Hunting said pushing central African forests to point of collapse

Seed Daily via UPI: Hunting of important animal species in central Africa could be pushing forests to the point of ecological collapse, an international research team says.

Scientists from British and Australian universities and the Wildlife Conservation Society warn the current rate of unsustainable hunting of forest elephants, gorillas and other seed-dispersing species threatens the ability of forest ecosystems to regenerate.

The researchers say unless landscape-wide hunting management plans are put in place there is a risk of environmental catastrophe, a WCS release said Tuesday.

"Humans have lived in the forests of Central Africa for thousands of years, until recently practicing subsistence hunting for the needs of their communities," lead study author Kate Abernethy of Scotland's Stirling University said. "Over the past few decades, this dynamic has drastically changed.

"Much of the hunting is now commercially driven, and species that play important ecological functions are being driven to local extinction."...

A 1910 photo

Two-thirds of forest elephants killed by ivory poachers in past decade

Damian Carrington in the Guardian (UK): The forest elephants of Africa have lost almost two-thirds of their number in the past decade due to poaching for ivory, a landmark new study revealed on Tuesday. The research was released at an international wildlife summit in Bangkok where the eight key ivory-trading nations, including the host nation Thailand and biggest market China, have been put on notice of sweeping trade sanctions if they fail to crack down on the trade.

"The analysis confirms what conservationists have feared: the rapid trend towards extinction – potentially within the next decade – of the forest elephant," said Samantha Strindberg of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), one of 60 scientists on the research team.

There are about 100,000 forest elephants remaining in the forests of central Africa, compared with about 400,000 of the slightly larger savannah elephants. The total elephant population was over 1 million 30 years ago, but has been devastated by poaching driven by the rising demand for ivory ornaments in Asia.

Prof Lee White, head of the National Parks Service in Gabon, once home to the largest forest elephant population, said: "A rainforest without elephants is a barren place. They bring it to life, they create the trails and keep open the forest clearings other animals use; they disperse the seeds of many of the rainforest trees – elephants are forest gardeners at a vast scale."

Forest elephants have suffered particularly badly because they range across central Africa, which has been left lawless in large areas by war, and where poachers have ready access to guns. Furthermore, the tusks of forest elephants are longer, straighter and harder than savannah elephants, making them particularly sought after. "A lot of carvers prefer forest elephant tusks," said WCS's vice president, Elizabeth Bennett....

An African elephant in Tanzania, shot by Gary M. Stolz, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Hunting, fishing groups angle for adaptation efforts.

Ferris Jabr in the Daily Climate: For the average United States' city or 'burb dweller, firsthand evidence of climate change is rare. Hunters and anglers see it every day. That's one of the main messages from a coalition of hunting and fishing organizations that released a report Monday outlining the consequences of climate change for fish and wildlife in the United States.

"It's very evident that major shifts are under way," said Richard Kearney, assistant regional director for climate change for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Southwest region, which was unaffiliated with the report. "We are just now seeing the first stages of big changes in the distribution of fish and wildlife and (their) habitats."

The report, "Beyond Seasons' End," suggests a number of strategies to help wildlife adapt. It expands upon a 2008 report, "Seasons' End," by detailing specific projects for habitat stewardship along with associated costs.

The coalition includes Trout Unlimited, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Pheasants Forever and the Boone & Crockett Club. "We didn't think it was enough to outline the problems," said Steven Williams, President of Wildlife Management Institute. "We wanted to take the next step and show how to adapt."

The document targets fishers and hunters, but everyone should be concerned, Williams added. "What happens to game species like pheasants, duck, elk, and trout will happen to non-game species, too," he said. "As go fish and wildlife, so go human health and quality of life."….

Image from Boy's Hunting Book, from 1890