Our visit to Cabela’s and reading of Sterba’s Nature Wars seems to have spurred much thought about hunting and trophies and guns in America.
This story will stretch your preconceived notions about the sort of people that seek solace in shooting Odocoileus virginianus in Penn’s woods, and then have their trophies mounted. Also see comments at the bottom.
Today in conservation biology lab we visited Jacobsburg State Park and learned a little bit about park management, the issues park managers face, and how issues with park management are addressed. While walking the Henry’s Woods, and old growth forest, the park manager, Mr. Robert Nietz, asked what the biggest wildlife interaction issue in the state of New Jersey is. Without hesitation I raised my hand and responded, “Bears!” I can thank Nature Wars for this answer. He continued to tell us a story about a bear sighting at Jacobsburg that reminded me a lot about the chapter on bears in Nature Wars.
He told us at one point during this summer a family of black bears entered the park. He was not at the park at the time, but was called in to handle it. Mr. Neitz said when he arrived one of the cubs had climbed up the tree in fear to avoid the mass of people that gathered to get pictures with their cell phones of the spectacle. He said in addition to this unfortunate incident that some of the people had proceeded to follow the mama bear and her other cub across the Bushkill. He pointed out that mama bear could have very easily become aggressive in the presence of her cubs, and it was pretty clear he was not pleased with the actions of Jacobsburg visitors on that day.
This story brought me back to the chapter on bears as it demonstrated our skewed perception of this animal. We think of them as cute, cuddly things that will not do us any harm. However, because people see bears that way, bears are often mistreated and that day in Jacobsburg could have gone much more differently if Mr. Neitz and the park staff had not moved people along and stopped visitors from following the bears.
After watching The Cove today, and looking into this upcoming film called Racing Extinction created by the same filmmakers, I was a bit curious about the sorts of animals being hunted and wildlife trade in sketchy markets. I found this list on the 6 endangered species being hunted to extinction. Essentially the hunting of these species is what will most likely erase them from the face of the Earth. Hopefully Racing Extinction has a significant impact; it would be a shame to lose these elephants, rhinos, tigers, sea turtles, lemurs, and gorillas as a result of human action.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/07/31/globalpost-6-endangered-animals-poachers-hunting-into-extinction/30932385/
By sheer coincidence, I stumbled across a very relevant article this evening about a new film that was to be aired tonight on Discovery Channel. The film is called Racing Extinction by Louie Psihoyos, the very same director of The Cove, with the Oceanic Preservation Society team, also from The Cove. While I was unable to view it tonight, I will most likely look into viewing it at some other point in time.
Similar to The Cove, this film includes a team of activists attempting to expose issues. This time, the film explores issues of endangered species and mass extinction, particularly due to climate change and the wildlife trade. The film explores This is quite a hot topic recently, and I’ve encountered it numerous times now, in my summer reading before freshman year, in various other readings in class, as well as a relevant lecture or two about extinctions as recent as last month.
The film hopes to inspire action by promoting activism. I wonder if this form of media presentation will actually be powerful enough to make true impacts.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alliewilkinson/2015/12/02/marine-life-gets-major-screen-time-in-racing-extinction-airing-tonight/
Yesterday (Dec 1), Japan launched a new program of 12 years of “research whaling” for Minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean. This in defiance of the UN International Court of Justice ruling last year.
The purpose of JARPA II [the new “research” program] was “to monitor the Antarctic ecosystem, model competition among whale species and improve the management of minke whale stocks.”
I stumbled across a rather disappointing article that discusses the state of the northern white rhino population. Recently, 25% of the population was lost in an instant, because that 25% was one of four northern white rhinos left on the planet. That figure is crazy to consider, especially now that there are only three of these creatures left, all of which are protected at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. These animals were poached in great numbers for their ivory tusks down to the brink of extinction. This reminded me of the display at Cabela’s that featured the dangerous game animals to be hunted, promoting the pride of killing these kinds of animals without consideration for any implications The related southern white rhino was previously in a similar position, even thought to be extinct, until conservationists successfully built a 20,000 strong population from a small group that was found. Unfortunately, the remaining northern cousins are unlikely to reproduce on their own. The only way to save the population is through science fiction-turned-nonfiction methods, such as freezing genetic material to create a northern and southern hybrid and then a new northern embryo.
