to eat. 

© Jürgen Freund / WWF

Out of a handful of pygmy seahorses listed on The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, four are classified as ‘data deficient,’ meaning there’s not enough known about their population sizes to assess a true conservation status. 

However, seahorses in general face threats from invasive species, climate change, and pollution, as well as their collection as curios and for aquariums and use in traditional medicines. To help fight some of these issues, WWF has partnered with communities, businesses, and governments worldwide to find ways to restore the health of our oceans, including the revival of critical coastal environments such as mangroves and coral reefs.

The post Six Pygmy Wildlife Species and Where to Find Them first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.

Olga Prinku Grafts Blooms and Branches Into Expansive Embroideries

All images © Olga Prinku, shared with permission

Using a vibrant array of real flowers and foliage, North Yorkshire-based artist Olga Prinku (previously) designs intricate embroideries that explode with natural colors and textures. The artist embraces experimentation at a large scale, challenging the traditionally more intimate surfaces of embroidery.

In addition to blooms and leaves, Prinku has recently focused on branches in a new series called Graft. Using primarily silver birch, she describes the works as “a reference to the horticultural process of transferring twigs from one setting to another but also a nod to the slang meaning of ‘hard work’—it takes a lot of time and patience!”

Prinku’s embroideries are currently on view in a group exhibition at Contemporary Applied Arts in London through November 18, and a piece selected for the SCAF Emerging Artist Award is on view until January at Lawrence Batley Theatre Gallery. She is currently working toward a major exhibition for Hidcote in the Cotswolds next year. Find more on her website, and follow her on Instagram for updates.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Olga Prinku Grafts Blooms and Branches Into Expansive Embroideries appeared first on Colossal.

The Endangered Species Act’s 50th Birthday: Doing Even More

In 1975, grizzly bears were listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened—or “likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.” Today, grizzlies are recovering in many parts of their range, with nearly 2,000 at last count.

On December 28, 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law. We’ll soon be celebrating the 50th anniversary of this landmark conservation legislation, which has saved hundreds of animals that once wavered on the brink of extinction. Today, without ESA protections, we might not have alligators patrolling our saw-grass marshes or bald eagles soaring in our skies or gray whales spouting off our coasts or grizzly bears lumbering through our Western mountains.

The ESA protects animals and plants at risk of going extinct, in part by mandating the creation of a list of endangered and threatened species. Species are considered for listing when federal scientists determine that ESA protection is needed or when the government receives a petition from an individual or organization requesting that a certain animal or plant be added. If scientists determine listing is warranted and the government adds the species to the list, then either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or, for most marine species, the National Marine Fisheries Service (also known as the NOAA Fisheries) must create a plan for aiding its recovery.

Now it’s hoped that another statute, the proposed Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, will augment the ESA in protecting species. And, today, we have more knowledge and tools than ever before to help us do so. For example, cutting-edge technology to more effectively locate polar bear dens across the Arctic is showing promising results. Finding dens—which are buried under snow and nearly invisible—will help efforts to protect mother polar bears and their cubs. And while animal welfare is rarely considered during national, regional and local policymaking, scientists have now identified methods for remedying this issue.

Reintroducing gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park sent beneficial ripples across the 22-million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Once the wolves rebounded, so did beavers, cutthroat trout and riparian vegetation.

ESA successes: gray wolves and bald eagles

One of the most celebrated ESA success stories is the reintroduction of gray wolves to the Northern Rockies, particularly Yellowstone National Park, where they had been missing since 1926. After the species was listed as endangered in 1974, the FWS, the National Park Service and state wildlife agencies partnered to relocate 41 wolves from wild populations in Canada and northwestern Montana into the park in the 1990s. By 2008, FWS biologists estimated that 1,639 wolves roamed through Idaho, Montana and Wyoming—five times higher than the minimum population goal in the species’ recovery plan.

The benefits from returning the wolves multiplied; reintroducing the keystone predator sent waves of positive effects rippling across the 22-million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The gray wolf’s absence, for example, had allowed Yellowstone’s elk to munch freely on aspens, cottonwoods and willows without fear of predation. This caused harm to beavers, which rely on riparian trees for food and shelter. In fact, just one colony of beavers remained in the park in 1995. Once wolves reappeared, however, they kept the elk on the move, riparian vegetation rebounded and habitats improved for beavers, cutthroat trout and other species.

Reintroducing gray wolves also produced more food for a wide array of animals that scavenge the predators’ kills. According to a 2003 study in the Journal of Animal Ecology, Yellowstone’s wolves consume only 40 to 80 percent of their elk kills, leaving plenty of leftovers to sustain other wildlife, from bald eagles, golden eagles, magpies and ravens to black bears, coyotes, grizzly bears and at least 57 species of beetles.

Victims of DDT, deliberate killing and habitat loss, bald eagles were down to just 417 breeding pairs in the Lower 48 by the 1960s. Protections inspired by the ESA allowed eagle numbers to increase; and in 2007, the birds were removed from the list of threatened and endangered species.

