tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/animal-conservation-42326/articlesAnimal conservation – The Conversation2024-02-08T16:54:26Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2200252024-02-08T16:54:26Z2024-02-08T16:54:26ZAI in the developing world: how ‘tiny machine learning’ can have a big impact<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574354/original/file-20240208-22-lty35i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C2000%2C1353&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A team in Argentina is using sensors based on TinyML technology to study _Chelonoidis chilensis_ tortoises. Little is known about its biology and the species is in a vulnerable state. The small sensors, in black on the shell, are small enough to allow the animal to move freely. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) applications has traditionally been dominated by the use of resource-intensive servers centralised in industrialised nations. However, recent years have witnessed the emergence of small, energy-efficient devices for AI applications, a concept known as <a href="https://www.datacamp.com/blog/what-is-tinyml-tiny-machine-learning">tiny machine learning</a> (TinyML).</p>
<p>We’re most familiar with consumer-facing applications such as <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.07128">Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant</a>, but the limited cost and small size of such devices allow them to be deployed in the field. For example, the technology has been used to <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3582515.3609514">detect mosquito wingbeats and so help prevent the spread of malaria</a>. It’s also been part of the <a href="https://www.smartparks.org/opencollar-io/">development of low-power animal collars to support conservation efforts</a>.</p>
<h2>Small size, big impact</h2>
<p>Distinguished by their small size and low cost, TinyML devices operate within constraints reminiscent of the dawn of the personal-computer era – memory is measured in kilobytes and hardware can be had for as little as US$1. This is possible because TinyML doesn’t require a laptop computer or even a mobile phone. Instead, it can instead run on simple microcontrollers that power standard electronic components worldwide. In fact, given that there are already <a href="https://venturebeat.com/ai/why-tinyml-is-a-giant-opportunity/">250 billion microcontrollers deployed globally</a>, devices that support TinyML are already available at scale.</p>
<p>A number of development packages for TinyML applications are available. Two popular options are <a href="https://store-usa.arduino.cc/products/arduino-tiny-machine-learning-kit">Arduino</a> and <a href="https://www.seeedstudio.com/XIAO-ESP32S3-Sense-p-5639.html">Seeed Studio</a>, both of which come with additional sensors for audio, vision, and motion-based applications.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573124/original/file-20240202-23-rgy9pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C48%2C4031%2C2764&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573124/original/file-20240202-23-rgy9pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C48%2C4031%2C2764&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573124/original/file-20240202-23-rgy9pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573124/original/file-20240202-23-rgy9pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573124/original/file-20240202-23-rgy9pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573124/original/file-20240202-23-rgy9pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573124/original/file-20240202-23-rgy9pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573124/original/file-20240202-23-rgy9pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">TinyML workshop at Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia, 2023. Participants working on the ‘smile’ or ‘serious’ face-detection application.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marco Zennaro</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How does it work?</h2>
<p>Like classical machine learning, TinyML involves data collection – often from Internet of Things (IoT) devices – and cloud-based training. Let’s consider an outdoor object-detection application – for example, counting the number of cars on a street to see how heavy the traffic there is. In the classical ML process, images have to be gathered using a webcam and sent to a cloud server where the training takes place. Once the trained model provides an acceptable level of accuracy, the system is ready to detect cars from a new video feed. The ML model runs on the cloud, so an Internet connection is necessary.</p>
<p>In the TinyML system, however, the model is deployed on the device itself and is ready to detect objects with no need for connectivity. The first part of the process (gathering data and training the model on the cloud) follows the classical ML model but the inference phase (detecting objects) runs on the device itself. This is how TinyML diverges from traditional server-based architectures: it deploys pre-trained compact models optimised for limited resources onto embedded devices, enabling real-time, low-power data analysis and decision-making, all independent of cloud connectivity.</p>
<p>TinyML offers several advantages over traditional centralised server-based models:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Affordability: the technology’s low cost makes these devices accessible to a wide range of users including educational institutions and students in the developing world.</p></li>
<li><p>Sustainability: the modest energy consumption produces a <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3608473">low carbon footprint</a>, reducing impact on the environment.</p></li>
<li><p>Flexibility and scalability: it enables the development of applications that address the needs of local communities rather than global agendas.</p></li>
<li><p>Internet independent: Because everything is embedded, TinyML devices can operate without online connectivity. This is particularly beneficial for the third of the world that still does not have Internet access.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>TinyML applications already power <a href="https://cms.tinyml.org/wp-content/uploads/summit2021/tinyMLSummit2021d3_tinyTalks_Gandhi.pdf">personalised sensors for athletics and provide localisation where GPS isn’t available</a>. They’re also employed by startups such as <a href="https://usefulsensors.com/">Useful Sensors</a>, which offers privacy-conserving conversational agents, QR code scanners, and person-detection hardware. Only through the use of TinyML could these smart devices run on the low-cost, low-power microcontrollers.</p>
<h2>Developing in the Global South</h2>
<p>To help the use of TinyML grow in regions where a centralised machine-learning model would face significant challenges, we built <a href="https://tinymledu.org/4d">TinyML4D</a>, a network of academic institutions in developing countries. It already includes more than 40 countries spanning the Global South from Columbia to Ethiopia to Malaysia.</p>
<p>With support from UNESCO’s International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and from Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science, the network was launched in 2021. Its aim is to develop a community of educators, researchers and practitioners focused on both improving access to TinyML education, and developing innovative solutions to address the unique challenges faced by developing countries.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573122/original/file-20240202-19-rq3yjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573122/original/file-20240202-19-rq3yjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573122/original/file-20240202-19-rq3yjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=216&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573122/original/file-20240202-19-rq3yjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=216&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573122/original/file-20240202-19-rq3yjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=216&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573122/original/file-20240202-19-rq3yjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573122/original/file-20240202-19-rq3yjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573122/original/file-20240202-19-rq3yjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of the TinyML Academic Network. More than 50 universities are part of the network as of February 2024.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marcelo Rovai</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To make all this possible, we needed to develop ways to share educational resources globally. Initial efforts included distributing TinyML hardware kits to selected universities with budgetary challenges. We also organised global and regional (Africa, Latin America, and Asia) workshops and training sessions. Using a mixture of in-person, online and hybrid methods, we’ve reached more 1,000 participants in over than 50 countries. The combination of no-cost or low-cost hardware resources, combined with open-source course materials and workshops has enabled TinyML to be taught by many of our network members in their home countries.</p>
<p>Beyond our workshops and training activities, we have launched a series of regional collaborations, outreach activities and virtual “show and tell” events to share best practices and augment our network’s impact among practitioners. Throughout, there has been a strong focus on addressing the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs).</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573125/original/file-20240202-27-wcu4vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573125/original/file-20240202-27-wcu4vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573125/original/file-20240202-27-wcu4vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573125/original/file-20240202-27-wcu4vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573125/original/file-20240202-27-wcu4vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573125/original/file-20240202-27-wcu4vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573125/original/file-20240202-27-wcu4vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573125/original/file-20240202-27-wcu4vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Workshop at Kobe Institute of Computing, Japan, in 2023. Participants are working on ‘keyword spotting’ applications, developing their personal Alexa/Google Home on a $10 device. The system can be trained to recognise local dialects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marco Zennaro</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These collaborations have led to multiple peer-reviewed papers on TinyML applications. In addition to the solution to <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3524458.3547258">detect mosquito species</a>, which could lead to more efficient malaria-control campaigns, others include the <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3586991">responsible use of intelligent sensors</a> and low-cost solutions to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkZEFzBfiJI">monitoring atrial fibrillation and sinus rhythm</a>. They’re also used by Cornell University’s <a href="https://www.elephantlisteningproject.org/about-elp/">“Elephant Listening Project”</a> as well <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/2105.11493.pdf">monitoring water quality in aquaculture to help make it more sustainable</a>, a project supported by EU’s <a href="https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-2020_en">Horizon 2020</a> programme.</p>
<h2>Looking forward</h2>
<p>TinyML represents a transformative approach to artificial intelligence and is especially pertinent to developing countries. It offers a sustainable path toward democratising AI technology, fostering local innovation, and addressing regional challenges.</p>
<p>The growth of TinyML devices and applications is not without potential challenges and risks, however. The number of applications and devices is expected to rise from the millions shipped today to <a href="https://www.abiresearch.com/press/tinyml-device-shipments-grow-25-billion-2030-15-million-2020/">2.5 billion devices in 2030</a>, and that could lead to increased electronic waste due to the low-cost nature of devices. There’s also the risk of embedded biases in critical ML models – because they operate standalone, there’s no option for updates. Finally, there are privacy concerns due to the discrete integration of devices in the environment. As the field evolves, it will be crucial to navigate these issues responsibly, and so help ensure that TinyML remains a tool for positive change and sustainable development.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>UNESCO’s duty remains to reaffirm the humanist missions of education, science and culture. Mobilise education to transform lives; Reconcile with the living; Promote inclusion and mutual understanding; Foster science and technology at the service of humanity are UNESCO’s key strategic objectives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220025/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Traditionally dominated by the use of centralised, resource-intensive servers, machine learning is being democratised with the growth of “TinyML”, distinguished by its small size and low cost.Marco Zennaro, Coordinator, Science, Technology and Innovation Unit, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)Brian Plancher, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Barnard CollegeMatthew Stewart, Postdoctoral Researcher, Harvard UniversityVijay Janapa Reddi, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1802952022-04-01T13:02:18Z2022-04-01T13:02:18ZElite performance horses: why they’re supreme athletes – and how to train them ethically<p>It’s hard to ignore the power and beauty of a horse when it runs at full throttle or jumps over a massive hurdle.</p>
<p>This much loved and gentle animal is a spectacular athlete, capable of running world record speeds of almost <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/fastest-speed-for-a-race-horse">44 miles per hour</a> and gravity-defying leaps as high as <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/highest-jump-by-a-horse">2.47 metres</a>.
