animal conservation essay

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

Essay on Wildlife Conservation

500+ Words Essay on Wildlife Conservation

Going by the importance of climate change and associated topics are garnering importance worldwide, an essay on Wildlife Conservation for students in English is an expected topic in the English exams. To prepare well in advance Vedantu has brought this essay for you. It is written by experts having expertise in English. Enough data and content are brought to you so that you can recall maximum points in the exam. This will ensure you achieve amazing marks in the English examination.

Let’s Being with the Essay on Wildlife Conservation for Students in English

Like forests, wildlife consisting of animals, birds, insects, etc. living in the forest is a national resource, which not only helps in maintaining the ecological balance but is also beneficial for various economic activities that generate revenue from tourism. The rich flora and fauna also play a major role in maintaining the ecological balance of a region. There was a time when human needs were minimal and there was bare interference in the wildlife. There is no denying the fact that due to urbanization, pollution, and human interventions wildlife is rapidly disappearing from the planet.

Today the biodiversity of the world is threatened due to the extinction of species. There are thirty-five hotspots around the world, which supports 43% of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians as endemic. The IUCN has compiled a list of species and has classified the different species under extinct, critically endangered, less endangered, vulnerable, near threatened, and least concerned. This list is called the Red Data Book. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the number of birds, animals, marine and freshwater creatures has dropped by almost one-third of its earlier population.

Causes for Decline or Threat to Wildlife

One of the major reasons for the constant decline of wildlife is human’s ever-increasing demands and greed that have led to deforestation and habitat destruction. For development and urbanization, man has chopped down trees to build dams, highways, and towns and this has forced the animals to retreat further and further into the receding forests.

Rapid industrialization and urbanization due to the fast growth in population in recent decades have taken a heavy toll on wildlife. Global warming and extensive environmental pollution have largely threatened wildlife as they lead to habitat destruction and rising temperature.

There is a huge demand for animal fur, skin, meat, bone, etc. across the globe that has led to a decrease in the wildlife population. Poachers kill the animals for the illegal trading of their body parts. For example, elephants are massively poached for ivory, rhinoceros are poached in Assam for their horns. The desire to keep animals in captivity or their desire to consume certain animals as exotic food has resulted in the disappearance of many animal species such as tigers and deer.

Forest fires, food shortage, increase in the number of predators, extreme weather conditions and other extraneous reasons have led to the extinction and endangerment of many species. For instance, the recent forest fires in the Amazon (Brazil), Uttarakhand (India), Australia, etc. lead to the death of many animals every year.

Many types of animals, birds, and fauna are needed to retain the ecological balance. They are considered necessary for scientific research and experiments that will benefit mankind.

Steps to Conserve Wildlife

The protection and conservation of wildlife is the need of the hour. Some conservation efforts which are widely implemented are given below:

Afforestation:

First and most importantly, humans need to have control over their needs. We need to prevent man from felling trees unnecessarily. Trees should be replanted if they are felled.

Pollution is one of the major causes that have led to the destruction of the habitat of animal species. Pollution of the environment like air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution hurts the entire ecosystem. It has become of utmost importance to control environmental pollution.

More campaigns must be launched to raise awareness in humans on the need to keep our environment clean. A man should be responsible to maintain a healthy and balanced ecosystem so they should be cordial with the environment. More organizations like PETA should be set up to create awareness among people for the protection of wildlife.

Population:

The man should consciously put a check on the rapid growth of the population. The slow growth of population will decrease the rate of urbanization and that will have a major impact on the preservation of wildlife.

Wildlife Sanctuaries:

Wildlife sanctuaries should be made to ensure the protection of the areas of ecological significance. Under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 various provisions for protecting habitats of wildlife are made by constructing national parks and sanctuaries. These parks and sanctuaries ensure the protection and maintenance of endangered species.

Ban of Illegal Activities:

Illegal activities like hunting, poaching, and killing animals, birds, etc. for collections and illegal trade of hides, skins, nails, teeth, horns, feathers, etc. should be strictly prohibited and severe punishments and fines should be imposed on people who do these kinds of activities.

Community initiatives

Communities come together to take various conservation initiatives such as the establishment of community forests, raising their voice against illegal activities, creating awareness among the masses, raising voice for the rights of the animals, conserving animals of cultural significance, and many more. For example, members of the Bishnoi community of Rajasthan are very vocal against poaching activities in the region.

Many countries have taken the initiative to help animals by proclaiming various birds and animals either as national animals or as protected species. In India, the government has launched a program of Joint Forest Management to protect the wildlife and their habitat. Under this program, responsibilities have been assigned to the village communities to protect and manage nearby forests and the wildlife in them. Animal species have the right to live just like humans. Therefore, we should take every step to conserve them and ensure their survival and betterment.

Wildlife is an integral part of our planet. Wildlife plays a significant role in the ecology and the food chain. Disturbing their numbers or in extreme cases, extinction can have wide-ranging effects on ecology and humankind. Valuing and conserving forests and wildlife enhance the relation between man and nature. We want our future generation to be able to hear the lions roar and peacocks dancing with their extravagant feathers and not just see them in picture books. We must take steps today or else it will be too late and we should always remember

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

FAQs on Essay on Wildlife Conservation

1. How is Wildlife Important for Humankind?

Wildlife comprises animals, birds, insects, and aquatic life forms. They provide us with a number of products, such as milk, meat, hides, and wools. Insects like bees provide us, honey. They help in the pollination of flowers and have an important role to play as decomposers in the ecosystem. The birds act as decomposers by feeding on insects. Birds like vultures are known as scavengers and cleansers of the environment by feeding on dead livestock. Thus, wildlife helps in maintaining ecological balance.

2. Why Should we Conserve Biodiversity?

We should conserve biodiversity because it is very significant for all living organisms and for the environment. We must conserve biodiversity to save it from becoming extinct.

3. Why are Animals Poached?

The animals are hunted and poached for collection and illegal trade of skins, fur, horns, skins, and feathers.

4. Write Two Steps that the Government has Taken to Conserve Wildlife.

The two steps that the government has taken to conserve wildlife are:

In order to conserve wildlife, the government has established national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, and biosphere reserves.

Many awareness programs are launched by the government to create awareness of protecting wildlife.

5. What is the importance of essays on Wildlife Conservation for students in English?

Essay on Wildlife Conservation is a topic given to students because it serves many purposes and holds a lot of importance in the present times. Before starting the essay, students will do adequate research to get enough data about the topic. In the process, they will learn a lot about wildlife conservation. While writing this essay they will learn to empathize with the plight of the animals. Also, they will become better at expressing themselves in written words by writing an essay on this topic as it is a very sensitive topic. This essay will not just help them in fetching excellent marks but it will also sensitize them about the current happenings.

6. What message does an essay on Wildlife Conservation for students in English carry?

Essay on Wildlife Conservation for students in English carries a very significant message that emphasizes the importance of the conservation efforts taken and that are needed. The essay talks about the efforts which have already been taken and are under implementation and it also talks about what needs to be done in the future. It also talks about why we need to conserve wildlife and what significance it holds. Overall the central message of the essay is to conserve and protect the wildlife as much as we can.

7. What important points should be covered while writing an essay on Wildlife Conservation for students in English?

As such there are no rigid pointers that you need to cover while writing an essay on Wildlife Conservation, but you may use the following pointers for reference:

Definition of wildlife conservation

Explain the reasons for conserving the wildlife with valid points

Efforts that are taken by international agencies. This should also include various treaties and protocols signed

Mention the efforts that are taken by the Indian government. Talk about various laws and legislations present.

Mention various provisions on the local level

Talk about various popular civil movements such as efforts undertaken by the Bishnoi Community

What can you do as students to conserve wildlife? Give suggestions and examples.

8. What steps taken by the government should be mentioned in the essay on Wildlife Conservation?

The Indian government has undertaken various measures to conserve wildlife in the country. You can mention some of these in the essay on Wildlife Conservation:

Wildlife Conservation Act, 1972

Schedules involved and protections provided to the animals

Conservation efforts for particular animals like tigers, elephants, etc.

Formation of various protected areas such as National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere reserves, etc.

Awards and accolades received by India on various international forums

Various international treaties and agreements were signed by India.

Mention names of international grouping dedicated to conservation efforts whose India is a part of

You may refer to Vedantu’s forum to get more information about steps to conserve wildlife.

9. In how many words should one write an essay on Wildlife Conservation?

Word count for writing an essay on Wildlife Conservation for students in English can vary depending on which standard the student is studying in. it can range from 300 words to 800 words. Accordingly, the level of writing and richness of the content should vary. You can refer to Vedantu’s guide on essays for further understanding the demand of any given topic. If the essay is being written by a student studying in class 10 then the essay should be data and opinion-driven. It should reflect the ideas and thoughts of the student that are substantiated with authentic data and valid reasons.

