There is always strong debate when people parade exotic pets around in public. The common argument is that wildlife should be left alone to fend for themselves in their natural environment. But with natural habitat being obliterated from the face of the earth daily we need to look elsewhere to conserve and preserve wildlife. Education is at the very forefront of wildlife conservation. There are many serious concerns facing wildlife today and we are in a far better position to fix the problems if we know what’s going on around us. In a perfect world, it's preferable that animals remain in their natural environment. The person, pictured here, can be seen in Sydney most days walking around Circular Quay and on The Corso at Manly with his magnificent four-year-old pet Macaw perched on his shoulder. He raised the bird from the egg so it’s happy to be photographed with anyone if it helps spread the word that exotic animals are worth saving. We can all argue, and rightfully so too, that it would be better for the animal if it was returned to its natural habitat in the South American rainforest but in an ever shrinking natural environment this very popular parrot does more for the environment and furthering the conservation cause perched on someone’s shoulders than it could ever do in the wild.
Jens Ward
Words ④ Wildlife
As I stated on the homepage, the continuing problems facing wildlife sustainability in their natural habitat cannot be ignored if these issues are constantly being highlighted and scrutinized in the press by the general public. But what does that all mean to the youth of today? I asked 26-year-old electrician and budding poet Evered Higgins to write what the slogan Words ④ Wildlife means to him. Evered entertains market-goers in Manly on weekends writing his poetry on any subject given to him using his manual typewriter.
This is what he wrote about W4W.
Words for wildlife before it’s gone.
Day dreaming of rights when most of what we do is wrong,
Long after the birds have stopped singing their songs,
No more rivers and no more ponds,
So much of what we are belongs to nature,
Our social structures and our basic behaviours,
Are much wilder than we think,
We are the world, but it’s teetering on the brink,
Of losing everything that we love and know,
I hope that more words for wildlife can educate and show,
What we can do, but more so what we are,
In a beautiful world that’s being torn apart. E.H
Jens Ward
Words ④ Wildlife
Plants and animals have evolved and adapted over a long period of time to suit the particular environment they find themselves in. In recent times, plants have been taken out of their ‘comfort zones’ and thrown into harsher environments which are not suited at all to their conditioning and needs. Plants once blossomed only under the right climatic conditions but because of their worldwide ornamental appeal and valued food source they are now thriving in alien environments and gardens all around the world. Tropical plants now happily coexist alongside their temperate cousins. Plants are now far better placed to survive and propagate because of their dispersal to the four corners of the earth. The text on the sustainability of wildlife needs to take a leaf out of the book on botanics. Plants have ensured their future because of their adaptability in unsuitable environments, and wildlife needs to look to habitats further afield too despite conditions not being ideal. Dispersement, with our help, of all endangered species to far flung habitats around the globe will ensure that wildlife and plants alike survive by sheer weight of numbers.
Satellites orbiting our planet are crucial in telling us so much about what is going on below. The perspective of life on earth from space is invaluable to scientists when determining the extent of the damage done to our environment. Satellites show us up-to-the-minute images of herds of wildlife and their travel patterns as they search for food and water, and where deforestation is occurring down to the very centimeter. Thanks to satellites, we can preempt weather conditions before they happen and they constantly monitor atmospheric gases as well as ice flows and sea levels. This data gives scientists a better understanding of where we are headed. Satellites give us the ability to communicate with one another anywhere on earth so we are able to remedy any potential problem or threat effectively before it gets out of control. That’s not theoretically speaking, either. It’s fact! Satellites provide us with the big picture so that we can plan ahead before a catastrophe actually occurs. They are a godsend in mapping out a future for wildlife too. Who would have thought a century earlier that we would have the capability of pinpointing a fly on someone’s nose from space and putting that technology to good use in preserving our planet for the future. Our ability to view earth from space shows us in detail where we are going wrong environmentally.
The main problem facing wildlife sustainability is loss of natural habitat. Humans have monopolised wilderness that was once the sole domain of other animal species. Homo sapiens, because of their inventiveness and adaptability, can live just about anywhere on the planet while many other animal species cannot adapt so readily to new environmental surroundings.These threatened species are being forced out to the very edges of their habitat because of human encroachment. As animals, it is a natural progression to dominate other species by claiming territory as their own as we have done ruthlessly over the last few thousand years. We are the one species who can reason, so what can we do to save wildlife from further destruction? There are vast tracts of land around the globe that are uninhabitable because of the lack of water. Why can’t we pump runoff into these areas and create an oasis where threatened wildlife can live, and procreate. Does it sound so incredulous when we can lay down thousands of kilometres of oil and natural gas pipeline? We have the technical knowhow to harness water, both artesian and surface runoff, for irrigation. We will eventually need to irrigate deserts for our own benefit and survival as our population explodes, so why not start now? We don’t necessarily require huge tracts of arid land to create new self-sustainable wilderness areas. Plant fruit trees in the backyard, and watch wildlife return virtually overnight. We can create an oasis on our properties simply because we have water delivered by pipeline to our homes from reservoirs and dams located a great distance away. We just need to scale up the operation.
All animal species have an irresistible urge to both feed and procreate. It is the driving force behind all of us. If one of these urges is not fulfilled then species cease to exist. There are many contributing factors that put wildlife at risk, especially in this day and age of environmental uncertainty. When pests are inadvertently introduced into areas where the local animal population has no natural defence against their predation and voracious appetites then those defenceless creatures are doomed. Islands act as natural defence barriers against unwanted intruders but once these walls are breached then local animal populations are decimated to the point of extinction. The common rat is one such intruder which has created havoc wherever it has landed as stowaways on shipping. This highly adaptable rodent not only competes with the local population for food but they eat eggs and young as well. They can climb trees, fall 20 metres without injuring themselves, swim for three days and can survive in adverse conditions where other species would surely perish. They reach plague proportions very quickly, and overrun their competition in sheer numbers. Rats are harmful to humans as well. These pesky rodents carry more than 40 lethal human diseases and have taken more human lives in the last 1000 years than all the causalities of wars and revolutions combined. They feast on new shoots and seedlings, and effectively stop some plants and forests from regenerating. They are a blight on the landscape, and difficult to eradicate. Poisons keep them in check but it is labour intensive work, and costly. Poison baits also kill other animal species, so it's not an ideal solutiion to eradicating rats. Once rats are introduced into an area they are hard to budge, but budge we must.
Once upon a time dinosaurs ruled the world. What does that mean? It simple means that the earth has a great ability to regenerate itself with other species because dinosaurs no longer roam our planet like they did fearlessly for 165 million years. Dinosaurs ruled land, sea and sky, and disappeared mysteriously from the face of the earth some 65 milliion years ago. No one knows exactly why. Modern man or homo sapiens have been around for just 100,000 years or so, and in the last few thousand years the human race has exploded to a point where their numbers and the pollution they create are impacting detrimentally on the natural environment. It is patently obvious that humans are heading down the road of self destruction, and dragging all other species with it into the abyss. According to fossil evidence, dinosaurs didn’t just die out overnight. They thrived here for millions of years. Modern man, in contrast, is barely a blip on the evolutionary radar compared to these giants, and yet our destructive force has been far greater in such a very short period of time.
We all love cute and cuddly animals but the real workers keeping our environment healthy are insects which are responsible for aerating the soil, pollinating plants, breaking down animal remains and creating nutrient rich top soil essential for plant growth. They are also a major food source for many other animals. Some insects are responsible for eradicating pests that destroy plant life. For every animal there is a predator, and this helps maintain the delicate balance in nature. But if insects can't do their job because of environmental degradation then that delicate balancing act is put out of kelter, and as a result some species will fall victim like dominos. There are an estimated 1.5 million known insect species of which 97 percent are beneficial to the environment. As long as we protect habitat, nature will do the rest managing the ecosystem. So, before crushing an insect simply because you don’t like the look of it remember that without them humans would cease to exist. Writer Jens Ward happily poses with a creepy crawly. The truth is we need insects far more than they need us.
Frogs are natural environmental indicators, and when they start disappearing from the wild like they have been doing in recent years then we know that there is something seriously wrong with the ecosystem. Amphibians, like these cute tree frogs pictured with writer Jens Ward, have porous skin so fluids and air are easily absorbed into their bodies making them very susceptible to pollutants. When these extraordinary bio-indicators disappear it means that the water or air is tainted. Frogs are also very sensitive to ultraviolet radiation which has increased in recent times due to holes in the ozone layer that surrounds our planet providing a protective shield from the sun’s deadly rays. As a result the earth is overheating creating a hothouse effect which is a major cause of climate change. Frogs are an important food source for many animals and are beneficial to humans too because they eat insects and pests while tadpoles act as natural filters for our drinking water. So, taking frogs out of the environment impacts seriously on the food chain, and on our already fragile ecosystem. We can learn from frogs, and take action to correct problems in the environment.
As an investigative journalist I uncovered the systematic dumping of toxic trade waste and heavy metals by industry in waterways around Sydney, Australia. For this I won best news story. The poisoning of the environment with toxic trade waste combined with the suffocating greenhouse gases we create has forced wildlife to the very brink. It is not about if but when so now is the time to preserve the present for the future. It is time to act by building a biological bank to store the DNA of threatened wildlife species so they are not lost forever, and can be brought back to life when the scientific knowhow becomes available as it surely will in the not too distant future. We cannot rely on this action as a solution but more as a contingency strategy, and every good plan has a back-up.
For animal species to survive indefinitely in this ever shrinking natural environment perhaps we need to live together with wildlife, and I mean that literally. Certain vulnerable animal species could well be protected from extinction if we opened our homes and properties to them. Zoos have had some success breeding animals in captivity but just imagine if exotic animals were made available to the general public. For every failure, I have no doubt that there would be several success stories of animals living and breeding in the family home. Captive breeding programs are spread far too thinly and opening our homes and hearts to endangered animal species would ensure not only their survival but expand the gene pool as well. It is not ideal, but animal species are disappearing so rapidly from the face of the earth that we need to consider drastic measures to ensure their continued survival. It has been a long wait but after nearly 30 years Sydney’s Taronga Zoo has announced that three short-beaked echidna puggles were born in captivity. The births are encouraging but we need more of them, and opening our homes to captive breeding programs might just be the answer. Writer Jens Ward took this selfie with a short-beaked echidna he encountered on a walk around North Head, Manly. Echidnas are the oldest surviving mammal on the planet today, and we need to keep it that way.
British Columbia is seriously considering introducing a special wildlife tax to better manage and protect moose and other wild game which have been steadily declining in numbers in the Canadian province in recent years due to over hunting and industrial encroachment. I’m a staunch believer that government taxes need to be levied to preserve and protect wildlife living in their natural environment. Only through political intervention and ongoing government funding does wildlife have a future at all living in wilderness. While wildlife organisations are doing their best to fund environmental and ecological initiatives through public appeals and donations, money needs to be allocated indefinitely by governments for the sole purpose of sustaining animals living in wilderness. If government taxes can be collected on most goods and services, then there should be no argument about taxes being used to help sustain natural habitat which we all enjoy. I feel confident that the general public wouldn’t begrudge an evironmental levy that protects animals living in the wild.
