More than half of the world's big carnivores including lions, wolves and bears are disappearing at an alarming rate, a new study has found. These big carnivores play an important role in maintaining the balance of the nature by offering their ecological services such as helping other smaller predators in coping up with the climate changes and eating diseased and other wild animals that might contaminate the livestock largely.
"Globally, we are losing our large carnivores," said lead author of the study Prof. William Ripple from Oregon State University. "Their ranges are collapsing. Many of these animals are at risk of extinction, either locally or globally."
The research performed at Pacific Northwest's Olympic National Park and in Yellowstone National Park revealed that the big meat eaters were under increasing pressure of extinction and the loss of such species could be extremely damaging for our ecosystems through out the world.
"Promoting tolerance and coexistence with large carnivores is a crucial societal challenge that will ultimately determine the fate of Earth's largest carnivores and all that depends upon them, including humans," wrote the authors of the review article.
In the paper, researchers admitted that the solution to get a control over the extinction was complicated, but after all it was humans who should feel ethically obligated towards the conservation of large carnivores.
However, other experts noted that the fear from these carnivores were legitimate and natural. "You cannot expect somebody living in rural Africa or rural Asia to risk being eaten by a lion or a tiger so that your moral sense is gratified back in California or Texas or New York," said Craig Packer who is an ecologist at the University of Minnesota. "Conservationists need to recognize that there are legitimate reasons why people want to get rid of these animals."
According to the research, wolf-specific tourism in Yellowstone National Park is a business of $22 to $48 million per year.
The developments of the research is published in the Jan 10 issue of Science.