Wildlife Conservation Essay

500+ words essay on wildlife conservation.

After the evolution of humans, we have changed the land cover of the planet Earth. Wildlife means species of animals living in their natural habitats and not domesticated by humans. Wildlife is found in almost all grasslands, plains, rainforests, ecosystems, deserts, etc. It maintains stability in our environment and is involved in natural processes both directly and indirectly. So, living organisms found in the forest region are also considered wildlife. Every living organism plays a crucial role in the food chain: producer, consumer, or decomposer. All these roles are connected and depend on each other for survival.

Some of the primary reasons that lead to wildlife destruction are the increase in demand for meat leads to hunting, deforestation leads to scarcity of food and space, and natural disasters like floods and earthquakes cause wildlife destruction.

In India, we have a diversity of wildlife. It is a hub of a variety of animals. The ecosystem of India ranges from the Northern Himalayas to the evergreen rainforest of the south, the Western Ghats of the west, to the marshy mangroves of the east. The national animal of India, the Tiger, is found in various parts. Various national parks and sanctuaries have been set up to save tigers.

Wildlife helps in maintaining the ecological balance. Before, the count of wild animals was much greater, but the development of farming, developmental activities and hunting has led to a decrease in the number of wild animals. But, now, due to human interference, wildlife is getting affected and we are now becoming increasingly concerned about their safety and conservation. Unfortunately, many animals are already extinct due to these reasons, and a few of them are on the verge of extinction. So, it is crucial to safeguard these rare wildlife species. This essay on Wildlife Conservation will look at its significance and tackle the situation.

Deforestation

Deforestation means cutting down trees from forests at a large scale for human activities. It is an unavoidable environmental concern as it leads to soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, disturbance in the water cycle and damage to natural habitats. It is also a significant contributor to global warming and climate change.

Approximately forests cover 31% of the Earth’s total land surface. Between 2000 and 2012, over 568 million acres of forest have been claimed by deforestation. In 2018, approximately 9 million acres of virgin tropical forest were cut down. 20% of the world’s oxygen supply comes from the Amazon rainforest. Due to deforestation, every minute, approximately 1.32 acres are lost.

Due to road construction, pollution, and agricultural development, our wildlife is disturbed. Due to illegal hunting, some wild animals are on the verge of extinction.

We should be serious about wildlife conservation because much of wildlife is being rapidly wiped off the earth. The World Wildlife Fund is a global organisation that works towards wildlife protection. National agencies are also involved in wildlife conservation.

Importance of Wildlife Conservation

For our ecosystem, wildlife is an essential aspect. Below, we have listed a few reasons to conserve wildlife:

For medicinal values – Wild plants cover one-third of the pharmaceutical needs. Forests provide great scope for experiments and research for medical science and technology. It also offers excellent scope for the large-scale manufacture of therapeutic medicines.

Keeps our environment healthy – It helps in balancing temperatures globally. It also helps in fighting against the greenhouse effect and controlling the rising sea levels.

Helps in maintaining ecological balance – The interdependence of plants and animals is essential in this aspect.

Economic importance – From forests, we can obtain raw materials which help in the country’s economic growth and contribute to a better standard of living.

How can we conserve wildlife?

Wildlife can be conserved by a strict observance of the following points:

We can protect our wildlife by building more national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to protect animals in natural habitats.
Species that are vulnerable and endangered should be kept in zoos or sanctuaries and bred for population increase.
Deforestation should be prohibited strictly. Forests are home to a variety of wild animals.
We should ban hunting animals.

Conclusion of Wildlife Conservation Essay

If all the animals are safe, people can live a very social and happy life. They are an integral part of our life. Some people harm animals because of their personal needs. We should all stop this and save them from getting beaten up or tortured because these innocent beings can’t speak up as we do.

From our BYJU’S website, students can also access CBSE Essays related to different topics. It will help students to get good marks in their exams.

Frequently asked Questions on Wildlife conservation Essay

How does wildlife imbalance affect the human species.

All species on Earth are inter-related to one another and the sustenance of all these species is necessary. Humans are dependent on other species and also on the eco-system for various needs.

How to write a 500+ words essay within the stipulated time?

Students must practise writing essays on a regular basis to gain the necessary speed and momentum to write 500+ words essay.

Which topics are to be asked in the Board exam essay question (most probable)?

The topics for essay can be asked from a wide list as this is a generic question. However topics of national importance and issues regarding equality, etc can be given more importance.