They have impressive stamina too - some breeds, such as Arabians, are able to cover up to 100 miles in a single day during endurance competitions. </p>
<p>These are astounding feats, made all the more amazing when you consider that they weigh from 400-800kg.</p>
<p>Compared to other similarly sized mammals, horses have a superior ability to use oxygen – their aerobic capacity is around two and half times <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1989.67.2.862?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org">that of cattle</a>, and this is a large part of what gives equines their athletic edge. </p>
<p>It is attributed to many aspects of their biology, including their large <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1989.67.2.871?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org">lungs</a> and a notably higher number of red blood cells to maximise the transport of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780702028571500032">oxygen around the body</a>. </p>
<p>Studies have also found a link between their heart size and <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.01319.2004">performance in races with jumps</a> – with one of the world’s most famous and successful racehorses, Secretariat, reported to have a heart weighing a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cphy.c091001">whopping ten kilograms</a>.</p>
<h2>Supreme speed and agility</h2>
<p>Horses became an evolutionarily distinct species from “early-equids” – who inhabited forests eating fruit and foliage – around four million years ago, when they moved out onto the open plains of North America, where there was abundant grass to eat. They became grazing specialists, but with this change also came fast moving predators and nowhere to hide. That’s why they evolved such incredible adaptations <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/394242">for speed and agility</a>. </p>
<p>Humans first started to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04018-9">harness this natural ability</a> around 3,500 BC in Ukraine - and there can be no doubt that selective breeding has further influenced equine athleticism. We’ve made domestic horses larger and lighter with genetic adaptations for speed in comparison to their wild ancestors. </p>
<p>For example, today’s thoroughbred racehorses have been bred to have a high prevalence of a “speed gene” known as myostatin, which has been <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0205664">directly linked</a> to their impressive ability to sprint. The gene promotes muscle growth, which explains why short distance racehorses are often <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2052.2010.02126.x">more muscular in their appearance</a> than horses that race over longer distances. </p>
<p>And of course, horses are not just supreme racers. They are also able to jump over obstacles up to twice their own height.</p>
<p>To help them achieve these jumping feats, their four limbs are each home to a network of tendons and ligaments that act together <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978070202857150007X">as a spring</a>. One particular tendon in the equine limb, known for its key role in their athletic endeavours, has exceptional elasticity and strength. This allows it to withstand extreme forces, such as those experienced during a high speed gallop and the takeoff for high fences – and it also acts as a powerful recoil on landing from those great heights. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Race horse with jockey on the home straight" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455676/original/file-20220331-21-of54gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455676/original/file-20220331-21-of54gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455676/original/file-20220331-21-of54gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455676/original/file-20220331-21-of54gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455676/original/file-20220331-21-of54gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455676/original/file-20220331-21-of54gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455676/original/file-20220331-21-of54gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Numerous biological adaptations led to the superior athleticism of racehorses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/race-horse-jockey-on-home-straight-1399280573">Lukas Godja/shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like human athletes, horses can be <a href="https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2001.tb05349.x">exposed to injury</a> during equine sport - so the question of whether it is ethical to involve them remains. Thankfully, research in this field has expanded hugely over the past ten years, with studies in a variety of equine sports, including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167587713002912?casa_token=sWjvyAzXEtMAAAAA:Zru8i1ISmACm7V3gqUwLwcokddQTPymghX60tNLmZeC0B738S1HhwKvPYrCp9Na9was5rVoDsjg">showjumping</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090023318307603?casa_token=2KjXgW0MPBsAAAAA:Ioiep0-CR_5QRoG5KrXdybPyZgj5R_XWsRGNyED7YmGelPO0xD72jbsjcfFF_DRRJ2-iKJBxCXI">and racing</a>, working towards ways of reducing the risk of injury (and even worse) for the horses, such as new training strategies and use of safer track or jumping surfaces.</p>
<h2>Inside the horse mind</h2>
<p>Horses are sentient beings, with <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-0-306-48215-1?noAccess=true">psychological and behavioural</a> needs.</p>
<p>They like to be free to move and interact with other horses as part of a complex social group, and to have nearly constant access to grass or hay to eat. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-its-so-hard-to-unravel-the-mysterious-origins-of-domestic-horses-92204">Why it's so hard to unravel the mysterious origins of domestic horses</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>And they are highly sensitive animals too, able to <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0907">interpret our emotional responses</a> and learn about a person from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-020-01369-0">watching them interact with another horse</a>. These equine emotional skills may be part of how we are able to achieve sporting greatness together – but it also emphasises the need to take care of their psychological wellbeing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="White and grey horse snuggling up to a young girl" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455672/original/file-20220331-25-zcm71j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455672/original/file-20220331-25-zcm71j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455672/original/file-20220331-25-zcm71j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455672/original/file-20220331-25-zcm71j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455672/original/file-20220331-25-zcm71j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455672/original/file-20220331-25-zcm71j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455672/original/file-20220331-25-zcm71j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Horses can form very close bonds with humans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/winter-walk-on-horses-1009191520">Ruslan 1980/shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Competing can impact on the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080615300721?casa_token=yazwPbZMy34AAAAA:KT7oS--whJPfwH6AhBfub8fbBEAkebSfGVUaieO6sGI4QYssKl-_-xOoBcVTf3UUE65x2DykyX6P">horse’s level of stress</a>. It can make them excited, or anxious, depending on their temperament – but if they’re <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787810000766?casa_token=Vj4z2v0wBxcAAAAA:gDyu5B2v-QX1s4sbaUKAtIh1lS1hA6jmWlw9iukpmC3gFqCVpX3F3Q84WrZ2Or-WwB6uh857q-e3">trained humanely</a>, and carefully conditioned to their workload and the competitive environment, then their working lives can be enriching for them.</p>
<p>It is of course unlikely that the horses themselves have any concept of competing or winning. That requires <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/419255a">self-awareness</a> and ego – two things that are highly tuned in humans, but unlikely to be present in horses as their brains have not evolved to develop the higher functions that create this awareness. </p>
<p>Racehorses run fast because they’ve been primed by evolution to run if everyone else runs; any ancestor who didn’t show that automatic flight response didn’t last long on the open grass plains. And showjumping horses float over enormous fences because they’ve been trained to do so. But as long as the training was humane, then they might well have learnt to find it rewarding.</p>
<p>In truth, we’ll never know for sure why horses are willing to work so closely with humans. There is nothing natural about carrying us on their backs and travelling the world from competition to competition – and yet they do. What is clear is that they are a remarkably cooperative and gentle species, so we owe it to them to ensure the future of equine sports is ethical and sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Heather Cameron-Whytock has worked on projects funded by the Fédération Equestre Internationale and on projects where the study data was provided by the Fédération Equestre Internationale or British Eventing. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carrie Ijichi has received funding from The Horse Trust. </span></em></p>Horses are the supreme athletes of the large mammal world – here’s a look at the reasons why they can run so fast and jump so high.Heather Cameron-Whytock, Senior Lecturer in Equine Sports Science, Nottingham Trent UniversityCarrie Ijichi, Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour & Welfare, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1795412022-03-25T13:48:16Z2022-03-25T13:48:16ZWe’ve discovered why some whales stop feeding in response to the sound of sonar<p>In September 2002, a number of beaked whales were stranded and killed in the Canary Islands during a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/28/animalwelfare.nato">NATO naval exercise</a>. It was the first time we started to get a real understanding of the negative <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228346496_Beaked_Whale_Strandings_and_Naval_Exercises">effects of sonar sounds</a> on cetaceans, which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises.</p>
<p>But why did the noise of sonar seem to affect beaked whales in particular, rather than other species of cetacean?</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2114932119">new research</a>, we’ve discovered that the response of each species to predators could explain why some whales and dolphins are more sensitive to this human-made noise.</p>
<p>It was back in the early 2000s that we (along with other researchers around the world) began to study the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v31/p293-315/">impact of sonar</a> on free-ranging whales. These new “behavioural responses studies” exposed different cetacean species to gradually increasing levels of sonar – with careful monitoring to keep the animals from harm. We were then able to identify the level of sonar noise at which behavioural changes began to occur. </p>
<p>From that early research we knew that feeding is commonly affected when marine mammals are disturbed by sonar, and some species are markedly more sensitive to this exposure than others. For example, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0223">Cuvier’s beaked whales</a> showed dramatically more severe changes in their feeding habits (swimming rapidly and silently away while extending their length of dive and non-feeding period) than <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2013.0657">blue whales</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-marine-protected-areas-helping-marine-mammals-and-birds-maybe-but-more-can-be-done-173045">Are marine protected areas helping marine mammals and birds? Maybe, but more can be done</a>
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<p>But until now the reasons for this differing response between species <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.12955">were unclear</a>. So, we decided to investigate whether they were responding to human-made sound in <a href="https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol6/iss1/art11/">a similar way</a> to their response to predators, as some theories suggested. </p>
<h2>Exposing whales to sound</h2>
<p>Most cetaceans are themselves the prey of another cetacean, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2907.1991.tb00291.x">killer whale</a>. Some species, including beluga and beaked whales, have few defence mechanisms. But others are safer due to their large body size, like sperm whales, or large social groups, such as pilot whales.</p>
<p>This means that different species respond differently to the presence of killer whales. We set out to discover whether four cetacean species respond to navy sonar in the same way they respond to the sounds of predatory killer whales – and whether differences across the species related to their natural level of risk from these fearsome predators.</p>
<p>By tagging the animals with <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1190131">suction-cupped recording devices</a> – which capture the timing of both sound and movement – we were able to monitor the feeding and movement of 43 tagged whales off the coast of Norway: three toothed whale species (northern bottlenose, sperm and long-finned pilot) and one baleen whale species (humpback). </p>
<p>We measured their reduction in feeding time when exposed to naval sonar – varying from one to four kilohertz – and compared it to their response to recordings of predatory killer whale sounds. </p>
<h2>Links to predator threat</h2>
<p>We found that both naval sonar and the predator sounds caused a clear reduction in feeding time across the four whale species. By contrast feeding activity was unaffected when we exposed them to the sounds of sea vessels without sonar or other control sounds.</p>
<p>Strikingly, each species responded similarly to sonar and predatory sounds: northern bottlenose whales had the strongest response and ceased foraging for food entirely (100% loss of feeding time), followed by humpback whales and long-finned pilot whales (both approximately 75%). Sperm whales had the lowest response, reducing time spent feeding by approximately 50% to both sounds.</p>
<p>It’s clear that the different hearing sensitivity of each species is not sufficient to explain the observed difference – that’s because the humpback whales, which have the best hearing in the frequency band of the sonar, were not the most sensitive. </p>
<p>Instead our findings indicate that risk from killer whales plays a role in driving the responses, and that adaptations to their predators can explain cetacean sensitivity to human-made noise.</p>
<p>The northern bottlenose whales, who rely on crypsis (staying hidden) and flight to reduce their risk of death by killer whale, were very cautious and gave up feeding when detecting sounds of potential threats – but the species that are less vulnerable to predation were also less responsive to sounds of killer whales and sonar.</p>
<h2>Implications for Arctic whales</h2>
<p>Our findings can help to predict which cetaceans are likely to have extreme responses to human generated ocean noise – and help us to set appropriate conservation priorities.</p>
<p>The findings are particularly relevant to cetacean species in the Arctic as they are at highest risk of predation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/killer-whales-taking-food-from-fishing-lines-reveal-something-intriguing-about-human-evolution-176050">Killer whales taking food from fishing lines reveal something intriguing about human evolution</a>
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<p>For example, Narwhal behaviour and distribution is influenced by <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1611707114">Arctic killer whales</a> and, as we would expect, they are sensitive to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.658173/full?fbclid=IwAR1UYzZw4AP7vOgzcqzQ3kpLaAuF83pCGbphddeV8rRzmeprMPlYOPtDNjU">human-made sounds</a> such as airgun pulses and ship noise.</p>
<p>As sea ice rapidly decreases, Arctic cetaceans face a double whammy of impacts – increasing levels of predation from more killer whale movements into ice-free zones, as well as increasing levels of noise from human activities, such as seismic exploration, military and shipping. </p>
<p>As well as the risk of immediate injury or death, it will be important to consider the effects of human disturbance on their feeding and other behaviours.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179541/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I was a member of the team that received funding from various navy sponsors to study the effects of sonar on cetaceans.
