Humans to the rescue!

Humans to the rescue!

Humans to the rescue!

Zoe Everitt discusses three recent news stories from the natural world:

Hundreds work to save Hanoi's legendary giant turtle

Next mass extinction an eyeblink away: scientists

Critically Endangered Javan Rhinos and Calves Captured on Video

Reading the three stories listed above puts me in two minds about our relationship with species other than our own. On the one hand, when a species becomes critically endangered we desperately try to save it; all efforts are made to stop it disappearing from the face of the planet. On the other, we sit on the verge of a no turning back stage'where we lose hundreds of species in a geologically minimal period of time. Are we always coming to the rescue too late?

Take the giant freshwater turtle in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake. According to legend, emperor Le Loi used the sword of the Dragon King to remove the invading Chinese from Vietnam. It was the giant turtle that asked Le Loi to return the sword to the Dragon King, swallowed the sword and sunk beneath the surface. Because of this legend the turtle has enjoyed celebrity status for centuries, despite being seen rarely. But this status does not extend to ensuring that its habitat is kept in the best condition for the turtle. Hanoians are proud of their folklore but are prepared to dump raw sewage into the habitat that preserves this folklore.

Similarly, footage of the Javan rhinos has prompted efforts to properly manage and protect the species to stop its numbers dwindling further than the mere forty that might be left in the wild. But it is only the proof that the species are breeding that has boosted conservation efforts. It seems we need a prompt to we make better attempts to take endangered animals out of danger; a sighting, a video, evidence of wounding. Our conservation attempts are only a reaction; not just action.

However, not wishing to be down on mankind, our attempts to reverse the effects of our population on the earth have been successful, you can see that with the example of the South African white rhino or the protection from hunting of the Greenland White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons flavirostris). So you could argue that reaction is, at least, better than standing by inactive. I would also like to believe that we are far more aware now than we ever have been about the effect of our actions on the world. Reports such as 'Next mass extinction an eyeblink away: scientists' help us to realise that we must do something if we want to save the world. By conducting surveys, monitoring wildlife, educating local people, and developing positive solutions to the problems associated with the balance between human and animal population we can perhaps begin to pre-empt which species are in most need of help. Perhaps we can get to a point where we do not need proof to believe that they need saving. In fact, because of this action, they won't need to be saved at all. And we won't need to come to the rescue.

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