CBSE Related Links

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Essay on Wildlife Conservation

Introduction to Wildlife Conservation

Wildlife conservation is crucial for maintaining the planet’s ecological balance and preserving biodiversity. Wildlife faces numerous threats as human activities continue to expand, including habitat destruction, climate change, and poaching. The loss of wildlife impacts ecosystems and communities that depend on them for their livelihoods and cultural practices. For example, the African elephant, with its iconic status, is facing a severe poaching crisis due to the demand for ivory. Without conservation efforts, these magnificent creatures could face extinction in the wild. This essay explores the importance of wildlife conservation, the threats facing wildlife, and strategies to protect these vulnerable species.

Importance of Wildlife Conservation

Biodiversity Preservation: Wildlife conservation helps maintain the diversity of life on Earth, ensuring that various species, ecosystems, and genetic diversity are preserved for future generations.
Ecosystem Balance: Wildlife plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems. Species interact with each other and their environment in complex ways, and losing one species can have cascading effects on others.
Economic Benefits: Wildlife conservation can have significant economic benefits, including ecotourism, which generates revenue and employment opportunities in local communities.
Cultural Importance: Many cultures around the world have deep connections to wildlife, and conservation helps preserve these cultural practices and traditions.
Ecological Services: Wildlife provides essential ecological services, such as pollination, seed dispersal, and nutrient cycling, which are vital for the health of ecosystems and human well-being.
Medicinal Resources: Many wildlife species provide sources for medicines and other valuable products that can benefit human health.
Climate Regulation: Wildlife plays a role in regulating the climate by sequestering carbon and contributing to the overall health of ecosystems.
Education and Research: Wildlife conservation provides opportunities for education and research, helping us better understand the natural world and develop sustainable practices.
Aesthetic and Recreational Value: Wildlife enriches our lives through its beauty and provides recreational activities like birdwatching and hiking opportunities.
Ethical Considerations: Many people believe that wildlife has intrinsic value and a right to exist independent of its usefulness to humans, making conservation a moral imperative.

Threats to Wildlife

Threats to wildlife are numerous and diverse, ranging from direct human activities to broader environmental changes. Here are some of the major threats:

Watch our Demo Courses and Videos

Valuation, Hadoop, Excel, Mobile Apps, Web Development & many more.

Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: One of the biggest threats to wildlife is the destruction and fragmentation of habitats due to human activities such as deforestation, urbanization, and agriculture. This habitat loss reduces the available space for wildlife to live and thrive.
Climate Change: Climate change alters habitats and ecosystems, making them less suitable for many species. Changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and sea levels are affecting the distribution and behavior of wildlife.
Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade: Poaching for body parts, such as ivory, horns, and skins, continues to threaten many species, including elephants, rhinos, and tigers. The illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion-dollar industry that drives many species to the brink of extinction.
Pollution: Pollution from various sources, including chemicals, plastics, and oil spills, can devastate wildlife. Pollutants can contaminate water and soil, harm ecosystems, and directly impact the health of wildlife.
Overexploitation: Overexploitation of wildlife for food, medicine, pets, and other purposes can lead to population declines and even extinction. Unsustainable hunting and fishing practices can deplete populations faster than they can recover.
Invasive Species: Invasive species introduced by humans can outcompete native species for resources, prey on them, or introduce diseases, leading to declines in native wildlife populations.
Human-Wildlife Conflict: As human populations expand and encroach on wildlife habitats, conflicts between humans and wildlife increase. This can result in retaliatory killings of wildlife and further habitat destruction.
Infrastructure Development: The construction of roads, dams, and other infrastructure can fragment habitats, disrupt wildlife migration routes, and increase the risk of collisions between wildlife and vehicles.
Lack of Awareness and Conservation Efforts: A lack of awareness about the importance of wildlife conservation and inadequate conservation efforts can also threaten wildlife. Without proper conservation measures, species are more vulnerable to other threats.

