Biology Reference
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Yet, poaching remains an issue in South Africa, with 333 rhino killed in 2010. Among
wildlife, rhinos have been poor at adapting to human predators. Just like musk ox, they turn
their tails inwards and horns outward when challenged by for example lions, which serves
them well. However, when approached by humans they are indecisive or may stand their
ground, making them easy prey for poachers. Paradoxically, the cost of security has increased
against poaching and anti-hunting sentiment has risen, causing the price of rhinos to fall at
auctions. Thus, a greater threat to the population is not the poaching per se, but the falling value
of ranching rhino for hunting and the increasing cost protection with a slimmer profit margin.
Indeed, the Chairman of the Timbavati Game Reserve has pointed out that it take 18,000 guest
nights at their lodges to equal the profit of one hunter taking a scientifically identified white
rhino for “off take”. Up to this point, as a result wildlife protection and sustainable restoration
efforts, the Southern African economies and people have benefited. Again similar to the US
bison population, where the combination of American National Parks and private ranches
increased the numbers to over 200,000 bison by 1997 and some 15,000 were harvested that
year from ranches for the meat industry. This number far exceeds the numbers present in
National Parks alone and allowed restaurants chains like Ted Turner's Montana Grill, from his
vast protected areas like Vermejo, New Mexico, to provide excellent and heart healthy bison
steaks to the public. Other USA examples of wildlife restorancies are bald eagles (now 10,000
breeding pairs in the lower 48 states), whooping cranes, California condor (22 to over 400),
eastern peregrine falcons (154 breeding pairs 20 years ago, now 4,000 pairs), beavers,
turkeys, osprey, grizzlies in Yellowstone
Grizzly Bear in Oregon Park Begging for Bread Buns
black bears, Florida panthers have tripled to some 90, deer (White tails, half a million in 1900
now 20 million), gray wolves, and the Cuyahoga Valley has been restored.
Many of these efforts were the result of legislation starting with the Lacey Act of 1900 in
response to the killing of birds for feathers, Weeks-McLean Act of 1913 for water fowl and
subsequent Migratory Bird Acts, the 1934 Duck Stamp Act, Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937
raising money from hunters through arms and ammunition tax, the Endangered Species Acts of
1966, 1969 (included ban on foreign endangered animals and products), and 1973 (added
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