The research was carried out independently from sponsor influence, and our publication policy states: "...under no circumstances can sponsors claim the right to influence the scientific analysis, interpretation and publication of original data in a binding way." The polluter therefore appropriately paid for this research, but had no influence on the conduct or publication of the research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>As with Patrick Miller.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>As with Patrick Miller</span></em></p>Whale species at higher risk of predation from killer whales are more adversely affected by the sound of sonar.Patrick Miller, Professor of Biology, University of St AndrewsCharlotte Cure, Researcher in Bioacoustics, UMRAE, FranceSaana Isojunno, Research fellow, University of St AndrewsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1739512022-02-01T17:32:17Z2022-02-01T17:32:17ZWhy monkeys attack sick members of their troop – and don’t socially distance at all<p>Life in the wild can be tough, and sometimes animals don’t have the luxury of taking time out when they are sick. That’s certainly the reality of life for vervet monkeys living in Southern Africa, even though parasites and viruses are an ever-present <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3050629/">component of animal life</a>.</p>
<p>We know how people respond to infection. Loss of appetite and staying in bed or resting are some of the ways we adapt to being unwell. Being less active and eating less frees up energy to fight the infection – even digesting food uses energy. This behaviour may help us recover and is a key component of our survival.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I wanted to understand more about how monkeys respond to illness, and how a disease travels within and between animal groups. This is essential if we are to tackle the huge impact that infection can have on monkey population survival. While the causes of infection have been the <a href="https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198565857.001.0001/acprof-9780198565857">focus of much attention</a>, until now we knew very little about the social consequences of infection in these monkeys. </p>
<p>For over ten years our international team of researchers have studied the behaviour and physiology of <a href="https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/vervet-monkey">wild vervet monkeys</a> living in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. They live in large social troops – up to 40 monkeys per troop – and previous research has shown that they are routinely exposed to a <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.191078#d3e2732,%20https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajpa.23962,%20https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2656.12329">range of environmental stressors</a> such as extreme heat and drought, as well as competition for food.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/44/e2107881118">most recent study </a> of three groups of wild vervet monkey, we examined the effect of getting sick on individual vervet monkey’s social status.</p>
<h2>How we studied fever</h2>
<p>As with humans, when a monkey gets an infection, they can get feverish. </p>
<p>We implanted <a href="https://www.star-oddi.com/products/data-loggers/temperature-logger-implant-livestock-animals">miniature data loggers</a> - narrow cylinders about 3cm long – into each monkey’s abdomen and recorded core body temperature inside the stomach every five minutes. That allowed us to document for the first time the occurrence of fever in a wild monkey population. </p>
<p>After the study period, we returned to take the loggers out, with the help of a team of vets from the University of the Witwatersrand. We needed to do this to get the data, and obviously also for the sake of the monkeys.</p>
<p>In our study group of 59 vervet monkeys, we detected 128 fevers in 43 monkeys over seven years. Feverish monkeys reached an average (mean) daily body temperature of about 39°C, with the highest body temperature on record being nearly 42°C. Fevers lasted between two and 20 days.</p>
<p>At the same time, we kept a detailed account of the monkeys’ behaviour and social interactions. Just like us, they lose their appetite and spend more time resting. But they can’t stay out of action for too long. Even sick monkeys need to keep up with their troop if they are to keep themselves out of reach of predators, such as cheetah, jackal and caracal (a wild cat). Monkeys also rely on their group mates to help <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347216302858">fight off neighbouring troops</a> as they compete for food, water and sleep sites. </p>
<h2>The risk of attack</h2>
<p>In addition to the behavioural consequences of fever, we were able to show, for the first time, a hidden and previously unrecognised cost of social interactions – feverish monkeys were attacked while they were down. </p>
<p>Within a monkey troop, competition is rife – monkeys battle for food, status and mates. Although it’s unclear if a monkey knows that one of their troop is sick, they do recognise the weakened state of their troop mate, perhaps because they are out of sorts or are less responsive to more subtle exchanges of dominance. </p>
<p>Some individuals seemed to use this to their advantage.</p>
<p>We discovered that when monkeys were feverish they were twice as likely to be attacked by one of their group mates and six times more likely to become injured as a result. Sick animals were targeted with aggression when they were least able to fight back, potentially improving the attacker’s social status, access to resources, or position in the troop. </p>
<p>We saw a particularly unusual sequence of events in one of our troops of 25 monkeys. </p>
<p>Female vervets live in relatively stable hierarchies. But when Brie, the alpha female, fell ill she was subjected to a torrent of abuse from the troop’s beta female, Tyvara. Over seven days, Brie was attacked by her on 12 occasions and received four different injuries. Needless to say, Brie’s alpha dominance status was no more and she slipped down the hierarchy. </p>
<p>Bystanders also seemed to benefit from the weakened status of a sick individual, in this case by manoeuvring up the hierarchy, and these fever-induced social interactions are likely to have important long-term social and fitness consequences for the individuals involved. </p>
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Read more:
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<p>But that’s not all. The feverish monkeys spent just as much time grooming, or being groomed, by other group members even though they were sick. While it might seem common sense to avoid other sick individuals, our findings suggest that social engagement probably reflects a trade-off between the propensity to get infected by a contagious individual and the social value and other benefits that the relationship affords – such as the ability to cope in <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.12329">difficult environments</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347217300362?via%3Dihub">successfully raise offspring</a>. Or perhaps monkeys simply don’t know that their troop mates are ill or could pass them a nasty illness. </p>
<p>The response of vervet monkeys to infection suggests that the spread of disease among the troop is likely. Now we have seen that there is a cost of being sociable when feverish, where vulnerable individuals are open to attack, perhaps we should turn our attention to the question of the impact of social integration among monkeys on the spread of disease within and between groups.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173951/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was funded by Faculty research grants from the University of the Witwatersrand, a Claude Leon Fellowship awarded to Richard McFarland, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery grants to Peter Henzi and Louise Barrett, a Canada Research Chair award to Louise Barrett, National Research Foundation of South Africa grants to Andrea Fuller, Robyn Hetem, Peter Henzi and Duncan Mitchell, a Carnegie Corporation of New York grant to Andrea Fuller, and a Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship to Duncan Mitchell.</span></em></p>Why social interaction isn’t always a good thing for primates, especially for individuals with a fever.Richard Mcfarland, Senior Lecturer in Evolution and Social Behaviour, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1648392022-01-04T13:06:54Z2022-01-04T13:06:54ZZoos and aquariums shift to a new standard of ‘animal welfare’ that depends on deeper understanding of animals’ lives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437579/original/file-20211214-16318-1n9vnvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3617%2C2802&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Climbers must climb, diggers must dig and runners must run. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/chimpanzee-and-little-boy-at-zoo-royalty-free-image/141763718">Doris Rudd Designs, Photography/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1980 I visited the zoo in a major U.S. city and found row after row of bare concrete boxes with jailhouse-style bars occupied by animals from around the world. The animals appeared to be in good physical condition, but many were staring into space or pacing restlessly around the edges of their tiny quarters. It was depressing. I’m not naming the zoo, because you could have seen the same thing at most U.S. zoos in that era. </p>
<p>More recently, visitors to many zoos and aquariums see animals in surroundings that resemble their native habitat, behaving in ways that are typical for their species. What has changed?</p>
<p>In the intervening years, the professional zoo and aquarium community has fundamentally altered the way it views the task of caring for the animals in its collections. Instead of focusing on animal care, the industry is now requiring that zoos meet a higher standard – animal welfare. This is a new metric, and it represents a huge change in how zoos and aquariums qualify for accreditation.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=-73NJvEAAAAJ">scientist who studies animal behavior</a>, both in captivity and in the wild. This recent development in the zoo world is the result of an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zoolgart.2017.04.007">evolution in the scientific understanding of animals’ lives and welfare</a>. It also reflects zoos’ and aquariums’ <a href="https://www.aza.org/conservation">increasing focus on conservation</a>. </p>
<h2>From trophy case to conservation message</h2>
<p>Since the first <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/leopards-hippos-cats-oh-worlds-first-zoo/">animal menageries in ancient Egypt</a>, zoos and aquariums have taken a progression of forms. </p>
<p>The British Royal Menagerie, which was <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-tower-of-london-menagerie/">housed in the Tower of London</a> from the early 13th century until 1835, served as an animated trophy case. In Europe, exotic animal collections were often displayed in garden settings for the amusement of the gentry, and by the late 18th century, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Jardin-des-Plantes">for the general public as well</a>. These places often functioned as stationary circuses, sensationalizing the strangeness of animals from afar. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white photo of people wearing old style clothes and hats at a zoo with an elephant behind bars." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The palace of the pachyderms at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, circa 1900.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-palace-of-the-pachyderms-at-the-jardin-des-plantes-in-news-photo/147800837">ND/Contributor/Roger Viollet via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>In Victorian England, zoos were recast as edifying entertainments. This was also true in the U.S., where the <a href="https://philadelphiazoo.org/about-the-zoo/">first zoo opened to the public in Philadelphia</a> in 1874. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white photo of an animal that looks like a striped wolf in a brick and cement zoo enclosure." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A thylacine, or ‘Tasmanian wolf’ or ‘Tasmanian tiger,’ in captivity, circa 1930. These marsupials are now presumed extinct.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/thylacine-or-tasmanian-wolf-or-tasmanian-tiger-in-captivity-news-photo/83208787">Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Early zoos weren’t very good at keeping animals alive. In the first half of the 20th century, though, zoos began to focus on animals’ physical health. This ushered in the “bathroom” era in zoo design, with an <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/Z/bo3535747.html">emphasis on surfaces that could be steam-sterilized</a>, such as ceramic tile. </p>
<p>Over the past 50 years, a landscape immersion model of zoo design has risen to prominence, as institutions have evolved into conservation and education organizations. By displaying animals in settings resembling their natural habitat – and setting the scene for visitors to imagine themselves in that habitat – the hope is to instill in visitors who might never see a lion in its element a passion for its preservation. </p>
<h2>Changing standards</h2>
<p>Accreditation is a mechanism for maintaining and pioneering best practices. Being accredited by the <a href="https://www.aza.org/">Association of Zoos and Aquariums</a> is the highest level of professional recognition for North American zoos and aquariums. Fewer than <a href="https://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list">250 out of approximately 2,800</a> animal exhibitors licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are AZA accredited.</p>
<p>To earn that accreditation, a zoo or aquarium must demonstrate alignment with its mission, a sound business operation and significant activity in the areas of education, conservation and research. But the centerpiece of accreditation is demonstrating quality of life for animals under human care. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of seal having its teeth brushed by the gloved hands of a keeper." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A marine mammal trainer brushes the teeth of a seal at the New England Aquarium in Boston in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/joseph-krochmal-marine-mammal-trainer-brushes-the-teeth-of-news-photo/1209360517">Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>For decades, the focus was on practices that correlate with animal health, like absence of illness, successful reproduction and longevity. The AZA has published objective standards for what it means to provide proper care for a tapir, a tiger or a Japanese spider crab – for example, requirements specifying certain amounts of physical space, environmental temperature ranges and cleaning routines. These <a href="https://www.aza.org/animal-care-manuals">extensive and detailed standards</a> were devised by working groups of experts in various species from across the zoo and aquarium community and based on the best available scientific evidence. </p>
<p>A recent revision to accreditation standards in 2018, however, supersedes this model in favor of a new goal – that a zoo or aquarium demonstrate it has achieved animal welfare. Not only must animals be healthy, but they should also display behavior typical of their species. Climbers must climb, diggers must dig and runners must run. </p>
<h2>Understanding the lives of animals is central</h2>
<p>Over the past 60 years, scientific understanding of animals’ cognitive abilities has exploded. A large body of scientific work has shown that a relatively rich or impoverished <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4612-4766-1">environment has effects on both brain and behavior</a>. Such awareness has led the zoo and aquarium community to formally embrace a higher standard of care.</p>
<p>Zoo or aquarium personnel can provide such behavioral opportunities only if they know what is normal for that species in the wild. So optimizing animal welfare requires a knowledge base that is both broad and deep. For example, a zoo must understand what is normal behavior for a pygmy marmoset before it can know what behavioral opportunities to provide. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A lion uses its paw to maneuver a large disclike object" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">An African lion investigates a new enrichment device at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Moffitt, Blank Park Zoo</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many zoos and aquariums house hundreds of animal species. Each species exists because it occupies a unique niche in the ecosystem, so the conditions that produce ideal welfare for one species may not be the same as those for a different species. </p>
<p>Developing welfare standards for the wide diversity of zoo species will take time and quite a bit of research. Although AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums contribute <a href="https://www.aza.org/field-conservation">over $200 million per year to research</a> in over 100 countries around the world, the need for conservation research always far outstrips the available funding. </p>
<p>How old is an eastern black rhinoceros before it begins to go on adventures away from its mother? If a flamingo chick has a medical issue that is successfully resolved, how can keepers tell if its development has been affected? How can keepers evaluate whether items introduced into the enclosure of a troop of Japanese macaque monkeys, intended to enrich their environment, are actually serving that purpose? Knowing the answers to these questions, and a multitude of other similar ones, will help the zoo community truly optimize the welfare of animals under their care.</p>
<p>Another major factor behind the AZA’s new standard is its role in species conservation. Captive animals typically outlive their wild counterparts. Zoos and aquariums are the figurative lifeboat for an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/16/world/animal-reintroduction-extinct-wild-c2e-hnk-spc-intl-scn/index.html">increasing number of species that are extinct in the wild</a>. Simply keeping an animal alive is now no longer enough. Zoo-based efforts to save endangered species will succeed only if understanding of the animals’ lives is fully integrated with husbandry standards.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael J. Renner is a pro bono member of the board of directors and chairperson of the research commitee at Blank Park Zoo (<a href="http://www.blankparkzoo.net">www.blankparkzoo.net</a>), an AZA accredited zoo. He is also a pro bono member of the board of directors for the Ape Initiative (<a href="http://www.apeinitiative.org">www.apeinitiative.org</a>), an AZA certified facility.</span></em></p>A fundamental change in how North American zoos and aquariums are accredited supports their animal conservation and species survival work.Michael J. Renner, Professor of Biology, Psychology, and Environmental Science & Sustainability, and director of the program in Zoo & Conservation Science, Drake UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1410422020-07-09T04:02:08Z2020-07-09T04:02:08Z‘Living fossils’: we mapped half a billion years of horseshoe crabs to save them from blood harvests<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345986/original/file-20200707-27858-x1kgcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C0%2C5160%2C3445&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you ventured to the New York seaside in summer, you might see a large dome-shaped animal with a spiky tail, slowly moving towards the water. These are horseshoe crabs – the animals time forgot.</p>
