Deer aren't large mammals? lmao You make zero sense. Black bears are overpopulated in many area's and are at no risk of becoming extinct. Cougars kill children all the time especially on Victoria Island and are becoming more and more bold because of a lack of hunting pressure. It's imperative that you hunt a large predator, otherwise they will lose fear of humans. Black bear predatory attacks are commonplace in Northern coastal B.C. Read a book called "bear attacks the deadly truth". Black bears are 90% vegetarian, but they are absolutely opportunistic predators. They kill animals they can catch like a deer fawn. The majority of black bear attacks occur in HUGE wilderness area's of western Canada where there isn't any trash and they've never seen a human. Along the alaskan highway, there are signs to not get out of your car because of bears. The western wilderness black bear is a ferocious animal. Much different for unknown reasons than it's eastern counterpart. I'd rather come across a dumpster diving bear than a wilderness bear who see's you like a cat see's a mouse. The worst are polar bears. They will almost certainly attack if they see you. Full on predatory charge.
Same is true for fox and rabbits right here in the mid-atlantic. Their populations are linked. After rabbit populations are high for some time, fox populations climb because of the large amount of food. If rabbit populations decline, fox populations will also.... So what's with the "The only good shark is a dead shark"? How does this fit in with your biologist-speak?
Did you read my other posts? I have a knowledge of ecology, but I'm as far from a conservationist as you will find. I believe in preserving the wilderness FOR people NOT FROM people. Sharks are a threat to people and good animals like dolphins and seals, therefore they should be wiped out. The other animals over time will than adapt there breeding cycles to the lack of that top predator. Not all sharks, just whites, bulls, tigers Animals are starving even when the "balance" of predator prey relationship is intact. I don't like large predators and they are not needed to maintain a balance. Just look at island ecosystems. Most animals here today, were non-existant millions of years ago(blink of an eye as far as earth goes). Nature is not static. Predators exist for the same reason virus's exist....because they can survive. That's all that matters. There's no right and wrong. We as people should rise above this simplistic mentality.
yeah and when you remove suddenly a population of top predators, like via a mass slaughter, the species they prey on will grow and then collapse - directly because of a lack of predators. Too many competing working harder for the same amount of food, they're scrawny and underfed, plus the weaker ones get to breed, the quality of the gene pool declines. Result after a number of generations, maybe a disease will come or a bad growing season and the whole species experiences a mass die-off.
A mass die off? Show me any evidence of that? Prove that there breeding cycles won't adapt? Animals go extinct all the time without any help from us. Nature is cruel.
And in the future we'll be able to genetically modify their breeding cycles. Make the world a better place for our furry peaceful friends. Rabbits reproduce way quicker than other animals because of an adaptation to hunting pressure. Who says a reverse adaptation couldn't take place?
Interesting reference. Is this the same TSS that did the study to reintroduce the wolf because it's removal resulted in the near collapse of the eco system out there? I'm pretty sure they originally made the same assumption of the wolf that you do with the shark before they got an education on eradicating predators. Sometimes, it's not what you know. It's what you don't. Just because you don't understand the shark's purpose, doesn't mean there isn't any.
Just out of curiosity, why would you be seriously pissed about something like that? That would be a pretty long ways down my list of things to get upset about.
It has nothing to do with the book. I was quoting Teddy Roosevelt. Did a quick Google search of Roosevelt cougar because I knew what he had said.
Understood, but in doing so, you provided a reference that interestingly contradicts this statement made by you: the TSS can provide the evidence of the chain reaction caused by removal of the wolves. The elk adapted, alright. They overpopulated & grazed the area to death, creating a chain reaction of death with other herbivores & omnivores. The area "adapted" into waste land.
ray, very true. and look how us fish and wildlife paint the picture: http://www.fws.gov/nationalelkrefuge/