This story illustrates some interesting cultures regarding views of nature and the place of animals and humans. The rhinos are one example of many creatures that have already or are near going extinct due to anthropogenic forces on the environment. During this period of mass extinction, humans have pushed animal populations both directly and indirectly. They have hunted creatures like the rhino specifically for the ivory, and they have also propelled climate change by cutting down forests that provide a home to so many animals. People often do not consider the animals involved in the environment, whether they consider humans as part of or separate from nature.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/25/northern-white-rhino-extinction-endangered-animals-save
On a brighter note, I also read an article about a species that has struggle due to human impact, but that species now appears to be making a comeback. Baby saddleback tortoises have been found on a small Galapagos Island for the first time in over a century. I was shocked that babies have not been around for this long, as it would seem unlikely for a species to survive with such a low reproductive rate. Thankfully, these tortoises live long lives. Researchers found ten babies, and there may be even more than that. This shows that this species can reproduce on its own in the wild again. The population was decimated by rats preying on the hatchlings after the rats were brought to the island on ships. Extensive conservation efforts have helped the population by growing babies in captivity until large enough to not be eaten by rats, and they have also removed the rat population. This story shows both positive and negative human intervention in the environment. The population was first threatened because of the introduction of a new species on man’s ships, but the population is now being aided by passionate humans as well. This success story gives hope to conservationists for positive change.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/02/baby-tortoise-born-galapagos-first-time_n_6787578.html
Granted, I haven;t been to Cabela’s yet so I don’t really have an opinion on the matter, but the talk about the displays of animals got me thinking about displays that I have seen.
As a kid, I often frequented the Fairbanks Museum in Vermont with my family (http://www.fairbanksmuseum.org). One of the most impressive parts of the small museum are the stuffed animals on display on the first floor. The polar bear in particular was always impressive to me because of its massive size as it is displayed on its hind legs. On the plaques that shared general information about the animals, such as habitat and diet, the plaques also displayed information about who donated the animal. All of the preserved specimens in the displays were donated by some hunter who had killed the animal and then later donated its taxidermy. The talk of Cabelas and the plaques that display the names of the hunters who shot the animals reminded me of this. Although education is clearly not the main focus of Cabelas, I was wondering if for many patrons of the store, this was the closest thing that they are able to get to that kind of education, being able to see animals that they would never be able to see in the wild or wouldn’t have the time to visit a museum. Possibly its a way of killing two birds with one stone: picking up hunting supplies and seeing a variety of different animals.
In “Goose Music” Aldo Leopold writes about the non-economic values of wildlife (somewhat ironic now I suppose, considering the population explosion of Canada geese in the last two decades).
Consider the monarch, what good is it to humankind? A whole lot, this tree-hugger would argue. So this is welcome news:
I was looking on the internet for photos of The Kittery Trading Post, near where I live, when I came across this article (http://www.oddthingsiveseen.com/2013/03/the-inside-out-museum-cabelas.html) comparing KTP (the affectionate moniker for the store used by us locals) with Cabela’s. The man who wrote it took a moderately condescending stance, making allusions to the “rednecks” who frequent stores like Cabela’s but I agreed with the main point of this piece which focused on the prevalence and display of taxidermized animals at each location. Ocker (the writer) cites the difference in scale of the animals represented at KTP and Cabela’s and also the variety.
At KTP, the animals are positioned (mostly) tastefully, and are accessories to the merchandise as opposed to mascots in the shape of centerpieces. They are moose, mountain lions, otters, beavers, pheasants, and other critters who lived and died in Maine or other nearby parts of New England/Canada. Despite being someone who loves animals and is easily made sad at the thought of their death, I have never felt uncomfortable with the way these animals are presented (except for the babies, there’s a baby black bear on the way to the camping section that’s always broken my heart). Having read the post that the Cabela’s post is a response to (http://www.oddthingsiveseen.com/2012/11/dead-animals-and-christmas-shopping.html) I took this man’s reaction to be similar- one of amusement and amazement and an understanding of the store’s intention. It is a spectacle, to be sure, and it’s grown monumentally from it’s original roots as a fur trading post in the 1800s, but it retains a sense of authenticity and appreciation for that which it displays and sells in the name of nature.
At Cabela’s, walking through the front door feels like an assault of some sort. The way the animals were posed and mounted just made me imagine them all stacked in a massive pile with a Cabela’s manager plotting where they would go in the absurdly enormous warehouse-style store. This again seemed to accord with this man’s thoughts upon his encounter with the outdoor-retail superstore. The big game animals feel out of place and museum-like, but not in a way that one is intended to appreciate them so much as one is supposed to browse them on their way through the gift shop while they entertain more important matters, like guns and meat processors. Amusingly, Ocker was confused about the living fish surrounded by dead animals, just as we were when we analyzed “The Mountain”.
I don’t think Ocker felt as disconcerted by the experience as we did, and I find it entirely likely that many classmates would be just as disturbed by KTP as they were by Cabela’s. Perhaps it is my proximity to and history with KTP that allows me to view it as a nature-respecting, outdoors-promoting establishment. Perhaps it is my ties to Maine and my understanding of the states’ residents’ appreciation for moose and woodland critters that allows me to justify their displays as tasteful. But I found it really interesting to stumble upon this man’s investigation of both stores and wonder what comparisons and differences others might draw between the two.
“High horns, low horns, silence, and finally a pandemonium of trumpets, rattles, croaks, and cries that almost shake the bog with its nearness, but without yet disclosing whence it comes. At last a glint of sun reveals the approach of a great echelon of birds. On motionless wing they emerge from the lifting mists, sweep a final arc of the sky, and settle in clangorous descending spirals to their feeding grounds. A new day has begun on the crane marsh.” – Aldo Leopold, Marshland Elegy
Some photos from Cosumnes Preserve, CA:
