Guest guest Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 First the news, & then a comment-- The Statesman, Kolkata July 1 2008 Sorry jumbos, says Buddha Statesman News Service KOLKATA, June 30 : There is some hope for Mr Stripes straying into human habitation in Sundarbans, but none for the limbering Jumbos which are being shot down at the Nepal border, though concern for both the species was voiced by Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, state chief minister at the meeting of the state wildlife board in Writers' Buildings today. The chief minister suggested pig rearing in the Sundarbans to increase the tigers' prey base...With several cases of tigers straying into human habitations being reported recently, the chief minister recommended that increasing the prey base for the tigers would be a deterrent to their straying out of the mangrove jungles. One would be hard-pressed to think of a more certain way of ensuring the extinction of tigers than to encourage pig-rearing in their habitat. While tigers might enthusiastically hunt the pigs, the pig-herders could be counted upon to trap, shoot, poison, electrocute, & otherwise exterminate any tigers who ate their stock. Even if they did not, forest habitat which sustains any pigs at all in a region that is historically part of wild pig range will usually sustain pigs at the maximum carrying capacity. Thus introducing domestic pigs would only displace the native wild pigs who are already part of the tigers' prey base -- and would probably result in the introduced pigs wreaking havoc upon the habitat for many other species. Wild pigs tend to disperse to the point that their rooting creates habitat for other species. In general, where wild pigs thrive, one finds all sorts of other burrowing species, pig predators, insects who thrive on pig poop, birds who eat those insects, and other hooved animals who use the pigs' trails. Herders by contrast tend to keep their pigs bunched together much more closely than pigs ever voluntarily distribute themselves. This is in part so that the herders can keep the pigs under surveillance against predation. The result is that wherever the pigs have been, the net effect is similar to the net effect of conducting clear-cut logging, except that clear-cut loggers usually do not leave behind stinking puddles full of Japanese encephalitis-carrying mosquito larvae. In view that all of the above is reasonably well-known to anyone who has ever observed pig behavior in a forest, one must wonder how Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee came to hold a position with authority over wildlife, and why the reporters assembled to listen to him at the Writers' Buildings evidently did not ask him what interest he may hold in evicting tigers from the Sundarbans, developing the pig industry, and perhaps developing the Sundarbans in some manner, once it no longer holds tigers. -- Merritt Clifton Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE P.O. Box 960 Clinton, WA 98236 Telephone: 360-579-2505 Fax: 360-579-2575 E-mail: anmlpepl Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org [ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations. We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year; for free sample, send address.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 >If the introduced pigs displace the native wild pigs and wreak havoc >upon the habitat of other species, could not the same argument hold >for feral animals? The first requirement for a feral animal to survive in a new habitat is that there must be a vacant habitat niche for the animal to exploit: food and cover that are not wholly claimed by an established native species. In the case of feral pigs, they typically do quite well, because pigs are a highly intelligent generalist species, who can make a food source of anything abundant, and dig their own cover. However, feral pigs--like other wild pigs--quickly disperse themselves over broad expanses of habitat. Sows and piglets typically avoid adult boars, because cannibalistic adult boars are among the major predators of piglets. Consequently, either wild or feral pigs rarely do significant damage to habitat. This is very different from what happens when large numbers of pigs are concentrated in particular locations by being herded. -- Merritt Clifton Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE P.O. Box 960 Clinton, WA 98236 Telephone: 360-579-2505 Fax: 360-579-2575 E-mail: anmlpepl Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org [ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations. We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year; for free sample, send address.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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