I recently visited the Philippine Eagle Centre in Davao on the island of Mindanao where I was taken on a guided tour around the sanctuary’s impressive grounds as well as given an insight into their captive breeding program. The back drop to the Eagle Centre and Davao City is the majestic 3000m tall Mt Apo which is affectionately known as grandfather. The mountain has been a safe haven for the Philippine Eagle until recently when fire destroyed much of the vegetation on the slopes and surrounding area. The Philippine Government was quick to restrict travel to the peak until the vegetation is able to regenerate. The Philippine Eagle can be found in small pockets over most of the Philippine archipelago but its numbers are dwindling due to deforestation, and hunting. Anyone caught hunting the eagle faces large fines, and up to 12 years imprisonment. It is estimated that only 400 pairs of this extraordinary animal remain in the wild. The Philippine Eagle Centre in Davao was specifically designed to reintroduce the Philippine Eagle through its captive breeding program back into the wild. The Centre’s star attraction is 14-year-old captive bred Mindanao who sits contentedly on log out in the open for all to enjoy. Visitors to the Centre are restricted from getting too close to him, but I was given special permission to get up very close and personal for this photo shoot. I was so captivated by this magnificent raptor that I was reluctant to leave him. The Centre is home to 36 Philippine Eagles, 18 of which have been bred in captivity. The Philippine Eagle Foundation is ensuring that this impressive animal which grows to 102cm and weighs as much as 8kg has a future. Every egg laid at the Eagle Centre is treasured by staff like gold, and incubated in its onsite laboratory so that hatchlings survive the critical gestation period. Every rare hatchling is kept out of sight of human beings so that the eaglet doesn’t form an attachment or bond to people, and this procedure gives the raptor every possible chance of surviving in the wild on its own. Staff couldn’t tell me how many Philippine Eagles had been successfully released into the wild, only that it takes years before the larger female accepts a male for breeding purposes in captivity. Initially, male and female are separated in large aviaries until they show signs of acceptance of one another. While I was at the Philippine Eagle Centre, the staff were excited because two Philippine Eagles had been paired together to breed. I suspect the Centre has no intention of releasing Philippine Eagles into the wild when there is money to be made seeing them in captivity. However, the fact that Philippine Eagles are being bred in captivity is to be applauded.
Money puts people in key paid positions to protect and help sustain wildlife living in their natural habitat. Money also brings awareness to the plight of wildlife sustainability, and funding is the singular most important weapon in fighting degradation of the natural environment. Individuals can stand on soapboxes and voice their concerns about environmental issues till they’re blue in the face, but without political representation and bipartisan support wildlife conservation will only ever receive token funding and piecemeal solutions to a monumental problem that requires intervention by governments not organisations if it is ever to succeed in the long term. The preservation and protection of wildlife needs to be written into the constitution, and an international fighting fund set up and administered by government representatives from the international community. The proposed carbon tax levied on countries to reduce greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide omissions on a polluter pays principle is an effective long term solution in combating climate change but we need to act on conserving wildlife right now. Some of the world's major national parks and game reserves have fallen into a state of disrepair because not enough is allocated for their upkeep and security. The point here is that without a constant injection of capital wildlife sustainability is dying a slow and inevitable death. If enough individuals were to bequeath money to wildlife conservation then I wouldn’t have to write this column. I’m more than happy to put my money where my mouth is. It is the price we pay for our room here on earth. 
There is not much hope for wildlife when impoverished people are competing with fauna for land and resources, and fighting for their very survival. Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is home to the mountain gorilla, pictured, as well as many other diverse animal species and is Africa’s oldest national park. It has the dubious distinction of being the world’s most dangerous national park with bandits and poachers running rampant throughout making it a no go area for most tourists who provide much needed funding to keep it operating effectively. National parks in Africa provide habitat for flora and fauna but they also provide cover for bandits and poachers. I looked up the Australian Government’s website Smartraveller which provides travellers with information on destinations and it was very disturbing to read the site did not recommend one country on the entire African continent that was considered was safe to travel. Smartraveller basically described Africa as hell on earth with robbery, rape, murder, kidnappings, civil unrest and acts of terrorism as part of everyday life. If that wasn’t enough to scare away the most ardent traveller there was the ever present health threat of contracting Ebola, Yellow Fever, Malaria and host of other tropical diseases. We all hate paying income tax but those job opportunities we take for granted and the tax we pay are directly responsible for giving us law and order, a quality health system, an environment protection plan and a way of life that most Africans can only dream about. Despite its drawbacks, Virunga National Park here I come!
