I REMEMBER WELL THE FIRST TIME I saw a 'proper' wild predator. I was driving through the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Mexico when I spotted a jaguar. He wasn't fully grown, but he was nonetheless magnificent. I can still recall every second, 23 years later.
In a recent study ranking animals in terms of perceived ‘charisma’, the top two spots went to the tiger and lion. Six of the top ten were predators. Whether you’ve grown up with Simba, Shere Khan or Yogi Bear, and whether you are driving a Jaguar or cheering on the British Lions rugby team, predators are deeply entrenched in our heritage and culture.
Despite this, and despite the essential role they play in properly functioning ecosystems, many large predators are facing serious challenges. Their ranges and populations are diminishing as we take their land for agriculture, mines, roads and developments, and remove their prey by hunting species such as antelope and deer. What habitat we don’t take, we degrade and fragment, making life especially difficult for species that need large amounts of space.
Added to those pressures is our long history of persecution – our killing of predators out of fear for our families and livestock. Together, all these factors have conspired to push many predators to the edge.
Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
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Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Jump Around - Bagheera Kiplingi - The acrobatic spider with a predilection for veggie food
Spiders eat flies, right? everyone knows that the 45,000 or so spiders in the world are all obligate carnivores, more or less – eating other animals, mainly invertebrates. Nature, however, loves an exception, and one particular spider missed out on that ecological memo. It goes by the wonderful scientific name of Bagheera kiplingi, and its claim to fame is that its diet is – at least mostly – vegetarian.
Female of the Species - Zebras - A strong sisterhood is key to staying safe
Zebras are masters of confusion. Their collective noun is ‘a dazzle’, which is fitting since their bodies and behaviour have been surprising scientists for centuries.
See It, Save It? - Wildlife tourism can be a powerful ally in protecting nature - but it can also harm it. We weigh up the pros and cons.
The sums of wildlife travel aren’t as simple as more tourists equals happier nature. How much did my visit really contribute to the conservation of Lady Liuwa and her habitat – and was that outweighed by carbon emissions from my flights? Did my presence disturb the animals’ natural behaviour more than it reduced the threat of poaching or benefited local communities?The question of whether wildlife travel is, on balance, good for wildlife is a complex one – and there’s no simple answer.
Can Your Really Offset Emissions? - Planning an overseas wildlife-watching trip entails facing some inconvenient truths
Imagine (or maybe you don't need to) that you hanker after the safari trip of a lifetime in sub-Saharan Africa. A 17-day tour beginning at the iconic Victoria Falls, passing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, taking in some of the continent’s most wildlife-rich national parks, and ending on the lush island of Zanzibar.
Metamorphosis: a life-changing event
WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY
New series for BBC One: Asia
Settle in this autumn for a new natural-history extravaganza on BBC One and iPlayer: the longawaited Asia, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Loss of Antarctic sea ice could impact seabird food supply
Albatrosses and petrels may be forced to fly further to feed
Tarsiers in trouble
Urgent action is needed to ensure survival of the Yoda-like primate
SNAP-CHAT
Chien Lee on shrew loos, rogue drones and being rained out of bed
VISIONS OF NATURE
The winners of the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2024, from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
