#bushmeat

[emma-dennehy-presents]

Feels super weird to play devils advocate for poachers, but here we go. I've had a few conversations on the topic lately, and I'm starting to think people don't actually know what a poacher is and equate them to trophy hunters. While trophy hunters can also be poachers, a lot of trophy hunting has been and still is surprisingly legal.

The idea of poaching is largely tied to property rights, in origin and to this day. Historically poachers were people who hunted on the property of nobility without permission, largely out of the necessity. Its not too much different today. I had legal access to the property I used to hunt because my dad and I kept poachers off. We did chase a lot of people away, because there are realistic limits to how many people can hunt the same area, but we turned a blind eye a lot. There was a very thin line between us and them. We were just as dependent on putting meat in the freezer, the only difference was we knew a land owner well enough to get conditional permission. I have also been a poacher, even when I had legal access to a place to hunt. More than once at the tail end of a season, when it was now or never, I have shot through a hedgerow onto a piece of property I didn't have access to. That is enough to make me a poacher. A lot of people have been a poacher while fishing and not even realized it. (not defending that, its just irresponsible to not know when/where you can take game) Most poachers aren't what most people mean when they say poacher.

Fictional characters like Clayton (Tarzan, 1999) and Van Pelt (Jumanji, 1995) often get thrown at me as examples of the evils of poaching. Neither of them were poachers though. They were famed big game hunters in a colonial environment (for Van Pelt, before he got reverse isekaid). While morally reprehensible their hunting was probably mostly legal. A lot of the trophy hunting people hold up as examples of poaching or for why we need to eradicate hunting all together (a dumb ass take) is totally legal. That's not to say no trophy hunters are also poachers. There was more than one group we aggressively kept off the property for doing shit like taking heads/racks/beards/tails/etc and leaving the rest. At the same time though there were people we would have loved to say fuck off too but couldn't because they knew the owners as well as we did, or were related.

There's a whole nother depth to bushmeat in other colonized areas outside the US that I'm not even close to qualified to get into. That compromises a ton of the poaching in those regions. In addition a lot of unnecessary wild animal death, all over the globe, is tied to agriculture and also often doesn't count as poaching even when you think it would.

I'm absolutely not saying anyone should be able to go out and blast whatever critter they want, whenever they want, but I am saying there is so much more to this convo than so many people realize. Especially if they don't have any history with subsistence hunting or around people that rely on it.

[pixoplanet]

It's January 31st, 🦓 International Zebra Day. Zebras live in 🌍 Africa in many different habitats, including savannas, mountains, woodlands, and hills. As you undoubtedly suspected, Zebras are members of the 🐴 Horse family, the genus Equus. There are three species of Zebra - Plain’s Zebra, Mountain Zebra, and Grevy’s Zebra. Each has a distinct pattern of alternating black and white stripes.

Why do Zebras have stripes? Believe it or not, scientists still aren't sure. Many theories exist, though. Stripes might provide camouflage in tall grass, especially at night. The stripes on a herd of Zebras might also confuse 🦁 predators because it can be difficult to tell where one Zebra ends and another begins. Or Zebras may use their stripes to identify each other as, like with human fingerprints, each Zebra's stripe pattern is unique. In addition, it's been proven that the alternating black and white pattern of Zebra stripes helps control 🌡️ body temperature, plus deters 🦟 biting flies from landing. It could very well be that all of these factors play a part in the natural selection of stripes for Zebras.

Are Zebras black with white stripes, or white with black stripes? In its mother's womb, each Zebra starts out black, and the white coloration develops there, while still in the womb.

There've been many attempts to tame Zebras, but their unpredictable nature makes this difficult. However, in 1907, Kenyan Doctor Rosendo Ribeiro regularly rode his tame Zebra to his patients' homes.

The populations of all three Zebra species are declining. The most threatened is Grevy's Zebra, whose population has decreased 54% over the past 30 years. The main culprits in this case do not include the usual suspect, climate change, but are habitat loss, poaching (for their pelts), and hunting (for bushmeat). The 🗽 Smithsonian Institution's 🐼 National Zoo and 🟩 Conservation Biology Institute founded International Zebra Day to help raise awareness of the Zebras' plight and help encourage efforts to preserve and protect them and their habitats. ☮️Peace… Jamiese of Pixoplanet

[deadzombiebrains]

[animalworld]

HAMMERHEAD BAT (male) of BIG-LIPPED BAT Hypsignathus monstrosus ©Sarah H. Olson

This is the largest bat in continental Africa, with wingspans approaching 1 m, or about 3 ft, and males almost twice as heavy as females.

Males and females also greatly differ in appearance, making it the most sexually dimorphic bat species in the world. This differences include several adaptations that help males produce and amplify vocalizations: the males' larynges (vocal cords) are about three times as large as those of females, and they have large resonating chambers on their faces. Females appear more like a typical megabat, with foxlike faces.

Males have massive resonating chambers on their faces to amplify vocalizations (indicated by dashed line)

Bottom photo is the female Hammerhead Bat ©Alamy Stock photos

[quickwitter]

WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLA Gorilla gorilla ©Laura Quick Gorillas are the largest of the great apes, but the western lowland gorilla is the smallest of the subspecies. Native to the Congo Basin, the western lowland gorilla is a quiet, peaceful and non-aggressive animal threatened by disease and poaching. They have short hair, a wider skull and a more pronounced brow ridge than other gorillas. Their ears appear small in relation to the head. There is also a more pronounced difference between the sexes, with females being almost half the size of silverbacks. Hunting is the main threat to western lowland gorillas. Gorillas are sought after as food (bushmeat) and pets, and their body parts are used in medicine and as magical charms. As primarily herbivorous, the main diet of western lowland gorilla groups is roots, shoots, fruit, wild celery, tree bark and pulp which is provided for in the thick forests of Central and West Africa. #westernlowlandgorilla #gorillagorilla #©lauraquick #primate #herbivore #africa #criticallyendangered #silverback #hominid #peaceful #powerful #greatapes #losangeleszooandbotanicalgardens #losangeleszoo #lazoo #naturephotography #losangelesphotographer #endangered #bushmeatamarket #bushmeat #savethegorillas https://www.instagram.com/p/B9f-SbZHsw-/?igshid=1li2b3wdrwu3

[earthstory]

This is pretty neat. Original caption:

Mozambican artist Gonçalo Mabunda comes to Gorongosa National Park to create art from the wire snares and metal traps used in the illegal bushmeat trade that have been confiscated by Rangers protecting the Park.

[daniel-berman]

[affectionatealbatross]

I think it’s a bit weird how we are focusing so much on “bush meat”, which is how impoverished and indigenous people get food NATURALLY and in small (sustainable) amounts. Compared to things like the illegal pet trade, habitat loss, and climate change that are doing way worse to the ecosystem. Compared to people getting food they need.