This is what happens if we don’t do ANYTHING about our environment and the innocent animals. The LEAST we can do is to sign as many environment and animal rights petitions as we can, hoping that at least 50% of them will succeed. I know some who have, such as the ban of foie gras in California, the ban of cruel animal testing in EU, and the ban of animal-tested products in Israel, and the list goes on. One by one we can stop this cruelty… It’s just that every signature counts (especially if we’re just in front of our computers anyway).
This is hardly news. It’s believed to have been extinct here since the 1970s. Recent efforts to find traces of the animal (scat, paw prints, etc.) have proven fruitless, and this was reported a couple years ago.
Doesn’t make it right, and we do have to act to prevent more species from going extinct as a result of human activity. As for which petitions to sign, I’m all for that as long as the organization behind it is reputable, and not a pack of loons like PETA.
And I say this as a tree-hugging liberal environmentalist.
(I’ve also wondered about the possibility of re-introducing the Clouded Leopard to Taiwan, as it lives in parts of continental Asia.)
The Taiwan subspecies was distinct apparently, though I’m not sure just in which way. I don’t see a point in reintroducing it. What would you hope to accomplish? The factors that drove the previous population into extinction have not changed, so at best the leopards would just be making it, and at worst they would go extinct again. The real conversation here is how to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself with Taiwan’s other indigenous animals.
Actually lots has changed. For one thing the deer population has exploded and now the gov may need to cull herds. Better to have a wild cat do that.
Also most of the interior of Taiwan is now very well protected especially with the closing of a lot of forestry roads which made getting into remote areas easy. There were no national parks back in the 70s, no forestry reserves, and no environmental groups.
Land animals are now well protected in Taiwan and there should be little risk of new species going extinct (with the exception of the formosan bear).
You should see the Red Kites that have been reintroduced in south east England. There’s a big push to bring back wolves, too. Just because we were idiots in the past doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll repeat the process (although we probably will ).
A lone hunting animal would be trickier for many reasons - not least because of the proximity of China.
The clouded leopard was one of the apex predators that other species evolved with over 100,000s or millions of years, so without it here populations of deer and small mammals could potentially explode.
One issue with reintroduction is that the clouded leopard supposedly preferred lowland and low elevation forests.
[quote]Actually lots has changed. For one thing the deer population has exploded and now the gov may need to cull herds. Better to have a wild cat do that.
Also most of the interior of Taiwan is now very well protected especially with the closing of a lot of forestry roads which made getting into remote areas easy. There were no national parks back in the 70s, no forestry reserves, and no environmental groups.
Land animals are now well protected in Taiwan and there should be little risk of new species going extinct (with the exception of the formosan bear).[/quote]
the big issue here is going to be animal rights vs human rights. Aboriginal hunters are still very much present, even in very remote areas of mountains. they set up camps and hunt pretty much anything. Not to sound racist, as is commonly assumed when disgracing a race, but as a whole and very generally speaking the aboriginals here are terrible people as far as animal welfare is concerned. Animal cruelty/torture/generally psychotic behavior. not that they are any different than other races, but here if they saw leopards i bet many would still hunt them so they can put it ion their nice fancy ceremonial dress up. And i do know many are not liek this, but there are so many that kill anything its unreal. I cant tell you how many rotting animals i have found in abandoned/unchecked traps.
one of those never ending debates. If you see something rare, should you mention it to the authorities? In Taiwan i wouldn’t, but its a tough one.
ps. extinct means gone, extirpated means locally gone. Clouded leopards certainly are not extinct, only extirpated in places that have little human compassion.
Taiwan is getting better, for sure. But i think it’s still FAR too immature a nation to bother with reintroductions of such prized and special animals. Maybe it would work in parks? but i see hunting there too.
Unrelated question, is it actually legal for hunters to have guns? i am getting worried now as there are so many out there and i hike a lot but here there is pretty much zero hunting safety in any way shape or form. Here in Pingtung the re is currently quite a lot of money being injected into tourism, and lots of mountain roads are opening up and being built up nicely, which means lots more people. Almost every time i go out i hear gun shots still…matter of time til someone catches one.
According to the IUCN, clouded leotards are ‘of least concern’. I have a pair, somewhere, from a former career as a somewhat excitable calisthenics instructor.
Here in the southern USA, the last tract of forest with a population of ivory-billed woodpeckers was cleared in the 1940s for lumber to aid the war effort! While I think our Endangered Species Act goes too far, had it been the law then the species might have survived.
There are many rules and international places governing endangered species. But things like IUCN and CITES dont really help here in Taiwan, perhaps mostly because the big problem in Taiwan isnt so much international trade but local destructive habits. in the case of leopards anyway, other animals like bugs and such are another story. I think it could be possible to do it here, but it would be expensive, they would have to be tagged and tracked and also placed inside a very well monitored area (national park).
Honestly i think the story of the Taiwan leopard should be used and abused to prove a point on how pitiful local views are on the environment and local wildlife. We had an hour long discussion last Tuesday with my grade 8 class on wildlife protection in Taiwan and even they got it. A group of kids who constantly tell me how yummy different exotic, to me, animals are. They even realized things like pollution, chemicals, hunting and land loss as the reasons, without much persuasion from me.
USA protection laws are a bit messed up. They do protect some stuff, but only when it is not in any way going to affect financial or ideological factors. As is common most places. That said i am FAR happier jumping through hoops such as CITES to ensure poaching for international trade is at least somewhat reduced, instead of having total free trade of anything i want. Some environmental protection laws are probably one of the few groups of laws that limit “human” rights that i am on board with whole heatedly.
oh thanks for the link. funny, i went hiking a while ago and ran into some retired teachers. they invited me to that Taiwan from Above seminar on Nov 2. I went, there was no movie, but hte man seemed pretty smart. My Chinese isnt hot but i did listen to the whole thing and was pretty impressed. Moreso by the fact it was free and the place was FULL. i felt really good after that. will watch the movie when i get my computer back, sitting in a betel nut shop is annoying listening to anything.