It’s so cool getting your photo taken with a wild animal, especially when it gets up close and personal like this lovable bearcat which is the ambassador-at-large at the Crocodile Farm in Palawan. Preferably, animals should remain in their own habitat but with an ever shrinking natural environment animals like this bearcat need to be taken out of the wild occasionally and put on public display so that people can experience for themselves the true wonder of nature. People are much more likely to contribute to wildlife conservation if they are personally involved so photo shoots with animals like this bearcat with writer Jens Ward act as constant reminders to all of us that wildlife is very special, and their survival requires our help so that they remain a big part of the natural landscape for generations to come. Some authorities argue shooting big game raises much needed revenue for wildlife conservation, but the truth is that tourism generates a great deal more. The disturbing fact is some 400 elephants are killed every week in Africa by big game hunters and poachers when the only shooting that should be done is with a camera.
The problem with nature reserves is that wildlife is difficult to contain within the boundaries. But what if the perimeters of wildlife sanctuaries were self-contained as in a headland, peninsula or other such landmass that had the ocean on three sides? Endangered wildlife could be relocated to these areas where they could thrive and multiply in natural surroundings under the close supervision of environmentalists and conservationists. There are countless such areas around the globe where such a cost effective conservation concept could be applied with success. Captive breeding programs have their place in the preservation of animal species, and perhaps those animals born in captivity could be introduced into these areas to propagate in natural surroundings free of human habitat and industrial encroachment. These areas would be chosen solely for their geographical and environmental features as well as their ability to sustain wildlife. We can’t rely on science bringing back extinct animals in a Jurassic Park scenario. The creators of Jurassic Park, however, got it right in locating dinosaurs to lush tropical islands where their isolation was also their protection. By establishing geographically protected pockets of wilderness around the globe and stocking them with endangered species we are safeguarding wildlife with uncertain futures as well as creating a diverse genetic pool. The Australian Wildlife Conservacy is on the right track. The AWC is an independent non-profit organisation whose sole mandate is to protect threatened animal species and their ecosystems by establishing wildlife sanctuaries in the outback. The AWC owns or manages 26 sanctuaries across Australia covering almost 4 million hectares.The AWC has aquired vast tracts of land in mostly arid and semi arid areas of Australia, and these sanctuaries are suitable only to desert dwellers. Land also needs to be acquired in temperate and subtropical areas too to protect wildlife specific to those climate conditions and habitats. We have to think constantly outside the square about new and inventive conservation methods because the world is not what it used to be.
Most democratic countries have stringent animal welfare laws in place to protect both wild and domesticated animals. Wild animals are protected by law to preserve their population numbers living in natural habitat. Legislation also protects domesticated animals farmed for food and other produce from acts of cruelty and unnecessary suffering as are pets and animals kept in zoos. The maltreatment of animals for research or scientific purposes is also unlawful and subject to imprisonment/and or fines in most western countries. Animal abuse and cruelty can take many forms as in the bizarre case in the Philippines when a La Union couple was jailed in 2012 for producing vile fetish videos showing live animals being crushed to death. In 1998, the Animal Welfare Act was enacted in the Philippines to protect terrestrial, aquatic or marine animals from any circumstances likely to cause them unnecessary suffering, or neglect. The successful prosecution of the La Union couple was a small but significant victory for animal rights in the Philippines and demonstrated that the courts took these matters very seriously, and any perpetrators of acts of cruelty or suffering to animals could expect to feel the full force of Filipino law. But making it law doesn't necessarily mean that it is enforced, especially when officials and police in this impoverished country are often bribed to turn a blind eye to illegal practices. Inroads are being made into wildlife conservation simply because native fauna need to be protected to attract much needed tourist dollars. Animals are an important and vital natural resource, and should be treated with the same respect, regard and care that we afford ourselves as human beings. Animals do not have a voice, and therefore it is up to us to enforce the laws that protect their rights as animals and to provide the necessary care that ensures their wellbeing now and into the future. It is the duty of every person on this planet to protect the environment, and its destruction is in itself an act of animal cruelty.
People who release cats and dogs into the wild to fend for themselves should feel the full force of the law for their criminal actions. These unwanted pets left to breed and multiply in the wild have the capability of decimating entire animal species who have no natural defence against these apex predators. Pets, like dogs and cats, are very efficient killing machines once freed to hunt in the wild, and they quickly adapt to the natural environment around them. Every school holidays, I witnessed the total disregard that some people had for their pets, and the natural environment. My father was the local veterinarian who practised from our home, and the holiday period was a time he dreaded. During this period my father was asked by people if he would put down their pets because they were going on holidays, and couldn’t care for the animal. He refused, but some people would then drive into national parks and release their pets into the bush, and continue on their merry way to their holiday destination. It was cruel enough that they left their pets behind to survive on their own, but the real act of cruelty was unleashing these predatory animals onto defenceless fauna. Animal shelters are full of unwanted pets who have been picked up wandering the streets. Rearing pets is a great responsibility and they shouldn’t be discarded simply because they outgrow their cuteness or become a hindrance in our lives. People should think very carefully before taking on a pet, because they have an obligation to look after it for the rest of its life. There is no place for feral cats or dogs in today’s fragile natural environment.
We have all lost an animal that we have loved dearly. No matter how much we prepare for the inevitable, the death of a pet is heartwrenching. As a child, I adored a pet I simply called Black Cat (pictured). It belonged to people down the road, and every day after school it would appear on our doorstep wanting to be pampered and fed. After a while it turned up for breakfast too, and it wasn’t long before its owners left it permanently in our care. I suspect my mother had made it worth their while. Black Cat was an unusual looking animal because its tongue always protruded from its mouth and it was missing teeth which was probably the result of being hit by a car. What Black Cat missed in teeth she certainly made up for in personality. It was a very sad day when I returned home from school to be told by my mother that Black Cat had been run over, and killed. I buried her under the lemon tree in our backyard and from that day on I ate those lemons like apples. I watered and fertilized that lemon tree regularly, and she bore me fruit for many years. People are capable of amazing acts of devotion when it involves pet animals. Pets tend to bring out the very best in us and they give us a great appreciation of all animal species, and we often treat them far better than people. We are happy to give them our total undivided attention and in return we receive their unconditional loyalty and companionship so long as we keep their food bowl full. Black Cat didn’t see what was coming. We only have to look around us to see the erosion of natural habitat every day, and its consequences. Unlike Black Cat, we have the foresight of taking preventative action. We need to take direct action now in preserving natural habitat because it wasn't that long ago that household pets were living in abundant wilderness looking after themselves.
Everyone has a favourite animal. For me it’s the diminutive tarsier (pictured), a primate found exclusively in Asia, and endemic to the Philippine archipelago. It is a unique mammal in that it is the only fully carnivorous primate feeding primarily on insects, lizards and small birds which it hunts at night in the jungle springing acrobatically from tree to tree. I find this animal totally engaging which belies its shyness and retiring nature. I first saw this cute and loveable little creature on the island of Bohol in the Philippines where conservationists had created a sanctuary in the middle of the jungle in an effort to increase their dwindling numbers due to loss of habitat. The tarsier, like so many other animal species, is reliant on tropical rainforest to forage for food, so any deforestation has an immediate and profound impact on their ability to survive in the wild. Tarsiers can expect to live to 24 years of age in the wild but this is halved when they are placed in captivity where they often develop sore eyes due to lighting and poor diet, and many sadly commit suicide by hitting their head against objects rather than face the stress of living in an enclosure. Domesticated pets like dogs and cats happily co-exist alongside us in our household environment because their diet is non-specific. If only all animal species were so easily pleased but without a natural food source most wildlife would perish overnight. Wildlife would be guaranteed a future if they could be tamed and fed from a refrigerator but, unlike dogs and cats, they haven’t had generations to adapt to our way of living. Time is a luxury wild animals, like the tarsier, can’t afford while they are living in a rapidly diminishing natural environment.