Conservation Strategies

Conservation strategies aim to protect and restore ecosystems, preserve wildlife populations, and promote sustainable practices. Here are some key conservation strategies:

Protected Areas: Establishing and maintaining protected areas, such as national parks, wildlife reserves, and marine protected areas, to safeguard habitats and wildlife from human activities.
Habitat Restoration: Restoring degraded habitats through reforestation, wetland restoration, and other measures to improve habitat quality and connectivity for wildlife.
Wildlife Corridors: Creating wildlife corridors or greenways to connect fragmented habitats, allowing species to move between areas and maintain genetic diversity.
Anti-Poaching Efforts: Implementing measures to combat poaching, such as increasing patrols, strengthening law enforcement, and reducing demand for wildlife products.
Community-Based Conservation: Involving local communities in conservation efforts through sustainable livelihoods, education, and partnerships to promote conservation while meeting their needs.
Sustainable Land Use Practices: Promoting sustainable agriculture, forestry, and fisheries practices that minimize negative impacts on wildlife and ecosystems.
Climate Change Mitigation: Addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting renewable energy, and supporting climate-resilient habitats.
Invasive Species Management: Managing and controlling invasive species to reduce their impact on native wildlife and ecosystems.
Research and Monitoring: Conducting research and monitoring better to understand wildlife populations, habitats, and threats and to inform conservation strategies.
Education and Awareness: Educating the public about the importance of wildlife conservation and promoting behavior change to reduce threats to wildlife.

Human-Wildlife Conflict

Human-wildlife conflict occurs when there are competition or antagonistic interactions between humans and wildlife, often resulting in negative consequences for both. Here are some key aspects of human-wildlife conflict:

Causes: Human-wildlife conflict can arise due to various factors, including habitat loss and fragmentation, competition for resources such as food and water, crop raiding by wildlife, predation on livestock, property damage, and threats to human safety.
Impacts on Humans: Human-wildlife conflict can have significant socio-economic impacts on communities, including crop losses, damage to property and infrastructure, loss of livelihoods, injuries, and even loss of human lives. These impacts can exacerbate poverty and food insecurity, particularly in rural areas.
Impacts on Wildlife: Human-wildlife conflict can also negatively impact wildlife populations, including retaliatory killings, habitat destruction, reduced reproductive success, and fragmentation of habitats. This can lead to declines in wildlife populations and loss of biodiversity.
Species Affected: A wide range of wildlife species can be involved in human-wildlife conflict, including large mammals such as elephants, big cats, bears, and wolves, as well as smaller animals like monkeys, deer, and rodents.
Conflict Hotspots: Human-wildlife conflict tends to occur in areas where humans and wildlife overlap, such as agricultural lands, peri-urban areas, and areas adjacent to protected areas or natural habitats.
Management Strategies: Various strategies, including preventive measures such as fencing, deterrents, and land-use planning, as well as reactive measures such as compensation schemes, translocation of problem animals, and community-based conflict resolution, can help mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
Community Engagement: Engaging local communities in decision-making and implementing solutions is essential for addressing human-wildlife conflict effectively. This can involve participatory approaches, community-based monitoring, and capacity building to empower communities to coexist with wildlife.
Policy and Legislation: Governments play a crucial role in addressing human-wildlife conflict by developing and enforcing policies promoting coexistence, protecting wildlife, and supporting affected communities.
Research and Monitoring: Research on human-wildlife conflict’s causes, impacts, and dynamics is essential for informing management strategies and developing evidence-based solutions. Monitoring of conflict incidents and their outcomes can help assess the effectiveness of mitigation measures.
Long-Term Solutions: Addressing the root causes of human-wildlife conflict, such as habitat loss, land-use change, and socio-economic disparities, is crucial for achieving long-term solutions that promote sustainable coexistence between humans and wildlife. This may require integrated approaches that consider the needs of both people and wildlife and involve multiple stakeholders.

Economic Aspects of Wildlife Conservation

The economic aspects of wildlife conservation are multifaceted and interconnected with broader socio-economic factors. Here are some key economic aspects of wildlife conservation:

Ecotourism: Wildlife conservation can stimulate economic growth through ecotourism, which involves visiting natural areas to observe wildlife. Ecotourism can create jobs, generate revenue for local communities, and provide incentives for conservation.
Ecosystem Services: Wildlife conservation contributes to the provision of ecosystem services, such as pollination, water purification, and carbon sequestration, which have economic value for human well-being and livelihoods.
Biodiversity-based Industries: Conservation of wildlife and habitats supports industries that rely on biodiversity, such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and biotechnology, by maintaining genetic resources and ecosystem functions.
Cultural and Spiritual Values: Wildlife conservation can preserve cultural and spiritual values associated with wildlife, such as traditional practices, beliefs, and aesthetics, contributing to cultural heritage and identity.
Property Values: Proximity to protected areas and wildlife habitats can increase property values, benefiting local economies and communities.
Research and Education: Conservation efforts contribute to scientific research and education, creating opportunities for innovation, capacity building, and knowledge transfer.
Regulation and Enforcement: Wildlife conservation regulations and enforcement mechanisms incur costs but are necessary for preventing illegal activities, such as poaching and habitat destruction, which can have long-term economic consequences.
Sustainable Resource Use: Conservation promotes sustainable resource use practices, which can lead to long-term economic benefits by ensuring the availability of resources for future generations.
Opportunity Costs: Conservation often involves trade-offs, as protecting wildlife and habitats may require limiting certain economic activities, such as logging, mining, or agriculture, which can have short-term economic costs.
Externalities: Wildlife conservation can generate positive externalities, such as improved ecosystem health and resilience, benefiting society as a whole but not necessarily captured in market transactions.