<p>Fossil records for horseshoe crabs extend back about 480 million years. This is well over 200 million years before the dinosaurs. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-giant-species-of-trilobite-inhabited-australian-waters-half-a-billion-years-ago-118452">A giant species of trilobite inhabited Australian waters half a billion years ago</a>
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<p>More recently, horseshoe crabs have greatly helped advance modern medicine. Their blood is used to identify <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/endotoxin">endotoxins</a> in solutions. These are toxins found in bacteria, so anyone who has had an injection or surgery has been kept safe from dangerous toxins thanks to these creatures.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the harvesting of their blood for this purpose is one reason horseshoe crabs are becoming an <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/biology-fields/horseshoe-crabs-endangered-biomedical-bloodletting.htm">endangered group</a>. Our <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2020.00098/abstract">research</a> published today in Frontiers in Earth Science will hopefully aid conservation efforts to protect these enigmatic creatures.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342637/original/file-20200618-41200-1grm5ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342637/original/file-20200618-41200-1grm5ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342637/original/file-20200618-41200-1grm5ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342637/original/file-20200618-41200-1grm5ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342637/original/file-20200618-41200-1grm5ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342637/original/file-20200618-41200-1grm5ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342637/original/file-20200618-41200-1grm5ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The American horseshoe crab <em>Limulus polyphemus</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WikiCommons.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A modern medical marvel</h2>
<p>Completely harmless, but spiky like a cactus, horseshoe crabs are not actually crabs. They don’t have the antennae or jaws their crustacean cousins do, and have additional pairs of legs (13 in total). In fact, they’re more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crabs. </p>
<p>Defined within their own order, <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/chelicerata/xiphosura.html">Xiphosura</a>, these animals are characterised by a horseshoe-shaped head section, a roundish hexagonal backside and a long tail. They are, in essence, a spider in a suit of armour that can swim upside down. </p>
<p>Horseshoe crabs have been used in medicine for at least the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2006607">past 40 years</a>. Their endotoxin-revealing blood is blue and copper-based (unlike our red, iron-based blood). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/blood-in-your-veins-is-not-blue-heres-why-its-always-red-97064">Blood in your veins is not blue – here's why it's always red</a>
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<p>A chemical refined from their blood can be used to identify contaminants in medical equipment that is inserted into <a href="https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/how-horseshoe-crab-blood-saves-millions-lives/">humans</a>. </p>
<p>Blue blood is used to make sure injections, IV drips, and any implanted medical devices are safe for human use.</p>
<h2>Blue bloodletting</h2>
<p>However, to access this natural medicinal miracle, humans must collect horseshoe crabs and harvest their blood. While blood loss itself may not be the main cause of death, other factors such as capture and transport can impact group survival. </p>
<p>At present, with improved practices, between <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2018.00185/full?utm_source=FWEB&utm_medium=NBLOG&utm_campaign=ECO_FMARS_horseshoe-crab-blood#h11">6-15.4% </a> of horseshoe crabs die from harvesting.</p>
<p>This process represents one of the main threats to them today, even though a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/blood-in-the-water/559229/">synthetic substitute</a> for blue blood has been available for nearly two decades. However, there is uncertainty around the efficacy of this alternative, so horseshoe crabs are <a href="https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2019/10/22/horseshoe-crab-the-blue-blood-that-saves-millions-of-lives/">still harvested</a>.</p>
<p>As a result, two of the four living species – the Chinese horseshoe crab and American horseshoe crab (also called the Atlantic horseshoe crab) – have been placed on the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?taxonomies=101493&searchType=species">International Union for Conservation of Nature’s</a> vulnerable and endangered species list.</p>
<p>Apart from bloodletting for biomedical use, <a href="https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Horseshoe-Crab">other threats</a> facing horseshoe crabs include overharvesting, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419306997">human interaction and serious habitat modification</a>.</p>
<h2>Fantastic beasts, and where to find them (online)</h2>
<p>To help raise awareness about the challenges horseshoe crabs face, we created an <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2020.00098/abstract">atlas of all fossil and living Xiphosura</a>. This free, open access collection contains photos of every horseshoe crab species ever described in the group’s 480-million-year history. </p>
<p>Alongside the photos, we provide outlines of how the four living species survived until now. </p>
<p>Building this atlas took three years. It involved emailing more than 100 researchers and museum managers, and even travelling from Australia to England, Germany, Russia, Slovenia and the United States to collect photographs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342937/original/file-20200619-70381-16myyr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342937/original/file-20200619-70381-16myyr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342937/original/file-20200619-70381-16myyr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342937/original/file-20200619-70381-16myyr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342937/original/file-20200619-70381-16myyr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342937/original/file-20200619-70381-16myyr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342937/original/file-20200619-70381-16myyr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342937/original/file-20200619-70381-16myyr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Examples of fossil horseshoe crabs. Left to right: <em>Pickettia carteri</em>, <em>Albalimulus bottoni</em>, <em>Sloveniolimulus rudkini</em>, and <em>Tasmaniolimulus patersoni</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reconstructions by Elissa Johnson and Katrina Kenny</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The result is an example of every single horseshoe crab species ever documented, living or extinct – more than 110 in total.</p>
<h2>The ‘living fossil’ that roamed with dinosaurs</h2>
<p>Our atlas can help highlight the unique and complex evolutionary history of horseshoe crabs. </p>
<p>These arthropods (invertebrates with an exoskeleton and jointed legs) survived all mass extinctions. Some have changed in appearance through time. For example, we have completely bizarre fossil forms, such as <em>Austrolimulus</em> – essentially a pick-axe in horseshoe crab form.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342654/original/file-20200618-41221-18cmqhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342654/original/file-20200618-41221-18cmqhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342654/original/file-20200618-41221-18cmqhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342654/original/file-20200618-41221-18cmqhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342654/original/file-20200618-41221-18cmqhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342654/original/file-20200618-41221-18cmqhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342654/original/file-20200618-41221-18cmqhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Austrolimulus fletcheri</em> lived in the New South Wales area during the Triassic. They’re a truly unique species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Patrick Smith.</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>However, some fossil species look very similar to modern ones. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342656/original/file-20200618-41242-hdtdm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342656/original/file-20200618-41242-hdtdm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342656/original/file-20200618-41242-hdtdm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342656/original/file-20200618-41242-hdtdm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342656/original/file-20200618-41242-hdtdm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1223&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342656/original/file-20200618-41242-hdtdm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1223&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342656/original/file-20200618-41242-hdtdm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1223&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Mesolimulus walchi</em>, from the Solnhofen Limestone in Germany.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Russell Bicknell/Paläontologisches Museum, München specimen.</span></span>
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<p>Compare the Jurassic-aged fossil <em>Mesolimulus</em>, found in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solnhofen_Limestone">Solnhofen Limestone</a> in Germany, to American horseshoe crabs walking along the North American coast today. They are practically the same. </p>
<p>Apart from size differences, horseshoes crabs have changed very little over the past 150 million years or so, earning them the moniker “living fossils”. But while specimens in the fossil record are between 3-30cm long, horseshoe crabs today can grow to more than 80cm.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, horseshoe crab populations have been decreasing significantly due to blood harvesting. There’s now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/03/horseshoe-crab-population-at-risk-blood-big-pharma">genuine concern</a> humans will drive these organisms to extinction.</p>
<p>Expanding our collective knowledge could help fuel future conservation efforts. Let’s prevent these unique icons of a bygone era from passing into the annals of history. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/giant-sea-scorpions-were-the-underwater-titans-of-prehistoric-australia-141290">Giant sea scorpions were the underwater titans of prehistoric Australia</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141042/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell Dean Christopher Bicknell received funding for this project in the following forms: a University of New England Post Doctoral Fellowship, Betty Mayne Scientific Research Fund, James R Welch Scholarship, and a Schuchert and Dunbar Grants in Aid Program. He is also a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Horseshoe Crab Species Specialist Group.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Pates is a postdoctoral fellow funded by the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.</span></em></p>A chemical refined from the blue, copper-based blood of horseshoe crabs helps identify contaminants in medical equipment inserted into humans.Russell Dean Christopher Bicknell, Post-doctoral researcher in Palaeobiology , University of New EnglandStephen Pates, Postdoctoral fellow, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1235042019-09-25T12:12:37Z2019-09-25T12:12:37ZSneaky lions in Zambia are moving across areas thought uninhabitable for them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293046/original/file-20190918-187980-1ekemtt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=117%2C64%2C1151%2C824&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Where has this Zambian lion been?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paula White</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Zambia, a country in southeast Africa, has approximately <a href="http://www.africanliongroup.org/uploads/5/0/0/7/5007626/session_minutes_final.pdf">1,200 lions</a>, one of the largest lion populations on the continent. More than 40% of the U-shaped country is <a href="http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094109">protected land</a>, with over 120,000 square miles of national parks, sanctuaries and game management areas for lions to roam.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293818/original/file-20190924-51463-5pwiyp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293818/original/file-20190924-51463-5pwiyp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293818/original/file-20190924-51463-5pwiyp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293818/original/file-20190924-51463-5pwiyp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293818/original/file-20190924-51463-5pwiyp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293818/original/file-20190924-51463-5pwiyp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293818/original/file-20190924-51463-5pwiyp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293818/original/file-20190924-51463-5pwiyp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Zambia’s lion populations benefit from lots of protected lands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217179">Curry et al., PLOS ONE 2019</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Zambian lions are split into two subpopulations, with one in the Greater Kafue Ecosystem in the west and the other in the Luangwa Valley Ecosystem in the east. Between these two geographically different regions lies Lusaka, Zambia’s largest city, which is surrounded by farmland.</p>
<p>People had assumed that the two groups of lions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0381-4">did not – even could not – mix</a>. After all, they’re separated by a geographical barrier: the two regions feature different habitats, with the east an offshoot of the Great Rift Valley system and the west part of the southern savannas. The lions are also separated by what’s called an <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201308110044.html">anthropogenic barrier</a>: a big city that lacks wildlife protection, making it seemingly unsuitable for lions.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=a_TzvI0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">So my</a> <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paula_White4">colleagues</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vAkgkSsAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">and I</a> were surprised when we found that a small number of lions are in fact <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217179">moving across the area</a> in between presumed to be uninhabitable by lions. These sneaky lions – and their mating habits – are causing the high levels of genetic diversity we found in the entire Zambian lion population.</p>
<h2>Identifying which genes are where</h2>
<p>Working with the Zambian Wildlife Authority, <a href="http://safariclubfoundation.org/zambia-lion-project/">biologist Paula White</a> collected hundreds of biological samples from lions across Zambia between 2004 and 2012. Eventually a box of this hair, skin, bone and tissue, meticulously packaged and labeled with collection notes and sampling locations, arrived at my lab at Texas A&M University.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293826/original/file-20190924-51463-1693ods.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293826/original/file-20190924-51463-1693ods.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293826/original/file-20190924-51463-1693ods.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293826/original/file-20190924-51463-1693ods.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293826/original/file-20190924-51463-1693ods.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293826/original/file-20190924-51463-1693ods.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293826/original/file-20190924-51463-1693ods.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293826/original/file-20190924-51463-1693ods.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unwrapping African samples in a Texas lab.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Caitlin J. Curry</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our goal was to investigate genetic diversity and the movement of various genes across Zambia by extracting and analyzing DNA from the lion samples.</p>
<p>From 409 lions found inside and outside of protected lands, I looked at two kinds of genes, mitochondrial and nuclear. You inherit mitochondrial DNA only from your mom, while you inherit nuclear DNA from both of your parents. Because of these differences, mitochondrial and nuclear genes can tell different genetic stories that, when combined, paint a more complete picture of how a population behaves.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293828/original/file-20190924-51410-1jwh2lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293828/original/file-20190924-51410-1jwh2lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293828/original/file-20190924-51410-1jwh2lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293828/original/file-20190924-51410-1jwh2lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293828/original/file-20190924-51410-1jwh2lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293828/original/file-20190924-51410-1jwh2lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293828/original/file-20190924-51410-1jwh2lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293828/original/file-20190924-51410-1jwh2lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Both nuclear (left) and mitochondrial (right) analyses show two genetically distinct Zambian lion subpopulations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/f5CFy6-FaC4">Photo by Wade Lambert, diagram by Caitlin J. Curry</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My mitochondrial analysis verified that, genetically, there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143827">two isolated subpopulations of lions</a> in Zambia, one in the east and one in the west. However, by also looking at the nuclear genes, we found evidence that small numbers of lions are moving across the “unsuitable” habitat. Including nuclear genes provided a more complex picture that tells us not only which lions were moving but also where.</p>
<h2>Genes on the move as lions roam</h2>
<p>The amount of variation from alternate forms of genes found within a population is known as genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is important for a wildlife population because more genetic options give animals a greater chance for adaptation in a changing environment. Genetic diversity can also tell biologists about ways a population can fluctuate.</p>
<p>To a geneticist, migration, also referred to as <a href="https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_21">gene flow</a>, is the movement of genes from one geographical place to another. Mitochondrial DNA, inherited from the mother, can only tell researchers where genes from mom have been.</p>
