Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Extinction by Committee?

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Can the last 20 Christmas Island pipistrelle bats be saved?  Read more here.

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Comments

  1. Larry says

    The Earth’s wild flora and fauna are a part of who we are, and the endangered species are worth saving. Understandably, the public is only willing to spend X number of dollars for this purpose. Like it or not, we have to make thumbs-up or thumbs-down decisions in individual cases. For the Chinese, saving the Giant Panda is a no-brainer. Other cases are less cut-and-dried.

    One the factors that we should consider is the likelihood of saving a particular species, based on our understanding–or lack thereof–of the pertinent environmental threats. We already know that habitat degradation is a prime factor in the decline of the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat. Maybe that would be a better candidate for scarce species-saving dollars than the Christmas Island pipistrelle bats. It’s possible that we could spread our limited resources too thin, and end up losing both species.

  2. jennifer says

    Larry,
    In terms of “choosing” which species to save, it is probably worth considering why the species is now so vulnerable to extinction. What has driven current population numbers of the bat so low and can anything be done about this pressure/threat/issue in the longer term. In other words, is the conservation effort likely to be sustainable?

  3. Libby says

    Why work has not been carried out to date on what the pressures are is pretty astounding. A two-pronged approach of establishing a potentail breeding colony offsite and investigating the in-situ threats is obvious.

    But what price do you put on a species? Dollars seem to be measured in mammalian size. The Devil gets reasonable funding for DFTS. The Gilbert’s potoroo has received a helping hand even though most people have no idea they exist. As for a bat, which is less than endearing to many folk, they have no chance.

    At the other end of the scale, I believe Southern Hemisphere large cetaceans just received something like a $32 million commitment for the next 8 years for research. Sure, studying whales in Antarctica is expensive, but how do you prioritise the funding here? What an odd species Homo sapiens are.