Challenges and Limitations

Despite efforts to conserve wildlife, several challenges and limitations persist, hindering effective conservation outcomes. Here are some of the key challenges and limitations:

Funding Constraints: Limited funding for conservation projects often restricts the scale and effectiveness of conservation efforts, leading to gaps in the protection and management of wildlife and habitats.
Lack of Political Will: Inadequate political support and commitment to conservation initiatives can result in insufficient policies, enforcement, and allocation of resources for conservation efforts.
Human-Wildlife Conflicts: Conflicts between humans and wildlife, such as crop raiding by elephants or livestock depredation by predators, can lead to negative perceptions of wildlife and undermine conservation efforts.
Limited Stakeholder Engagement: Ineffective engagement with local communities, indigenous peoples, and other stakeholders can hinder conservation efforts, as their support and participation are crucial for successful conservation outcomes.
Poverty and Livelihoods: Poverty and lack of alternative livelihood options can drive communities to engage in activities harmful to wildlife, such as poaching and illegal logging, undermining conservation efforts.
Inadequate Law Enforcement: Weak law enforcement, corruption, and insufficient penalties for wildlife crimes contribute to illegal wildlife trade and poaching, exacerbating threats to wildlife populations.
Climate Change: Climate change poses significant challenges to wildlife conservation by altering habitats, disrupting ecosystems, and increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
Limited Data and Information: Only complete or adequate data on wildlife populations, habitats, and threats can impede evidence-based conservation decision-making and monitoring of conservation outcomes.
Conflicting Interests: Conflicts of interest between conservation goals and economic development, infrastructure projects, or resource extraction activities can compromise conservation efforts and lead to habitat destruction.
Scale and Scope: The vast scale and complexity of conservation challenges, including global biodiversity loss and habitat degradation, require coordinated and sustained efforts at local, national, and international levels.

Role of Government and NGOs

Both governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play crucial roles in wildlife conservation, often collaborating to achieve conservation goals. Here’s how they contribute:

Policy and Legislation: Governments are responsible for creating and implementing laws and regulations designed to safeguard wildlife and their natural habitats. This includes establishing protected areas, regulating hunting and trade, and setting conservation goals.
Resource Management: Governments manage natural resources , including wildlife, through agencies such as wildlife departments, national parks, and forestry departments, ensuring sustainable use and conservation.
Law Enforcement: Governments enforce wildlife protection laws through wildlife rangers, law enforcement agencies, and judiciary systems to combat poaching, illegal trade, and other wildlife crimes.
Research and Monitoring: Governments fund and research wildlife populations, habitats, and threats to inform conservation strategies and monitor the effectiveness of conservation efforts.
International Cooperation: Governments collaborate with other countries through agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to address transboundary conservation issues.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Advocacy and Awareness: NGOs raise awareness about wildlife conservation issues, advocate for policy change, and mobilize public support for conservation efforts.
Field Conservation: NGOs implement on-the-ground conservation projects, such as habitat restoration, anti-poaching efforts, and species conservation programs, often in collaboration with local communities.
Research and Monitoring: NGOs conduct scientific research, monitor wildlife populations, and develop conservation strategies to protect endangered species and habitats.
Capacity Building: NGOs build the capacity of local communities, governments, and other stakeholders to engage in effective conservation practices and sustainable natural resource management.
Community Engagement: NGOs work closely with local communities, indigenous peoples, and other stakeholders to involve them in conservation decision-making and ensure conservation benefits local people.
Partnerships and Collaboration: NGOs collaborate with governments, other NGOs, academia, and businesses to leverage resources, share expertise, and coordinate conservation efforts on a larger scale.