<p>In the lion mating system, males travel long distances to find new prides, while females remain in or close to the pride they were born in. So, for the lion, it’s primarily males that are responsible for the movement of genes between prides. This male-mediated gene flow explains the lack of gene flow seen in mitochondrial genes compared to that of nuclear genes – female lions aren’t making the journey, but they do mate with new males who come from far away.</p>
<p>Male-mediated gene flow has helped keep the lions of Zambia genetically healthy, increasing genetic diversity by introducing new genes to new areas as male lions move between subpopulations. The eastern and western subpopulations each have high levels of genetic diversity; since only a few lions move between the groups each generation, the subpopulations stay genetically distinct.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293829/original/file-20190924-51434-1bwagis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293829/original/file-20190924-51434-1bwagis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293829/original/file-20190924-51434-1bwagis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293829/original/file-20190924-51434-1bwagis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293829/original/file-20190924-51434-1bwagis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293829/original/file-20190924-51434-1bwagis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293829/original/file-20190924-51434-1bwagis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293829/original/file-20190924-51434-1bwagis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How genetically similar are individual lions? Represented by dots, individuals clustered together share more genes than those far apart. Lion dots are colored based on which national park they were found in.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217179">Curry et al, PLOS ONE, 2019</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My colleagues and I were also able to determine where the lions are moving based on which individuals are more <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolation_by_distance">genetically similar to each other</a>. Lions in the North and South Luangwa National Parks, part of the eastern subpopulation, appear completely separated from the western subpopulation. Gene flow is occurring through the southern regions of the eastern subpopulation.</p>
<p>Lions are most likely traveling a route between the Lower Zambezi National Park and eastern corridor to the Kafue National Park in the west, possibly along the Kafue River. We can’t tell which way they’re moving, but by looking at where lions are more closely related, we can see where genes are being moved.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293833/original/file-20190924-51463-q5av8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293833/original/file-20190924-51463-q5av8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293833/original/file-20190924-51463-q5av8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293833/original/file-20190924-51463-q5av8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293833/original/file-20190924-51463-q5av8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293833/original/file-20190924-51463-q5av8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293833/original/file-20190924-51463-q5av8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293833/original/file-20190924-51463-q5av8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s male lions that travel to find new prides.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paula White</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lion data can help manage wildlife overall</h2>
<p>Human-lion conflict is a big issue in Zambia, <a href="https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/document/ac27_cites_periodic_rev_status_african_lion_across_range_e.pdf">particularly outside of protected land</a>. If lions were moving across human dominated areas, you’d think they’d be seen and reported. But these lions are sneaking through virtually undetected – until we look at their genes. </p>
<p>As a large, charismatic carnivore, lion research and conservation influences many other species that share their habitat.</p>
<p>Wildlife managers can use these findings to help with lion conservation and other wildlife management in and around Zambia. Now that we generally know where lions are moving, managers can focus on these areas to find the actual route the big cats are taking and work to maintain or even increase how many lions can move across these areas. One of the ways of doing this is by creating more protected land, like corridors, to better connect suitable habitat.</p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123504/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This project received funding from Zambia Wildlife Authority, Professional Hunters Association of Zambia, Safari Hunters and Outfitters Association of Zambia, the Boore Family Foundation, Dallas Safari Club, Safari Club International Foundation and the Texas A&M Foundation. </span></em></p>Male lions are responsible for the movement of genes between prides. New research confirmed that the genes are traveling long distances – even though no one has been spotting the lions on the journey.Caitlin J. Curry, Phd Student in absentia of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1141732019-03-27T00:59:09Z2019-03-27T00:59:09ZBanning exotic leather in fashion hurts snakes and crocodiles in the long run<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265998/original/file-20190326-139349-ur5jll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Yellow anaconda (snake) skins pegged to dry by indigenous people in Argentina. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tomas Waller</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are all familiar with the concept of “fake news”: stories that are factually incorrect, but succeed because their message fits well with the recipient’s prior beliefs. </p>
<p>We and our colleagues in conservation science <a href="https://www.iucn.org/crossroads-blog/201903/banning-exotic-leather-bad-reptiles">warn</a> that a form of this misinformation – so-called “feelgood conservation” – is threatening approaches for wild animal management that have been developed by decades of research.</p>
<p>The issue came to a head in February when major UK-based retailer Selfridges <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/feb/26/selfridges-to-stop-selling-exotic-animal-skins">announced</a> it would no longer sell “exotic” skins – those of reptile species such as crocodiles, lizards and snakes – in order to protect wild populations from over-exploitation. </p>
<p>But this decision is not supported by evidence. </p>
<hr>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/guns-snares-and-bulldozers-new-map-reveals-hotspots-for-harm-to-wildlife-113361">Guns, snares and bulldozers: new map reveals hotspots for harm to wildlife</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Too simplistic</h2>
<p>Banning the use of animal skins in the fashion industry sounds straightforward and may seem commendable – wild reptiles will be left in peace, instead of being killed for the luxury leather trade. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.cites.org/eng/news/cites-further-recognized-as-a-crucial-conservation-tool-that-benefits-wildlife-conservation-and-livelihoods-of-rural-communities_08112018">decades of research</a> show that by walking away from the commercial trade in reptile skins, Selfridges may well achieve the opposite to what it intends. Curtailing commercial trade will be a disaster for some <a href="http://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/16th-aa4f3b77.pdf">wild populations of reptiles</a>.</p>
<p>How can that be true? Surely commercial harvesting is a threat to the tropical reptiles that are collected and killed for their skins? </p>
<p>Actually, no. You have to look past the fate of the individual animal and consider the future of the species. Commercial harvesting gives local people – often very poor people – a <a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/22864">direct financial incentive</a> to conserve reptile populations and the habitats upon which they depend.</p>
<p>If lizards, snakes and (especially) crocodiles aren’t worth money to you, why would you want to keep them around, or to protect the forests and swamps that house them?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266001/original/file-20190326-139380-s9i52b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266001/original/file-20190326-139380-s9i52b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266001/original/file-20190326-139380-s9i52b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266001/original/file-20190326-139380-s9i52b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266001/original/file-20190326-139380-s9i52b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266001/original/file-20190326-139380-s9i52b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266001/original/file-20190326-139380-s9i52b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266001/original/file-20190326-139380-s9i52b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women raise Burmese pythons at a small farm on Hainan Island, China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Natusch</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-australia-can-learn-from-victorias-shocking-biodiversity-record-113757">What Australia can learn from Victoria's shocking biodiversity record</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Biggest man-eaters in the billabong</h2>
<p>The iconic case study that supports this principle involves saltwater crocodiles in tropical Australia – the biggest, meanest man-eaters in the billabong. </p>
<p>Overharvested to the point of near-extinction, the giant reptiles were finally protected in the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=1774">Northern Territory in 1971</a>. The populations started to recover, but by 1979-80, when attacks on people started to occur again, the public and politicians wanted the crocodiles culled again. It’s difficult to blame them for that. Who wants a hungry croc in the pond where your children would like to swim?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265766/original/file-20190326-36252-gr1fj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265766/original/file-20190326-36252-gr1fj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265766/original/file-20190326-36252-gr1fj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265766/original/file-20190326-36252-gr1fj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265766/original/file-20190326-36252-gr1fj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265766/original/file-20190326-36252-gr1fj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265766/original/file-20190326-36252-gr1fj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Saltwater crocs are the reason many beaches are not open for swimming in northern Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-saltwater-crocodile-while-devours-prey-242488627">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But fast-forward to now and that situation has changed completely. Saltwater crocs are back to their original abundance. Their populations <a href="https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/jwmg.191">bounced back</a>. These massive reptiles are now in every river and creek – even around the city of Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory. </p>
<p>This spectacular conservation success story was achieved not by protecting crocs, but by making crocs a <a href="https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/jwmg.191">financial asset to local people</a>.</p>
<p>Eggs are collected from the wild every year, landowners get paid for them, and the resulting hatchlings go to crocodile farms where they are raised, then killed to provide luxury leather items, meat and other products. Landowners have a financial interest in conserving crocodiles and their habitats because they profit from it.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266000/original/file-20190326-139341-1dw657e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266000/original/file-20190326-139341-1dw657e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266000/original/file-20190326-139341-1dw657e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266000/original/file-20190326-139341-1dw657e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266000/original/file-20190326-139341-1dw657e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266000/original/file-20190326-139341-1dw657e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266000/original/file-20190326-139341-1dw657e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266000/original/file-20190326-139341-1dw657e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Saltwater crocodile eggs collected in the Northern Territory, Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Natusch</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The key to the success was buy-in by the community. There are undeniable negatives in having large crocodiles as neighbours – but if those crocs can contribute to the family budget, you may want to keep them around. In Australia, it has worked.</p>
<p>The trade in giant pythons in Indonesia, Australia’s northern neighbour, has been examined in the same way, and the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320718314411">conclusion is the same</a>. The harvest is sustainable because it provides cash to local people, in a society where cash is difficult to come by.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/elephants-and-economics-how-to-ensure-we-value-wildlife-properly-107184">Elephants and economics: how to ensure we value wildlife properly</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Decisions without evidence</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266003/original/file-20190326-139361-aegeu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266003/original/file-20190326-139361-aegeu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266003/original/file-20190326-139361-aegeu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266003/original/file-20190326-139361-aegeu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266003/original/file-20190326-139361-aegeu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266003/original/file-20190326-139361-aegeu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1057&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266003/original/file-20190326-139361-aegeu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1057&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266003/original/file-20190326-139361-aegeu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1057&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A collector captures a yellow anaconda in Argentina.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emilio White</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So the evidence says commercial exploitation can conserve populations, not annihilate them. </p>
<p>Why then do <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/opinion/op-ed-why-chanels-exotic-skins-ban-is-wrong">companies</a> make decisions that could imperil wild animals? Probably because they don’t know any better. </p>
<p>Media campaigns by animal-rights activists aim to convince kind-hearted urbanites that the best way to conserve animals is to stop people from harming them. This might work for some animals, but it fails miserably for wild reptiles. </p>
<p>We argue that if we want to keep wild populations of giant snakes and crocodiles around for our grandchildren to see (hopefully, at a safe distance), we need to abandon simplistic “feelgood conservation” and look towards evidence-based scientific management. </p>
<p>We need to move beyond “let’s not harm that beautiful animal” and get serious about looking at the hard evidence. And when it comes to giant reptiles, the answer is clear. </p>
<p>The ban announced by Selfridges is a disastrous move that could imperil some of the world’s most spectacular wild animals and alienate the people living with them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Natusch is a practicing research scientist and conservation biologist. He is affiliated with the Macquarie University and consults for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Daniel is the Scientific Advisor to the Southeast Asian Reptile Conservation Alliance (SARCA), which aims to improve the sustainability of the reptile skin trade. SARCA's work program is funded by governments and companies dedicated to improving the trade's operating environment for the benefit of species and people. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grahame Webb. Since 1977 his contribution to crocodile biology, research, conservation, management and sustainable use have been largely as a consultant (Wildlife Management International Pty. Limited) to the NT Government and to various other Governments. He is affiliated with Charles Darwin University. Chair of the IUCN-SSC Crocodile Specialist Group, and a member of the IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group He has received numerous grants related to researching wild crocodiles and the captive husbandry and farming of crocodilians. WMI was involved in the development of farming technologies. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Shine is an ecologist and conservation biologist and a Professor in Biology at Macquarie University. He has conducted extensive research on sustainability of the commercial harvest of reptiles in Sumatra, with funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>When small regional communities see economic value in animals like snakes and crocodiles, people are motivated to invest in their protection.Daniel Natusch, Honorary Research Fellow, Macquarie UniversityGrahame Webb, Adjunct Professor, Environment & Livelihoods, Charles Darwin UniversityRick Shine, Professor in Evolutionary Biology, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/928672018-03-16T13:27:59Z2018-03-16T13:27:59ZWe spent a year photographing the animal crop raiders of the Amazon – here are the results<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210546/original/file-20180315-104659-j6zj42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ocelot of trouble.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rural communities in the Amazon rainforest live alongside an incredibly diverse set of animals. When some of those animals damage and eat farmers’ crops (“crop-raiding”), it creates a challenge for conservationists, who need to understand the lives of the people who coexist with that wildlife.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210387/original/file-20180314-113485-i0l83m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210387/original/file-20180314-113485-i0l83m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210387/original/file-20180314-113485-i0l83m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210387/original/file-20180314-113485-i0l83m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210387/original/file-20180314-113485-i0l83m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210387/original/file-20180314-113485-i0l83m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210387/original/file-20180314-113485-i0l83m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our home for a year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My colleagues and I recently spent a year in the Médio Juruá region of Amazonas, Brazil, using motion-activated camera traps to take photos of the many animals that live on or near Amazonian farms. Along with interviews of farmers, this enabled us to study which animals cause the most crop damage, how this affects the livelihoods of rural Amazonians and how these communities respond to crop raiders. Our hope was to understand how this issue might affect attempts to preserve wildlife and to offer support to local farmers if they wanted it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210543/original/file-20180315-104694-9rxlji.