The thrill kill of Cecil the lion (pictured) for sport evoked worldwide public outrage and condemnation. Cecil thought he was safe living in a national park in Zimbabwe where he was supposed to be protected from hunters and poachers. Cecil was a tourist favourite and was used to all the attention which ultimately proved to be the king’s downfall when he was tempted with a carcass to cross over into an adjoining hunting ground where he was killed by American dentist Walter Palmer (pictured left). No doubt Cecil was too engrossed in devouring the bloody lure to see the hunter cowardly sneak up, and shoot him from just metres away with an arrow. It should have been a kill shot, but Cecil painfully limped off into the bush where he was tracked down some hours later, and dispatched with a bullet through his lion heart. It took the death of Cecil to put wildlife conservation back on the front page where it rightfully belongs. Justice should have prevailed but a year after Cecil’s senseless death hunters like Walter Palmer are still able to take their trophies home to the US to mount on the wall. Game hunters are continuing to exploit a loophole in the law which states that as long as they can show they are contributing to wildlife conservation they can bring the carcasses home. Hunters can obtain permits from the US Fish and Wildlife Service if they can show any trip they make will “enhance the survival” of a species, and all that takes is making a small donation to a local conservation program. Cecil will be remembered as a martyr who died for the wildlife conservation cause. The sad truth is that Cecil will do more in death for wildlife conservation than he could ever have achieved in his lifetime. Cecil will be lionized because his cruel and unnecessary death was brought to the immediate attention of the press unlike so many other wildlife atrocities which slip through the cracks, and never see the light of day in the media. The Zimbabwean Government decided not to press charges against Walter Palmer because it found that Cecil was shot just outside the protective boundaries of a national park, and therefore the dentist couldn't be prosecuted. The reality is that the law in some countries will always side with game hunters when they pay big money for the right to kill wildlife.
Animal species are inextricably woven into the very fabric of their natural habitat, and any change to their environment is going to have a major impact on their numbers and their ability to sustain themselves in the wild. Given time, wildlife is able to adapt to climate change but the current alarming rate of natural habitat loss due to human incursion is already having a profound effect on population numbers of certain species living in wilderness, and some are facing extinction within a matter of years. In a number of cases, natural habitat is being polluted by toxic runoff which is effectively poisoning the environment beyond its ability to regenerate itself. I won an award for best news story by exposing toxic waste being dumped by industry into our natural waterways in and around Sydney, Australia. As a result, the government implemented a polluter pays principle which forced industry to introduce facilities within its plants to treat and contain heavy metal trade waste runoff. Journalists are in a unique position to reveal human induced environmental catastrophes wherever they occur in the world, but ultimately it is the will of the general population that forces the hand of any democratically elected government to take immediate remedial action or face voter backlash at the polling booths. Journalists are given a voice on environmental issues in those countries with elected governments but there are totalitarian states and dictatorships operating in environmentally sensitive locations around the globe who don’t subscribe to any freedom of speech in the press, and therefore the media unfortunately doesn’t hold sway on wildlife conservation issues in those nations.
Millions of dollars are earmarked to develop more advanced radio telescopes to explore life beyond earth. We have the undoubted technology for space exploration, but let’s get our own housekeeping in order here first by looking after the life that already exists on this planet, and ensuring that animal species have a future in the wild. Perhaps, we should be looking up, out and beyond. Perhaps, instead of expanding our urban environment and encroaching on wilderness we should be building more high rises so that wildlife has a place underneath in which to live free of human habitation. We need to be taking a big leap forward instead of little piecemeal steps that are taking us nowhere fast in preserving our natural habitat in a rapidly changing environment. Perhaps, colonization of other planets is the answer to freeing up space here on earth so that our natural habitat is sustainable, and preserved indefinitely. Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking alludes that it’s all good in theory but we need the space now, and time is running out fast.
Wildlife conservation groups are becoming too self-absorbed in raising money for their respective charities, and are losing sight of the wood for the trees. Every conservation organization is fighting for their share of donation dollars when their real focus should be on lobbying governments who are in a far better position to successfully sustain wildlife conservation and preservation programs because of the unlimited resources at their disposal. At the moment most conservation groups are treading water and not making much headway or implementing long term strategies to ensure that there is a future for animal species living in wilderness. The fact is regular news updates from the frontline of wildlife conservation are failing to reach the general public when every effort should be made to publicise the pitfalls and the work being done to preserve natural habitat. Everyone has a personal view on wildlife sustainability but the general population are reliant on professionals in the field to effectively report their findings publicly so that the information can be used to improve the way natural habitat is currently being managed. Conservation groups must also liaise more often with journalists who are ideally placed to circulate wildlife news to a global audience. Conversely, the media should make a far greater effort to not only follow up but to initiate their own leads in furthering the wildlife conservation cause.
