Fish and Wildlife in America

1
Fish and Wildlife in America
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Renewable resources

• usually taken for granted
• we have developed an attitude that there will
  always be more
• Animals fall into this category

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Renewable resources

• ability to reproduce
• many species have died out
• management of wildlife resources is important

4
Wildlife

• living things that are neither human or
  domesticated
• especially birds, mammals, fishes
• includes both plant and animal life

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Wildlife

• we will concentrate on higher life forms
• vertebrates
• lower forms of plant and animal life are also
  important in maintaining a balance

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United States

• estimated that the continental U.S. contains over
  2,300 different vertebrate species.
• Game animals make up only a small portion of this
  number

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Early Pioneers

• depended on these birds, mammals and fish to
  survive
• meat supplied food
• skins used for shelter and clothing
• oil kept firearms usable

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Early Pioneers

• oil used to light cabins
• with out wildlife resources the wilderness would
  have never been conquered.

9
World Fur Trade

• America was well established
• at the cost of wildlife
• trappers took the animals faster than they could
  multiply
• treated the resources as a crop

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Wildlife killed

• many because they appeared hostile
• bears, wildcats - danger to people
• many species were killed because they threatened
  the safety of domestic animals

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Wrongly accused

• hawks were thought to kill chickens
• mass destruction of hawks took place

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hawks

• stomach contents found to contain
• 40 insects, 30 frogs
• 23 rats and mice, 3.4 small birds
• 2 aquatic wildlife

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stomach contents

• .5 game birds
• .5 rabbits

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Red Tail hawks

• poultry parts were discovered but those parts
  were only a small percentage of the diet
• original premise was unfounded.

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Rare or Endangered

• few in number
• 1966 Endangered Species Preservation Act
• 1969 - Endangered Species Conservation Act

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Congressional Acts

• protect fish and wildlife on a worldwide basis
• protection and conservation of species of native
  fish known to be threatened with extinction

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1969 amendment

• dealt with importation of endangered species into
  the US from anywhere in the world
• called for formation of an endangered species list

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1969 amendment

• list is updated every 5 years
• 1970 the list contained 133 species of mammals
• 124 birds, 24 reptiles
• 25 fish, 1 mollusk

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Extinct species

• no longer exist
• outside of museums or photographs

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Rare species

• one that is no longer common
• in in danger of becoming extinct
• zoos may hold the last examples of the species

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Extinct Species

• Passenger Pigeon
• at one time the population was thought to be in
  the billions
• flew in enormous flocks
• John Audubon estimated on flock he saw at over
  one billion

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Passenger Pigeon

• large flocks would strip all the foliage
• leaving the area bare
• people declared war on the birds
• killing all they could find

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Passenger Pigeon

• captured the young and killed them, shipped them
  to cities as food
• flocks soon disappeared
• NY, PA and MA passed laws to protect them

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Passenger Pigeon

• laws were too late
• birds held in captivity would not breed
• last known passenger pigeon died in the
  Cincinnati Zoo in 1914

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Passenger Pigeon

• body of last passenger pigeon is on display at
  the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC

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Extinct Species

• Carolina Parakeet
• Heath Hen
• Labrador Duck

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Carolina Parakeet

• sought for their colorful feathers which were
  used in womens hats
• final extinction came in 1914

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Heath Hen

• relative of the prairie chicken
• used for food by early settlers
• bird sanctuary set up in the early 1900s

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Heath Hen

• Fire swept through the sanctuary
• a few males survived
• last bird died in 1932

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Labrador Duck

• became extinct before anyone realized it was gone
• most birds were killed for their feathers which
  were used to stuff pillows

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Endangered Mammals

• 133 on the endangered list distributed by the US
  Dept. of the Interior

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Common endangered

• big horn sheep, polar bears,
• key deer, wolves
• mountain lions
• most hunted extensively without considering
  extinction

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Big Horn Sheep

• threatened by extinction from two sides
• humans and disease
• large sheep, relatives of domestic sheep

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Big Horn Sheep

• live high in the mountains
• above the tree line
• 6-7 feet in length
• have long curved horns

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Big Horn Sheep

• are hunted for trophies
• many carcasses are found with head removed
• very alert
• are under protection of game laws
• some are being kept in wildlife reserves

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Polar Bears

• important source of food for Eskimos
• fur is used for clothing
• meat is used for food
• airplane hunting is being used to kill vast
  amounts each year

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Polar Bears

• Females produce only 2 young each year
• stay with mother for 10 months
• Canada and Soviet Union have laws to protect
  these animals

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Key Deer

• smallest white tail deer
• killed for trophies
• strict laws prohibiting hunting
• population increased from 30 to 300 because of
  wildlife refuges

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Wolves

• wolves resemble dogs
• hunt in packs at night
• pack consists of young and old
• female bears 5-14 pups in a den guarded by the
  male
• male and female mate for life

40
Wolves

• feed on domestic livestock
• there have been bounties on wolves
• now bounties can only exist if the population
  endanger the deer population

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Mountain Lions

• has been eliminated in eastern US
• hunt at night
• feed mainly on deer
• humans hunt frequently
• are hunted for skins and heads.
• Hunting is not allowed in national parks, but are
  hunted in forest areas

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Endangered Birds

• there are 124 birds on the endangered species
  list.
• The most common are the whooping crane, bald
  eagle, ivory-billed woodpecker, and prairie
  chicken.

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Whooping Crane

• migrate from Texas to Canada each year
• many are hunted during migration
• nest up to two young per year
• the young fly south with adults

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Whooping Crane

• when birds return to Arkansas Wildlife Refuge
  each year they are counted.
• The count has steadily increased
• at the present time there are only 51 whooping
  cranes

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Bald Eagles

• Has a white head and tail
• bald eagles feed on dead salmon
• bounties have been places for their talons
• are now protected by law

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Bald Eagles

• 500 fine for tampering with an eagle or its nest
• the number to bald eagles continues to drop
• take young 4 years to mature
• can live up to 100 years

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Ivory-billed Woodpecker

• largest woodpecker in North America
• lives in southern states
• nests in tops of old forests
• eat insects and grubs found in old and dying trees

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Ivory-billed Woodpecker

• are being held in secret reserves and one day
  they will be reintroduced to the public

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Prairie Chickens

• is a type of grouse
• Indian dances imitated their mating dances
• oil drilling and drought dwindled the population
• in 1959 the Prairie Chicken Foundation was formed
  to protect them

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Endanger Fish

• there are 25 fish on endangered species list
• 2 species are located in Mammoth Caves and Death
  Valley (pupfish and blind fish)