There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
01-20-2017, 11:58 PM( This post was last modified: 01-21-2017, 12:05 AM by brotherbear )
Tracking Gobi Grizzlies.
Ten thousand years ago, the planet's human population was around 5 million. As of 1930, there were 400,000 times that many folks - about 2 billion. The total hit 3.5 billion by 1970. Between then and 2012, it doubled to 7 billion. During that forty-two-year interval, Earth's total population of vertebrate wildlife - fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals - fell by more than half, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature predicts that one of every four species of mammals will vanish in the near future. A third of all species presently known, and possibly more, may be gone by the end of the century.
............ The existence of grizzlies in the Gobi Desert defies long odds to begin with. If the project proved able to help them rebound, that wouldn't change the world. But it would keep Gobi bears in it - and perhaps raise hope for other implausible-seeming efforts to provide fellow Earthlings with a future. I picture the team climbing a nearby peak to stand on the summit with middle fingers raised, flipping off the forces denaturing the only living planet we know.
Bears of the Himalayan Mountains