Wildlife documentaries will one day be used as archival evidence that certain animal species did, in fact, once roam the earth freely. There has been some fantastic footage made of wildlife in their natural habitat over the years which has given the general public a false sense of security that wildlife is flourishing, and that natural habitat is abundant around the globe. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that most of the natural wildlife footage captured on film are years in the making. These documentaries give the general population the impression that nothing needs to be done to protect animal species in their natural habitat because they appear on film to be surviving well enough in the wild without our help. The fact is that natural habitat is shrinking, like the polar icecaps, at an alarming rate and the wilderness that remains in the world requires our immediate protection. While it is important that we record animal behavior in the wild it is absolutely imperative that the mass media portrays what is really happening behind the captivating scenes that we all enjoy in the comfort of our lounge rooms. Animal species are endangered to the point of extinction and if we don’t act right now documentaries will be the only testimony that wild animals were once a major part of our environment. Koalas have now been classified as functionally extinct in Australia with only 80,000 remaining in the wild.
Yes, I am very passionate about wildlife conservation and preservation and spreading the word globally through the mass media about new funding initiatives and inventive conservation methods that can help sustain animal species living in wilderness. My wildlife conservation objective and ultimately my legacy is to create an extensive worldwide network of journalists/photographers/broadcasters who will gladly give up their time unconditionally to promote animal species living in the wild. It is equally important that wildlife conservation groups are totally transparent in their operations and held accountable for their actions, so that the general population know exactly where their donations and tax dollars are going. I believe not nearly enough is being done to sustain animal species living in their natural habitat. Journalists are the most powerful and compelling resource we have in implementing change, and we need to change our apathetic attitude right now if animal species are to remain a vital part of our environment, and ecosystem. Renowned wildlife conservationist David Attenborough believes that governments need to act immediately in initiating comprehensive renewable energy programs, and save natural habitat from further deforestation. Realistically, there are no financial incentives or any real pressure being placed upon governments by voters for them to go fully green in the foreseeable future, so we have to utilize the power of the press right now to protect endangered species wherever they may exist in the world from further human degradation. The general population has not been made fully aware of the extent of loss of natural habitat globally, and the media has to ring the alarm bells constantly, and compel governments through public pressure to prioritize wildlife conservation procedures. The media must take the guesswork out of wildlife sustainability by reporting widely on achievable economically viable solutions and preventative measures to remedy the growing problem of habitat loss.
Jens Ward
Words ④ Wildlife
What we have to remember which sometimes we choose to forget is that as human beings we are the most successful predator that has ever lived on the face of the earth, and with great success comes even greater responsibility. As apex predators on top of the food chain we have made the earth our domain at the expense of everything else, including all animal species. It is an animal’s birthright to dominate, and populate its territory. Some animal species are more successful than others, and any competition is effectively squeezed out and forced to look further afield for new hunting and feeding grounds. As human beings, with a unique ability to reason, we emerged from the African continent looking for more territory to satisfy our curiosity. We quickly spread our seed to the four corners of the earth where today there is not one part of our planet that is not adversely affected by our presence. A book that had a profound effect on me was The Population Bomb written by Stanford University Professor Paul R. Ehrlich and his wife Anne. It was alarmist in that it prematurely predicted mass starvation due to over population. Despite their untimely predictions, the Ehrlichs were on the right track. Our world dominance as an animal species has effectively eradicated every living thing that has stood in our way. In a very short space of time, we have become a monumental success and the envy of all other life forms on the planet. If our success has taught us one thing it is our ability to not only adapt to our environment but to modify it to make our lives easier, and more pleasurable. The preservation of animal species in the wild is solely our responsibility. We cannot rely on wild animals adapting to our ever encroaching environment, so as the dominant life force on this planet we have to fiercely protect their natural habitat simply because we are in the best position to do so.
Jens Ward
Words ④ Wildlife