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210543/original/file-20180315-104694-9rxlji.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210543/original/file-20180315-104694-9rxlji.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210543/original/file-20180315-104694-9rxlji.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210543/original/file-20180315-104694-9rxlji.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210543/original/file-20180315-104694-9rxlji.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210543/original/file-20180315-104694-9rxlji.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canoeing the Amazon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Médio Juruá region is a vast area of staggeringly biodiverse lowland tropical forest inhabited by river-dwelling communities, who descend from a mix of indigenous Amerindians, European colonists and former slaves from Africa. Our research team (comprising myself, my colleague Professor Carlos Peres, and Hugo Costa from the State University of Santa Cruz) travelled using small boats and dug-out canoes along the sinuous waterways and through the flooded forests. The region experiences a massive ten metre-high annual flood, which has wide-ranging impacts on the local ecosystems and the livelihoods of the human inhabitants.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210552/original/file-20180315-104635-18uuud1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210552/original/file-20180315-104635-18uuud1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210552/original/file-20180315-104635-18uuud1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210552/original/file-20180315-104635-18uuud1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210552/original/file-20180315-104635-18uuud1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210552/original/file-20180315-104635-18uuud1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210552/original/file-20180315-104635-18uuud1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Welcoming hosts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the year we spent living and working with the communities of the Juruá, we were fortunate enough to participate in many aspects of life, including learning to harvest the fruit of the acai palm. Many Juruá communities are the descendants of rubber tappers (seringueiros) who were drawn to this region during the rubber boom of <a href="http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2869/1/U615818.pdf">the late 1800s</a>. Many still depend on the natural resources of the forest and river for their livelihoods. The incredibly hospitable communities of the region frequently hosted and fed us as we travelled. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210542/original/file-20180315-104635-otxklj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210542/original/file-20180315-104635-otxklj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210542/original/file-20180315-104635-otxklj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210542/original/file-20180315-104635-otxklj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210542/original/file-20180315-104635-otxklj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210542/original/file-20180315-104635-otxklj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210542/original/file-20180315-104635-otxklj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Preparing manioc.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most of the carbohydrates in rural Amazonian diets <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5271e/y5271e04.htm">come from manioc</a> (also known as yucca or cassava). This tough plant grows well on infertile tropical soils and has powerful chemical defences which make it pest-resistant. Farmers grow manioc using so-called “slash-and-burn” agriculture in fields called “roçados”, which are created by burning down a section of forest. They peel, grind, soak, drain and toast the manioc to remove the toxic cyanide which protects the plant from pests. The result of this process is delicious coarse flour called “farinha”, which is commonly eaten with fish soup. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210555/original/file-20180315-104694-1rv7875.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210555/original/file-20180315-104694-1rv7875.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210555/original/file-20180315-104694-1rv7875.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210555/original/file-20180315-104694-1rv7875.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210555/original/file-20180315-104694-1rv7875.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210555/original/file-20180315-104694-1rv7875.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210555/original/file-20180315-104694-1rv7875.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The large rodent crop-raiding agouti.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite high levels of toxins in raw manioc, some wild animals such as large rodents, deer and pig-like peccaries are able to eat it. These crop raiders can have devastating impacts on human livelihoods, destroying an average of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.21443/abstract">around 8%</a> of each farmer’s crop each year. Farmers estimated that if they did not protect their crops, their losses would be roughly ten times higher. In other parts of the world, large herbivore crop raiders such as African and Asian elephants also <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6vNzRzcjntAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA252&dq=elephant+crop+raiding+danger+farmer&ots=j59MxRSu6h&sig=Lj2kp3m2GUVwg7dVgkSHTli6jLQ#v=onepage&q=elephant%20crop%20raiding%20danger%20farmer&f=false">endanger the lives of farmers</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210553/original/file-20180315-104694-zhrc6z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210553/original/file-20180315-104694-zhrc6z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210553/original/file-20180315-104694-zhrc6z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210553/original/file-20180315-104694-zhrc6z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210553/original/file-20180315-104694-zhrc6z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210553/original/file-20180315-104694-zhrc6z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210553/original/file-20180315-104694-zhrc6z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Manioc farmer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course, these wild and often endangered species are merely trying to survive in an increasingly human-modified landscape. Poor farmers sometimes resort to killing crop raiders to protect their lives and livelihoods and can end up resenting the conservation organisations who want to protect these species. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210554/original/file-20180315-104694-1mvrt3e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210554/original/file-20180315-104694-1mvrt3e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210554/original/file-20180315-104694-1mvrt3e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210554/original/file-20180315-104694-1mvrt3e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210554/original/file-20180315-104694-1mvrt3e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210554/original/file-20180315-104694-1mvrt3e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210554/original/file-20180315-104694-1mvrt3e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Setting a trap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To study crop raiding, we set up 132 camera traps in areas next to local roçados, helped by more than 45 people living in the nearby communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210513/original/file-20180315-104645-1vmpnxd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210513/original/file-20180315-104645-1vmpnxd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210513/original/file-20180315-104645-1vmpnxd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210513/original/file-20180315-104645-1vmpnxd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210513/original/file-20180315-104645-1vmpnxd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210513/original/file-20180315-104645-1vmpnxd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210513/original/file-20180315-104645-1vmpnxd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Capuchin monkey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We captured more than 60,000 photographs and detected over 30 species. We detected everything from fearsome predators such as pumas, to secretive nocturnal giant armadillos, to birds of prey and even primates such as capuchin monkeys. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210581/original/file-20180315-104671-c8r3bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210581/original/file-20180315-104671-c8r3bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210581/original/file-20180315-104671-c8r3bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210581/original/file-20180315-104671-c8r3bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210581/original/file-20180315-104671-c8r3bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210581/original/file-20180315-104671-c8r3bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210581/original/file-20180315-104671-c8r3bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Giant anteater.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210576/original/file-20180315-104639-1cgtgyw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210576/original/file-20180315-104639-1cgtgyw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210576/original/file-20180315-104639-1cgtgyw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210576/original/file-20180315-104639-1cgtgyw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210576/original/file-20180315-104639-1cgtgyw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210576/original/file-20180315-104639-1cgtgyw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210576/original/file-20180315-104639-1cgtgyw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Juvenile ornate hawk eagle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210578/original/file-20180315-104645-6or65b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210578/original/file-20180315-104645-6or65b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210578/original/file-20180315-104645-6or65b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210578/original/file-20180315-104645-6or65b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210578/original/file-20180315-104645-6or65b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210578/original/file-20180315-104645-6or65b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210578/original/file-20180315-104645-6or65b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cougar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210580/original/file-20180315-104639-1dphq6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210580/original/file-20180315-104639-1dphq6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210580/original/file-20180315-104639-1dphq6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210580/original/file-20180315-104639-1dphq6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210580/original/file-20180315-104639-1dphq6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210580/original/file-20180315-104639-1dphq6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210580/original/file-20180315-104639-1dphq6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Southern Amazon red squirrel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210585/original/file-20180315-104642-tve4zl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210585/original/file-20180315-104642-tve4zl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210585/original/file-20180315-104642-tve4zl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210585/original/file-20180315-104642-tve4zl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210585/original/file-20180315-104642-tve4zl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210585/original/file-20180315-104642-tve4zl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210585/original/file-20180315-104642-tve4zl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brazilian tapir.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210511/original/file-20180315-104635-glf9eg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210511/original/file-20180315-104635-glf9eg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210511/original/file-20180315-104635-glf9eg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210511/original/file-20180315-104635-glf9eg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210511/original/file-20180315-104635-glf9eg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210511/original/file-20180315-104635-glf9eg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210511/original/file-20180315-104635-glf9eg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jaguar at night.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the most feared predators in the area is the jaguar, locally known as “onça-pintada”. We were fortunate to detect this species in several locations. Somewhat unnervingly, we occasionally saw their large fresh prints on the trail as we returned to the community, indicating that we had unwittingly been followed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210548/original/file-20180315-104650-z6x4v7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210548/original/file-20180315-104650-z6x4v7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210548/original/file-20180315-104650-z6x4v7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210548/original/file-20180315-104650-z6x4v7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210548/original/file-20180315-104650-z6x4v7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210548/original/file-20180315-104650-z6x4v7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210548/original/file-20180315-104650-z6x4v7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On the trail.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many local residents assured us that this species is “very cunning. They see us, but we don’t see them”. We were also told a local legend that when a jaguar follows in the tracks of a human, it will sniff their tracks to decide whether or not to attack. We can only presume that we smelled so bad at that point that even our footprints were unappealing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210516/original/file-20180315-104673-wug8xn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210516/original/file-20180315-104673-wug8xn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210516/original/file-20180315-104673-wug8xn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210516/original/file-20180315-104673-wug8xn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210516/original/file-20180315-104673-wug8xn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210516/original/file-20180315-104673-wug8xn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210516/original/file-20180315-104673-wug8xn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Red-billed cuckoo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In only one location, our cameras detected a rare red-billed ground cuckoo. This was an unexpected treat. Our colleagues were among the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261986402_Red-billed_Ground_Cuckoo_Neomorphus_pucheranii_lepidophanes">first to photograph this elusive species</a> when they worked along the Xerua river a few years ago. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210517/original/file-20180315-104673-pttef2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210517/original/file-20180315-104673-pttef2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210517/original/file-20180315-104673-pttef2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210517/original/file-20180315-104673-pttef2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210517/original/file-20180315-104673-pttef2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210517/original/file-20180315-104673-pttef2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210517/original/file-20180315-104673-pttef2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Razor-billed curassow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some species seemed to rather enjoy the limelight, while others took exception to being monitored. Razor-billed curassows frequently paraded themselves in front of the cameras, whereas a short-eared dog took it upon himself to tear a camera from the tree. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210527/original/file-20180315-104650-1s4m377.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210527/original/file-20180315-104650-1s4m377.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210527/original/file-20180315-104650-1s4m377.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210527/original/file-20180315-104650-1s4m377.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210527/original/file-20180315-104650-1s4m377.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210527/original/file-20180315-104650-1s4m377.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210527/original/file-20180315-104650-1s4m377.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">P.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Spending long periods hiking through tropical forests surrounded by an exuberance of living things does come with certain drawbacks. For one thing, there is a bewildering array of tiny lifeforms for whom humans are mere prey. The foot sores in this image are caused by a bacterial infection known locally as “hoi hoi”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210531/original/file-20180315-104659-ymb3uz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210531/original/file-20180315-104659-ymb3uz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210531/original/file-20180315-104659-ymb3uz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210531/original/file-20180315-104659-ymb3uz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210531/original/file-20180315-104659-ymb3uz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210531/original/file-20180315-104659-ymb3uz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210531/original/file-20180315-104659-ymb3uz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Collared peccary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also conducted 157 interviews with local people, who overwhelmingly identified five species as the most burdensome crop raiders. These were, in order of importance, the large rodent agouti, collared peccary, paca (another large rodent), red brocket deer and, to a lesser degree, the spiny rat.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210533/original/file-20180315-104635-1ol5gnc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210533/original/file-20180315-104635-1ol5gnc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210533/original/file-20180315-104635-1ol5gnc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210533/original/file-20180315-104635-1ol5gnc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210533/original/file-20180315-104635-1ol5gnc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210533/original/file-20180315-104635-1ol5gnc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210533/original/file-20180315-104635-1ol5gnc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Red brocket deer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These species were some of the most frequently detected by our camera traps. They were also among the most heavily hunted species. None of these crop raiders are considered highly endangered (though the International Union for the Conservation of Nature doesn’t have enough data on <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/29619/0">red brocket deer</a> to classify them). Other studies have also found that these species can tolerate a moderate level of <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0186653">being hunted for food</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210535/original/file-20180315-104635-avk9ez.