The story of bald eagles, too, has an ESA happy ending. An emblem of courage, freedom and strength, our country’s national symbol was once nearly extinct in the Lower 48. In 1776, when the country was founded, about a half-million bald eagles soared above what’s now the continental United States. But beginning in the late-1800s, the population steadily declined as eagles fell victim to deliberate killing, habitat loss and, starting in the 1940s, the widespread use of DDT—a synthetic pesticide that washed off the land into waterways and contaminated the fish that eagles eat. By 1963, only 417 breeding pairs remained in the country outside of Alaska.

Today, however, nearly 316,700 eagles once again glide across our nation’s skies—thanks in large part to the Endangered Species Act, which catalyzed a number of eagle conservation measures, including a ban on DDT, captive breeding and reintroduction programs, and protections for critical habitats.

ESA hurdles: black-footed ferrets and mountain caribou

Despite the ESA’s success at preventing extinctions, however, relatively few listed species have ever been declared sufficiently recovered to be removed from the list. Since the act was passed a half-century ago, just 54 species have been taken off, according to a 2022 study published in the science journal PLOS ONE.

Until a small group was found in 1981, black-footed ferrets were thought to be extinct. Today, thanks to captive breeding and reintroductions, a few wild populations remain. ©USFWS Mountain Prairie, Wikimedia Commons

An illustrative case is the story of the endangered black-footed ferret. Decimated by habitat loss and landowners killing off their prairie dog prey, these little carnivores were thought to be extinct until a small population was discovered in Wyoming in 1981. A few years later, that group formed the core of a captive-breeding colony; and since 1991, thousands of ferrets have been reintroduced to 33 sites in eight Western states, Canada and Mexico. But while the animals’ numbers peaked at about 700 in 2008, the FWS estimates there are only a few hundred now.

Newer threats include inbreeding and non-native sylvatic plague. To fight the disease and the fleas that spread it, biologists are experimenting with insecticides and vaccines. To increase the ferrets’ genetic diversity from inbreeding, in 2020 the FWS cloned a female ferret from another female that had never given birth (and therefore never passed on her genes), but the cloned female also was unable to reproduce. Biologists now say that ferrets might not ever fully recover. Without the ESA, however, the animal would already be extinct.

Scientists have examined several possible causes of low species recovery rates. Focusing on 970 species listed between 1992 and 2020, they concluded that, unfortunately, most species are not receiving protection until they have reached dangerously low population sizes. A case in point is mountain caribou in the Lower 48. Once roaming northern Idaho, northwestern Montana and northeastern Washington, the continent’s southernmost herds had dwindled to fewer than 50 individuals by 1983 when the population was listed as endangered.

In 2019, two mountain caribou subpopulations in the Lower 48, the South Purcell and the South Selkirk, were designated as extinct. Emergency measures came too late to save them. ©Watts, flickr

Three decades later, Canadian wildlife officials captured the last four caribou from the herds and moved them to join larger groups in British Columbia. Members of the Kalispel tribe in Washington say they hope to eventually relocate the caribou—which are an important part of the tribe’s traditional culture, diet and spirituality—back to this country.

Another hurdle for the ESA is inadequate funding. For its endangered species work, the FWS receives $70 to $80 million in federal funding a year—compared to the $766 billion the government spent on national defense in fiscal year 2022. Sadly, like the black-footed ferret, many listed species, from California condors to right whales, will remain conservation reliant; they will always need our care to survive. And even when recovery is possible, it’s expensive and takes a long time. Funding for the ESA is not commensurate with what is needed.

Not surprisingly, limited federal funding often prioritizes charismatic animals, such as bald eagles. Cash-strapped state wildlife agencies, meanwhile, focus much of their funds on game species that bring in fishing or hunting license revenue that can be used for those particular species’ conservation or for those on state endangered lists. That leaves hundreds of endangered species—from insects to wildflowers—with little to no funding, making them more vulnerable to extinction.

Although not on the list of endangered and threatened species, monarch butterflies are battered by climate change, habitat loss and pesticides. Luckily, conservation organizations and the public have stepped in to help these charismatic insects survive. ©Fernando Romo

ESA helpers: Recovering America’s Wildlife Act and science

One way to protect a broader array of species and increase funding for all at-risk animals and plants would be to pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA). Introduced in the U.S. Senate in March 2023, the bipartisan bill would provide $1.3 billion a year to state wildlife agencies to fund wildlife conservation efforts. That funding would cover costs for 75 percent of activities outlined in state wildlife action plans, benefiting more than 12,000 species of concern. Many of those species also are on the states’ own lists of endangered species or protected under the ESA.

In addition, the law would provide $97.5 million annually to Native American tribes, which historically have been left out of reliable sources of funding for wildlife conservation. Passing the act would be a step toward co-stewardship and ensure that tribes have footing to meaningfully engage in and implement conservation decisions that impact their fish and wildlife relatives.