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210535/original/file-20180315-104635-avk9ez.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210535/original/file-20180315-104635-avk9ez.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210535/original/file-20180315-104635-avk9ez.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210535/original/file-20180315-104635-avk9ez.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210535/original/file-20180315-104635-avk9ez.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210535/original/file-20180315-104635-avk9ez.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A hunted peccary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We were encouraged to find that, despite the costs of crop-raiding to rural Amazonian communities, it did not seem to constitute the bitter “human-wildlife conflict” that other researchers have identified. In fact, because the most damaging crop-raiding species are fairly common, crop protection methods including hunting may not be a major threat to wildlife in this region.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210539/original/file-20180315-104699-yd8jvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210539/original/file-20180315-104699-yd8jvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210539/original/file-20180315-104699-yd8jvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210539/original/file-20180315-104699-yd8jvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210539/original/file-20180315-104699-yd8jvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210539/original/file-20180315-104699-yd8jvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210539/original/file-20180315-104699-yd8jvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Working together.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hugo Costa</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rural tropical communities are often encouraged by people from other countries to conserve their biodiverse surroundings and are criticised for hunting that helps them survive. We hope that <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.21443/full">our study</a> has shed some light on the challenges faced by Amazonian communities who attempt to coexist with wildlife. They could use our results as the basis of a plan to manage the species that they hunt, just as they have implemented plans for sustainable rubber tapping and fishing in partnership with <a href="http://www.projetomediojurua.org/">international organisations</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210537/original/file-20180315-104699-t4ssck.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210537/original/file-20180315-104699-t4ssck.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210537/original/file-20180315-104699-t4ssck.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210537/original/file-20180315-104699-t4ssck.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210537/original/file-20180315-104699-t4ssck.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210537/original/file-20180315-104699-t4ssck.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210537/original/file-20180315-104699-t4ssck.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Amazon at sunset.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Abrahams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92867/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Abrahams is a member of The Médio Juruá Project. He received funding from the University of East Anglia, The Explorer's Club and Idea Wild. </span></em></p>Three researchers studied the “crop raiders” of the Brazilian rainforest in the hope of aiding both local farmers and wildlife conservation.Mark Ilan Abrahams, Lecturer, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/929872018-03-11T19:04:33Z2018-03-11T19:04:33ZIvory up in flames, but who really noticed? How messages on elephant poaching might be missed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209258/original/file-20180307-146691-bwqfos.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The world's biggest burn of illegal ivory.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Stiles</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The tusks of more than ten thousand elephants <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160430-kenya-record-breaking-ivory-burn/">went up in flames in Kenya</a> on April 30, 2016 – the world’s largest ever ivory burn. It was meant as a powerful display against poaching and the illegal ivory trade. </p>
<p>But did those flames reach their intended target?</p>
<p>Currently, governments, donors and NGOs aren’t monitoring the impact of these ivory burns. So we tracked the media coverage of the Kenyan burn, with the results <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13097">published this month in Conservation Biology</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/publish-and-dont-perish-how-to-keep-rare-species-data-away-from-poachers-80239">Publish and don’t perish – how to keep rare species' data away from poachers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Who got the message?</h2>
<p>We had a simple question in mind with this research: did news of this burn make its way to ivory consumers and elephant poachers, and if so was the message one that denounced poaching?</p>
<p>The answer is a bit nuanced. Certainly the news of the ivory burn was strong (loud and clear) locally in Kenya and Tanzania and heavily amplified by news outlets across the western world (81% of online <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/world/africa/kenya-burns-poached-elephant-ivory-uhuru-kenyatta.html">articles on the burn</a> were produced in the United States).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209261/original/file-20180307-146700-1q88em6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209261/original/file-20180307-146700-1q88em6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209261/original/file-20180307-146700-1q88em6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209261/original/file-20180307-146700-1q88em6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209261/original/file-20180307-146700-1q88em6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209261/original/file-20180307-146700-1q88em6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=745&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209261/original/file-20180307-146700-1q88em6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=745&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209261/original/file-20180307-146700-1q88em6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=745&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Filming the destruction of the ivory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Stiles</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, we found low coverage of the burn in China, Vietnam and other countries where demand for illegal ivory is highest. </p>
<p>Of the 1,944 online articles that covered the burn in the countries sampled, only 61 were produced in mainland China. Additionally, more than half of the coverage in China was in English-language publications, which may not reach or resonate with all key ivory consumers.</p>
<p>The good news is, media stories around the ivory burn delivered an anti-poaching message. They stressed the importance of burns, ivory trade bans and law enforcement to catch poachers, smugglers and dealers, as key steps to saving elephants.</p>
<h2>To burn or not to burn?</h2>
<p>The authors on our research paper are a group of scientists and conservationists with diverse backgrounds, across Africa, North America, Australia, Europe and Asia. Our values are as diverse as our experiences.</p>
<p>Most of us feel a bit of sadness because watching elephant tusks engulfed in flames is a reminder of elephant slaughter. </p>
<p>For some of us though, the sadness is tempered by feelings of hope and justice – this is ivory that will never go into the hands of illegal dealers and ivory consumers and, as such, acts as a major deterrent. </p>
<p>But for others, the response was upsetting – animals had been murdered, and to add insult to injury, their remains wasted.</p>
<p>In the Kenyan burn, the ivory was estimated to be worth more than US$100 million (A$128 million) on the black market.</p>
<p>These stockpiles of ivory are an unfortunate reality. Ivory is harvested by elephant poachers. Between 2007 and 2014 an <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/2354/">estimated 144,000 elephants were killed</a>. If we are lucky, these poachers are caught and their ivory confiscated. Piles of seized ivory accumulate in massive stockpiles across Africa.</p>
<p>So this poses a difficult situation. What should we do with all that ivory?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209262/original/file-20180307-146675-1qlzxs3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209262/original/file-20180307-146675-1qlzxs3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209262/original/file-20180307-146675-1qlzxs3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209262/original/file-20180307-146675-1qlzxs3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209262/original/file-20180307-146675-1qlzxs3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209262/original/file-20180307-146675-1qlzxs3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209262/original/file-20180307-146675-1qlzxs3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209262/original/file-20180307-146675-1qlzxs3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The haul of illegal ivory, before the burn. Could it be put to better use?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Stiles</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We’d all, obviously, rather see ivory where it belongs, on live elephants. In an ideal world ivory would only be collected, if at all, from elephants that died from natural causes and so trade in this product would not be a problem.</p>
<p>But the world isn’t ideal. Even though the price of ivory has declined, elephant tusks have been known to fetch up to <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-lieberman-phd/as-the-price-of-ivory-fal_b_8885416.html">US$10,000</a> (A$12,800). With the financial incentive to poach so high, it sometimes seems like an insurmountable problem.</p>
<h2>Ivory for conservation</h2>
<p>Some of us believe that destroying ivory sends a strong message against poaching and illegal ivory trade – by saying that ivory is only valuable on a living elephant. </p>
<p>These members of our group think that we might as well burn these stockpiles, to demonstrate that trade should never be supported (as it cannot be adequately policed). They are heartened by the adoption of ivory trade bans by <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-42532017">China</a> and the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/02/480494835/new-u-s-ban-on-ivory-sales-to-protect-elephants">United States</a>. </p>
<p>But others in the group think destroying a quantity of ivory – worth far more on the black market than Kenya’s entire annual wildlife management budget – squanders an opportunity to sell the ivory. </p>
<p>The money could then be used to conserve elephants and other endangered wildlife (although pro-trade proponents acknowledge that there are implementation issues regarding corruption and policing efficacy). </p>
<p>To these members of our group, burning the ivory would be like burning cash in front of a person with no food or shelter.</p>
<p>Deep down inside, we all have one common goal, to save elephants.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209266/original/file-20180307-146675-1k4d9p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209266/original/file-20180307-146675-1k4d9p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209266/original/file-20180307-146675-1k4d9p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209266/original/file-20180307-146675-1k4d9p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209266/original/file-20180307-146675-1k4d9p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209266/original/file-20180307-146675-1k4d9p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209266/original/file-20180307-146675-1k4d9p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209266/original/file-20180307-146675-1k4d9p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Illegal ivory could be used to aid elephant conservation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rohit_saxena/5496346430/">Flickr/The Rohit</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rather than arguing based on our emotions, that’s why we carried out the latest research – a first step towards helping us decide whether ivory burns will reduce poaching.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-britain-make-an-ivory-ban-work-only-if-it-learns-from-americas-experience-85412">Can Britain make an ivory ban work? Only if it learns from America's experience</a>
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<p>With the most <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/ivory-trinkets-crushed-en-masse-in-bourke-street-mall-20180303-p4z2oz.html">recent ivory destruction event</a>, in Melbourne, Australia, now is the time to think deeply about the efficacy of these ivory destruction events. </p>
<p>We need messages to be targeted towards the most important audiences, and we need to monitor consumer behaviour – not just the media coverage – in response to these events. </p>
<p>The scientific evidence for which action best saves elephants – burning or using regulated ivory sales to fund conservation – is still inconclusive. But as long as we move forward with ivory destruction, let’s make sure we monitor its impact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew H. Holden has received fellowships from the National Science Foundation, USA, and the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher O'Bryan receives funding from the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre in Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duan Biggs receives funding from Australian Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hugh Possingham receives funding from The Australian Research Council. He is the Chief Scientist of The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental not-for-profit.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Watson receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Alongside his position at the University of Queensland, he is the Director of Science and Research Initiative at the Wildlife Conservation Society</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Richard Braczkowski and James Allan do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The destruction of a massive haul of illegal ivory was supposed to send a message to poachers and those who trade in the tusks. Did they notice, or can the ivory be used to help elephant conservation?Matthew H. Holden, Lecturer, Centre for Applications in Natural Resource Mathematics, The University of QueenslandAlexander Richard Braczkowski, PhD Candidate - Wildlife Cameraman, The University of QueenslandChristopher J. O'Bryan, PhD Candidate, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandDuan Biggs, Senior Research Fellow Social-Ecological Systems & Resilience, Griffith UniversityHugh Possingham, Professor, The University of QueenslandJames Allan, PhD candidate, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandJames Watson, Professor, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/930072018-03-08T05:08:24Z2018-03-08T05:08:24ZLeopards in a city park in India may help lower human injuries and deaths from stray dog bites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209281/original/file-20180307-146700-1d14qrp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wild leopards in the Indian city of Mumbai may be helping to save people's lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Winter/National Geographic</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A fleeting glimpse of the black spots and gold fur of a leopard is not an uncommon sight at <a href="https://sgnp.maharashtra.gov.in/1210/Living-with-Leopards">Sanjay Gandhi National Park</a> in the Indian city of Mumbai.</p>
<p>Leopards are often thought of as a threat to humans, but rather than being a problem in Mumbai, they may actually be helping their human neighbours – even saving their lives – as we argue in our paper <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fee.1776">published today in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</a>.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d230617.70621775818!2d72.88055560328759!3d19.114161201991212!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0xe0d36d489e1a14fa!2sSanjay+Gandhi+National+Park!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1520404286469" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" style="border:0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p>Recent studies suggest there may be <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/sgnp-census-confirms-41-leopards-27-of-them-new/articleshow/62812269.cms">as many as 41 leopards</a> roaming the 104km<sup>2</sup> park. That’s about two to three times the leopard density you’d find in some of the most productive savannas in Africa or Sri Lanka.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-shocking-facts-revealed-how-sharks-and-other-animals-evolved-electroreception-to-find-their-prey-91066">The shocking facts revealed: how sharks and other animals evolved electroreception to find their prey</a>
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<p><a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/leopards-moving-to-cities-text">Mumbai’s leopards live alongside people</a>, mostly in informal settlements, and they hunt and kill dogs in and around their villages. On average, dogs make up about 40% of a Mumbai leopard’s diet.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a75HUY8Q8TY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A walk in the park.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So what, you might ask. Leopards <a href="https://www.livescience.com/27403-leopards.html">are one of the world’s most adaptable</a> big cats, feeding on <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00139.x/abstract">more than 100 prey items</a> worldwide, so aren’t they just doing what an opportunist would do?</p>
<h2>A city of dogs</h2>
<p>If you’ve ever visited Mumbai, you’ll probably remember a few incredible sights: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_of_India">Gateway of India</a>, Mumbai’s bustling city and teeming traffic – and its dogs.</p>