The RAWA would also do more to help at-risk species before they need ESA protection. Monarch butterflies are a good example of how the law’s proactive conservation could work. Battered by climate change, habitat loss and pesticides, these much-beloved insects have declined by 90 percent east of the Rocky Mountains and by 99 percent in the West since the mid-1990s. Although an FWS assessment in 2020 concluded that federal listing was warranted, further action was put on hold while the service focused on “higher-priority listing actions.”

Thousands of students and state transportation departments have planted native milkweed in gardens and along interstate highways to help with monarch butterfly conservation.

But when knowledge of the monarchs’ plight became public and widely known, dozens of states and nonprofits engaged in vital monarch conservation efforts. From Minnesota south to Texas along the U.S. portion of the monarch’s central flyway between Canada and Mexico, state transportation departments worked to promote pollinator habitat in the rights-of-way along interstates. More than 1,000 U.S. mayors have taken the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, committing to foster pollinator habitat in their cities. Locally, many organizations have helped participants create pollinator-friendly, outdoor green spaces at businesses, homes and schools. Collectively, these and other efforts have helped create, protect and restore millions of acres of habitat for the iconic insects.

Supporting scientific research, too, can be a powerful tool in conservation. For example, researchers are now testing new technology that will more effectively locate polar bear dens across the Arctic, and they’re getting promising results. Researchers from British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University and Brigham Young University in Utah hope that improving tools to detect dens will help in efforts to protect mother polar bears and their cubs.

Denning is the most vulnerable time for polar bears. Cubs are born blind with only a light layer of fur to protect them from the cold. Totally dependent on their mothers, cubs live in winter dens under the snow. They are only able to emerge from the den in spring when they have grown enough to withstand harsh Arctic conditions. With increased industrial activity in the region, there is a need for more accurate tools that can detect polar bear dens to avoid disturbing them during this critical time. A mother bear’s inability to successfully raise cubs contributed to the 40% decline of the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation between 2000 and 2010.

A critical part of polar bear conservation is keeping mothers and cubs safe while also addressing other threats, such as climate change. ©Mike Hillman

Using ARTEMIS Inc., an imaging system that relies on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a recent pilot study was conducted in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The system can “see” the top snow surface, the den roof surface and inside the den cavity. The research team conducting the study found that SAR raised den detection to 66%, compared with the industry’s current 45% accuracy rate using the aerial Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system as a den-detection tool.

A third tactic we can use to help the ESA have more success would be to incorporate animal welfare into policymaking. An article, published in the journal Science in July 2023 and written by researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey, notes that animal welfare is rarely considered during policymaking and the need for doing so.

There are several areas where animal welfare matters, such as when governments aim to improve farm productivity while reducing land use and greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, some of the most straightforward ways of doing this have negative implications for animal welfare. Policymakers should ask “When, if ever, is it better to increase environmental sustainability if it reduces the well-being of animals?”

Animal welfare should be considered when making policies, such as when governments attempt to improve farm productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and land use.

According to the scientists, there are well-developed tools for incorporating human welfare into policy analysis, but comparable tools for incorporating animal welfare are in their earliest stages of development. They suggest conducting interdisciplinary research to develop and refine methods for quantifying interspecies welfare, utilizing measurable correlations between animals and humans, and ensuring animal welfare is included in policy debates.

The bottom line is that it’s a mistake to ignore the effect of our public policies on domestic and wild animals. Our decisions affect other species, and in turn other species affect us, whether it’s through diseases that can be transmitted back and forth, through the productivity of our food supply or through many other interconnections.

ESA hitches: varied species and healthy ecosystems

According to a 2019 study published in the science journal PeerJ, the ESA has prevented the extinction of approximately 291 species since its inception. Species whose extinctions were averted range from large, well-known animals such as the California condor and Hawaiian monk seal to a host of lesser-known species, such as the diminutive Oregon chub, a minnow.

Since it was enacted, the ESA has prevented the extinction of nearly 291 species, including the Hawaiian monk seal, which has been listed as endangered since 1976. ©MarkSullivan, Wikimedia Commons

That’s a pretty good track record, but it’s not enough. The pending RAWA, the most significant federal investment in wildlife conservation since the ESA was signed 50 years ago, would bring together the energy and expertise of states, territories and tribes and provide them with the resources they need to assist the ESA in keeping species from becoming endangered and going extinct.

Because endangerment isn’t good. When an area’s species start to become endangered, it’s a sign that the ecosystem they live in is slowly falling apart. Each species that is lost triggers the loss of other species. As conservationist and naturalist John Muir once wrote, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”

We humans depend on healthy ecosystems to live. That means that when we strengthen and protect the Endangered Species Act, we also strengthen and protect ourselves.

Here’s to finding your true places and natural habitats—and the next 50 years of the ESA,

Candy

The post The Endangered Species Act’s 50th Birthday: Doing Even More first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.