<p>Hundreds and thousands of dogs. On every street corner, in every alley. Recent surveys have shown that about <a href="http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/MCGM%20Department%20List/Public%20Relation%20Officer/Press%20Release/07051425_Mumbai%20Dog%20Census%20report%20final%20jan%202014.pdf">95,000 dogs roam Mumbai</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209422/original/file-20180307-146694-16bqhob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209422/original/file-20180307-146694-16bqhob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209422/original/file-20180307-146694-16bqhob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209422/original/file-20180307-146694-16bqhob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209422/original/file-20180307-146694-16bqhob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209422/original/file-20180307-146694-16bqhob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209422/original/file-20180307-146694-16bqhob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209422/original/file-20180307-146694-16bqhob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The dogs of Mumbai.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Winter/National Geographic</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We wanted to delve deeper into the uncanny relationship Mumbai’s leopards have with the dogs. And what about bites, we asked. Do dogs bite people, and what about rabies risk?</p>
<p>After sifting through about 40 newspaper articles and online reports, we found that nearly 75,000 bites are recorded annually in the city (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1424765/">although many more are likely unreported</a>). <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Dog-bites-killed-more-than-2-terror-attacks/articleshow/51336536.cms">More than 420 people in Mumbai have died from rabies</a> as a result of stray dog bites over a 20-year period. </p>
<p>It was at that point we wondered whether leopards help to protect people from dog bites by keeping the dog population down – especially around the park where their diet is dominated by dogs.</p>
<p>Surveys performed by <a href="http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/MCGM%20Department%20List/Public%20Relation%20Officer/Press%20Release/07051425_Mumbai%20Dog%20Census%20report%20final%20jan%202014.pdf">population biologist Lex Hiby</a> and <a href="https://sgnp.maharashtra.gov.in/Site/Upload/Pdf/Ecology_of_leopard_in_SGNP_2015-Nikit_Surve.pdf">Nikit Surve of the Wildlife Institute of India</a> around the park suggest that the answer is yes. Dog densities there are lower and, according to our analyses, citizens might experience only 11% of the bites compared with people who live further from the park.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209439/original/file-20180308-146661-e786l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209439/original/file-20180308-146661-e786l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209439/original/file-20180308-146661-e786l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209439/original/file-20180308-146661-e786l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209439/original/file-20180308-146661-e786l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209439/original/file-20180308-146661-e786l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209439/original/file-20180308-146661-e786l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209439/original/file-20180308-146661-e786l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The dogs bite people and can carry the deadly rabies virus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Winter/National Geographic</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Moreover, by consuming between 800 and 2,000 dogs per year, we calculate that the leopard population saves the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai about US$18,000 (A$23,000) in sterilisation costs (or 8% of the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/58-317-dog-bite-cases-in-mumbai-this-year/story-wR4lI5YiK5OWGyI8qhPBFO.html">municipality’s annual sterilisation budget</a>).</p>
<h2>If you remove the leopards</h2>
<p>The final piece of the puzzle was to model what a park with no leopards would look like – a sad prediction if increased urbanisation, deforestation and conflict occur over future decades.</p>
<p>Under one set of assumptions, we found dog bites could increase by between 140 to more than 5,000 per year as dog populations would grow in and around the park area. The medical costs for these bites could total as much as US$200,000 (A$256,000) per year.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209442/original/file-20180308-146666-1pdsrts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209442/original/file-20180308-146666-1pdsrts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209442/original/file-20180308-146666-1pdsrts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209442/original/file-20180308-146666-1pdsrts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209442/original/file-20180308-146666-1pdsrts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209442/original/file-20180308-146666-1pdsrts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209442/original/file-20180308-146666-1pdsrts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209442/original/file-20180308-146666-1pdsrts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leopards in the city help reduce the stray dog numbers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Winter/National Geographic</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Our research puts a new twist on a large predator that has been persecuted for millennia, and which has generally been viewed as a nuisance to stock farmers globally and those living on the edge of Sanjay Gandhi National Park.</p>
<p>Leopards are believed to have <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/1974/">disappeared from about 63-75% of their global range</a>. We have to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0421-2">think of large predators in a broader sense</a> – they can at times be helpful to farmers, ecosystems and even insurance companies.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209444/original/file-20180308-146645-1hcvokr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209444/original/file-20180308-146645-1hcvokr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209444/original/file-20180308-146645-1hcvokr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209444/original/file-20180308-146645-1hcvokr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209444/original/file-20180308-146645-1hcvokr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209444/original/file-20180308-146645-1hcvokr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209444/original/file-20180308-146645-1hcvokr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209444/original/file-20180308-146645-1hcvokr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leopards prey on Mumbai’s dogs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Winter/National Geographic</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The big challenge in Sanjay Gandhi National Park is not only leopard attacks on the odd pig or cattle calf – leopards here sometimes kill people. Leopard attacks on people peaked at 25 cases in 2002. Most of these were attributed to leopards <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/27976435">moved from other forest patches</a> into Sanjay Gandhi, a kind of catch-and-dump scheme by local governments for problem animals.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-foe-to-friend-how-carnivores-could-help-farmers-92190">From foe to friend: how carnivores could help farmers</a>
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<p>It’s thought this had a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01599.x/abstract">chaotic effect on leopard home ranges and social structure</a> as leopards are territorial. But leopard attacks came to an almost complete halt for four years until 2017 when residents were <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/mumbai-leopard-attack-victims-yet-to-get-compensation-from-forest-dept/articleshow/63032029.cms">angered</a> by a <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/how-some-mumbai-hamlets-live-dangerously-close-to-leopards/story-Q2C4REMAF4fk4MXq93YrAI.html">spate of new attacks</a>.</p>
<p>The big challenge is to evaluate the benefits of these leopards and similar large carnivores; it’s equally important to assess the costs of these species to local communities. The real issue is navigating the costs with the benefits, and identifying those cases of net-benefit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher O'Bryan receives funding from the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre in Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Richard Braczkowski receives funding from National Geographic, the Scientific Exploration Society and a Rufford small grant for conservation. </span></em></p>Wild leopards that live in an Indian city park like to dine on stray dogs, which new research says may help reduce the number of potentially deadly dog bites on people.Christopher J. O'Bryan, PhD Candidate, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandAlexander Richard Braczkowski, PhD Candidate - Wildlife Cameraman, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/825962017-08-29T14:09:26Z2017-08-29T14:09:26ZCommunity participation is needed for more effective anti-poaching<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182983/original/file-20170822-30500-1wdbmx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scouts should manage human-wildlife conflicts.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One method of protecting endangered species is to take a militarised approach. This “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264352122_Green_Militarization_Anti-Poaching_Efforts_and_the_Spatial_Contours_of_Kruger_National_Park">green militarisation</a>"is now widely <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-military-and-market-responses-are-no-way-to-save-species-from-extinction-65848?sa=google&sq=lunstrum&sr=1">criticised</a>. It often leads to <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/09/wildlife-tanzania-poaching-human-rights-abuses/">human rights violations</a> and may <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0011392116673210">deepen existing divides</a> between <a href="http://www.conservationandsociety.org/article.asp?issn=0972-4923;year=2016;volume=14;issue=3;spage=195;epage=204;aulast=Annecke">conservation and communities</a>. </p>
<p>It may not even be <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000632071630564X">effective</a> in the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000632071630564X">short</a> or <a href="http://biosec.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/div-class-title-the-militarization-of-anti-poaching-undermining-long-term-goals-div-1.pdf">long-term</a>.</p>
<p>Critics of military style anti-poaching are calling instead for community engagement in anti-poaching efforts <a href="https://www.iucn.org/commissions/commission-environmental-economic-and-social-policy/our-work/specialist-group-sustainable-use-and-livelihoods-suli/events/beyond-enforcement-symposium-muldersdrift-south-africa-26-28">in protected areas.</a>. This goes <a href="https://www.iucn.org/ja/node/18243">beyond enforcement</a>, an approach my colleagues and I call <a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjlp5WZjOHUAhUi5oMKHW22DtMQFggmMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjournals.assaf.org.za%2Fsacq%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F1732%2F2599&usg=AFQjCNHxpkE2pntEX_SK7AEOzXdnHXH1Gg">"inclusive anti-poaching”</a>. </p>
<p>Community based initiatives have long been recommended for development and conservation. But involving communities in conservation law enforcement is gaining attention. Unlike militarised conservation, this approach does not see the locals as the enemy.</p>
<p>It recognises that many communities have little incentive to protect wildlife. They don’t always receive benefits from conservation and may get far greater <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0011392116673210">direct and indirect material gains</a> from poaching. Such gains are attractive given the often high levels of poverty, unemployment and dependence on subsistence agriculture that characterises many communities in and around protected areas in Africa. </p>
<p>Inclusive anti-poaching has its own challenges. A <a href="http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G03903.pdf">project</a> run jointly with the Sabie Game Park, Southern African Wildlife College and World Wildlife Fund-South Africa is an example.</p>
<p>Based on <a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjlp5WZjOHUAhUi5oMKHW22DtMQFggmMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjournals.assaf.org.za%2Fsacq%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F1732%2F2599&usg=AFQjCNHxpkE2pntEX_SK7AEOzXdnHXH1Gg">research</a> I did in the reserve, I believe two things are essential in such initiatives. Communities must benefit from the wildlife they are helping to protect. And community scouts must be accountable to their communities, not to an external organisation.</p>
<h2>Getting the communities involved</h2>
<p>Sabie Game Park is a private wildlife reserve in southern Mozambique adjacent to South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Kruger is home to <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/160121-rhino-poaching-statistics-South-Africa-trade-lawsuit/">about 40%</a> of the world’s white rhino population. With the skyrocketing price of rhino horn to USD$45,000 - USD$65,000 per kilogram we have seen an unprecedented <a href="https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/poaching_statistics">increase in poaching</a> from 7 rhinos poached in South Africa in 2007 to over 1,000 in 2013 and every year since. Over 60% of these poaching incidents occurred in the Kruger.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182986/original/file-20170822-22197-nw62xz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182986/original/file-20170822-22197-nw62xz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182986/original/file-20170822-22197-nw62xz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182986/original/file-20170822-22197-nw62xz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182986/original/file-20170822-22197-nw62xz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182986/original/file-20170822-22197-nw62xz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182986/original/file-20170822-22197-nw62xz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182986/original/file-20170822-22197-nw62xz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Location of Sabie Game Park in southern Mozambique.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carolyn King</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While rhinos deaths have started to decrease, we see an increasing <a href="http://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/minister-releases-rhino-poaching-figures">number of poaching incursions</a> into the park. </p>
<p>With up to <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1991-38772017000200008">75%</a> of poachers coming from villages in Mozambique next to the Sabie Game Park, the reserve is considered to be one of the most important places on earth <a href="https://www.iapf.org/greater-lebombo-conservancy/">for rhino protection</a>.</p>
<p>Sabie Game Park has worked with the Southern African Wildlife College and World Wildlife Fund-South Africa to develop a <a href="http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G03903.pdf">plan</a> to help prevent poaching. </p>
<p>When the plan was drawn up in 2015 it acknowledged that militarised anti-poaching had limitations and negative effects. The plan set out to address and avoid these mistakes.</p>
<p>It aimed to develop a locally owned wildlife economy with the 900 households in five communities that border the reserve. This included hiring and training 21 local community scouts. </p>
<p>Their responsibilities include managing conflicts between humans and wildlife as well as broader policing roles like conflict resolution in their communities. The scouts have already curbed cattle theft in the area. </p>
<p>They also patrol the outside of the reserve, report signs of intrusion and act as a deterrent to poachers. But their biggest value in conservation law enforcement comes from providing intelligence to the anti-poaching unit. The unit consists of the rangers working in Sabie Game Park who are managed by an external anti-poaching organisation.</p>
<p>The scouts have made positive contributions, but the plan didn’t work as originally envisaged, as I discovered <a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjlp5WZjOHUAhUi5oMKHW22DtMQFggmMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjournals.assaf.org.za%2Fsacq%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F1732%2F2599&usg=AFQjCNHxpkE2pntEX_SK7AEOzXdnHXH1Gg">in my research</a>.</p>
<h2>Scouting and community issues</h2>
<p>Scouts take orders from the anti-poaching unit. This is a problem because the unit is managed by an external organisation that takes a top-down, paramilitarised approach. The unit focuses on protecting rhinos, so the scouts do too. But the original mandate was broader and that was where community support for scouts lay.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182987/original/file-20170822-30494-z9lhc9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182987/original/file-20170822-30494-z9lhc9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182987/original/file-20170822-30494-z9lhc9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182987/original/file-20170822-30494-z9lhc9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182987/original/file-20170822-30494-z9lhc9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182987/original/file-20170822-30494-z9lhc9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182987/original/file-20170822-30494-z9lhc9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182987/original/file-20170822-30494-z9lhc9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Typical household in Mangalane, Mozambique.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The people who live near the reserve don’t benefit from the efforts to protect the rhinos (beyond the salaries of the scouts). And they don’t have any ownership or decision making powers over conservation in the area. The material benefits they get from conservation are minimal. Many community members oppose scouts for arresting fellow community members and stopping a lucrative poaching-based livelihood. </p>
<p>As a result, scouts have been the victims of violent backlash. They are routinely threatened and have been attacked in their homes.</p>
<p>The lack of accountability to communities also threatens to create tensions between those who support the scouts and those who support the poaching syndicates. Indeed, other research suggests local participation in conservation law enforcement can <a href="http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00M3R4.pdf">foment divisions</a> in communities if scouts appear to answer to an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27411900">external law enforcement body</a> rather than their own people.</p>
<p>Conservation law enforcement requires the involvement of communities if it’s to be successful and socially just. But local people must benefit from the wildlife they help to protect and those involved in anti-poaching must be accountable to their communities. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This piece is based on a longer article first <a href="https://journals.assaf.org.za/sacq/article/view/1732">published in the South African Crime Quarterly</a>. The special issue was funded by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82596/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francis Massé received funding from York University and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to conduct this research.</span></em></p>Military style anti-poaching is often criticised because it alienates communities living around protected areas. But these initiatives give them an incentive to protect the species.Francis Massé, Ph.D. Candidate in Geography, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.