Case Studies

Here are some case studies of successful wildlife conservation projects from around the world:

Conservation efforts for giant pandas in China have successfully upgraded the species from “endangered” to “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. Conservation measures include establishing protected areas, habitat restoration, and captive breeding programs.
Black Rhinoceros Conservation (Namibia): Namibia has implemented community-based conservation programs that involve local communities in rhino conservation and provide economic benefits from ecotourism. As a result, black rhino populations have increased in some areas.
Mountain Gorilla Conservation (Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo): Conservation efforts, including anti-poaching patrols, community engagement, and tourism revenue sharing, have helped increase mountain gorilla populations in the Virunga Massif and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
California Condor Recovery Program (USA): The California Condor Recovery Program has successfully increased the population of critically endangered California condors through captive breeding, habitat protection, and monitoring programs.
Tiger Conservation (India): India’s Project Tiger, launched in 1973, has been instrumental in conserving tiger populations by establishing tiger reserves, improving habitat, and anti-poaching efforts, leading to an increase in tiger numbers.
Sea Turtle Conservation (Costa Rica): Conservation efforts in Costa Rica have helped protect nesting beaches, reduce bycatch, and increase awareness about the importance of sea turtle conservation, leading to increased nesting populations.
African Elephant Conservation (Kenya): Kenya’s anti-poaching efforts, community-based conservation programs, and wildlife corridors have helped protect African elephant populations and reduce poaching.

Future Outlook

The future of wildlife conservation faces both challenges and opportunities. Here are some key aspects of the future outlook for wildlife conservation:

Climate Change: Climate change continues to impact wildlife and habitats, necessitating adaptive strategies to mitigate its effects on ecosystems and species.
Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: Addressing ongoing habitat loss and fragmentation will be critical to ensuring the survival of many species, requiring concerted efforts to protect and restore habitats.
Technology and Innovation: Advances in technology, such as remote sensing, DNA analysis, and conservation drones, offer new tools for monitoring wildlife populations, combating poaching, and informing conservation strategies.
Policy and Governance: Enhancing international cooperation, strengthening wildlife protection laws, and improving governance frameworks will be essential for effective conservation on a global scale.
Human-Wildlife Coexistence: Promoting coexistence between humans and wildlife through innovative solutions, such as wildlife corridors, eco-friendly infrastructure, and community-based conservation, will be crucial for reducing conflicts and conserving biodiversity.
Public Awareness and Education: Increasing public awareness about the importance of wildlife conservation and promoting sustainable lifestyles will be key to garnering support for conservation efforts.
Sustainable Development: Integrating wildlife conservation into sustainable development agendas, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will be vital for balancing conservation with human development needs.
Inclusive Conservation: Ensuring conservation efforts are inclusive and benefit local communities, indigenous peoples, and marginalized groups will be essential for long-term conservation success.
Innovative Financing: Exploring new financing mechanisms, such as biodiversity offsets, conservation finance, and public-private partnerships, will be crucial for funding conservation projects and ensuring their sustainability.
Adaptive Management: Embracing adaptive management approaches that allow for flexibility and learning from both successes and failures will be critical for effective conservation in an ever-changing world.

Wildlife conservation is imperative for maintaining biodiversity, ecological balance, and ecosystem services essential for human well-being. While facing numerous challenges, such as habitat loss, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict, conservation efforts have shown promising results in protecting and restoring wildlife populations and habitats. The future of wildlife conservation depends on collaborative efforts involving governments, NGOs, local communities, and individuals. Sustainable practices, innovative solutions, and effective policies are crucial for ensuring the survival of wildlife species and promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife. By valuing and conserving wildlife, we protect our natural heritage and secure a healthy planet for future generations.

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

Valuation, Hadoop, Excel, Web Development & many more.

Forgot Password?

This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to our Privacy Policy

Explore 1000+ varieties of Mock tests View more

Submit Next Question

Early-Bird Offer: ENROLL NOW

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Wildlife conservation.

Wildlife conservation aims to protect plant and animal species as the human population encroaches on their resources.

Biology, Ecology, Conservation, Storytelling, Photography

Loading ...

Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting plant and animal species and their habitats . Wildlife is integral to the world’s ecosystems , providing balance and stability to nature’s processes. The goal of wildlife conservation is to ensure the survival of these species, and to educate people on living sustainably with other species. The human population has grown exponentially over the past 200 years, to more than eight billion humans as of November 2022, and it continues to rapidly grow. This means natural resources are being consumed faster than ever by the billions of people on the planet. This growth and development also endangers the habitats and existence of various types of wildlife around the world, particularly animals and plants that may be displaced for land development, or used for food or other human purposes. Other threats to wildlife include the introduction of invasive species from other parts of the world, climate change, pollution, hunting, fishing, and poaching. National and international organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the United Nations, and National Geographic, itself, work to support global animal and habitat conservation efforts on many different fronts. They work with the government to establish and protect public lands, like national parks and wildlife refuges . They help write legislation, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 in the United States, to protect various species. They work with law enforcement to prosecute wildlife crimes, like wildlife trafficking and illegal hunting (poaching). They also promote biodiversity to support the growing human population while preserving existing species and habitats. National Geographic Explorers, like conservation biologist Charudutt Mishra and conservation technologist Rebecca Ryakitimbo, are working to slow the extinction of global species and to protect global biodiversity and habitats. Environmental filmmakers and photographers, like Thomas P. Peschak and Joel Sartore, are essential to conservation efforts as well, documenting and bringing attention to endangered wildlife all over the world.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Production Managers

Program specialists, last updated.

May 9, 2024

User Permissions

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service .

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

Related Resources

Solar Power
Geothermal Energy
Nuclear Power
Why are fossil fuels bad?
Businesses Selling Shark Fins
Beach Cleanups
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
Marine Plastic Pollution
Ocean Resources
Sounds in the Sea
Aquaculture
Artificial Reefs
Coral Restoration
Ocean Mining
Invasive Species
Threatened & Endangered Species
A Sea Ethic
Marine Biodiversity
Marine Conservation Organizations
Marine Life in Captivity: Pros & Cons
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
Sustainable Ecotourism
Act / Petitions
Chapter 1: Roots of the modern environmental dilemma: A brief history of the relationship between humans and wildlife
Chapter 2: A history of wildlife in North America
Chapter 3: Climatic determinants of global patterns of biodiversity
Chapter 4: Biodiversity
Chapter 5: Natural selection
Chapter 6: Principles of ecology
Chapter 7: Niche and habitat
Chapter 8: Conservation biology
Chapter 9: Conservation in the USA: legislative milestones
Chapter 10: Alien invaders
Chapter 11: Wildlife and pollution
Chapter 12: What you can do to save wildlife
Sharks & Rays
Squid & Octopuses, etc.
Whales & Dolphins
Search Google
Ocean Channel
Photo Galleries
A History of the Study of Marine Biology
The Naming of Life: Marine Taxonomy
Marine Ecology
Forests of the Sea
Zooplankton
Marine Mites
– Coral Reefs
Echinoderms
Hemichordates
Lophophorates
Worms (Marine)
Marine Birds
Marine Fishes
– Sharks, Rays and Skates
Marine Mammals
– Dolphins (toothed whales)
Marine Reptiles
Submarines & Deep Technology
Marine Science/Ocean Life Related Journals
Marine Biology Laboratories, Institutes & Graduate Programs
Scuba Diving
Ocean Mysteries: Did Life begin in the Ocean?
Ocean Mysteries: Mermaids
Ocean Mysteries: Sea Monsters
Ocean Mysteries: The Bermuda Triangle
Ocean Quizzes
Recommended Books
History of the Ocean
Ocean Chemistry
Light & Color in the Ocean
The Ocean & Temperature
Currents & Tides
Ocean Geography
Geological Makeup of Marine Environments
Geologic Time & Life on Earth
Marine Zones
Estuaries, Salt Marshes & Mangroves
Continental Shelves
The Open Ocean
The Arctic & Antarctic
The Deep Sea
Other Ocean Worlds
For Students (+ Interview!)
Marine Biology Degree Programs in the U.S.
Marine Biology Degree Programs Worldwide
For Teachers
MarineBio Kids
Academic Earth
FutureLearn
Khan Academy
MIT OpenCourseWare
Open Learning Initiative
Stanford Online
The Open University
Daily Newsfeeds
Conservation
The Clownfish Herald
What’s New @ MarineBio?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Facebook Group
Facebook Page
Our Sponsors
Contributors
For Scientists
Marine Conservation/Science Support

Marine Conservation

Find out more..., essays on wildlife conservation.

LISTEN TO THIS PAGE: 7 min

MarineBio is proud to present Essays on Wildlife Conservation written and edited by Dr. Peter Moyle, et al. for an introductory course on wildlife conservation taught at the University of California, Davis.

The essays were written for students who are not only biology majors and are broad in scope. These chapters provide an introduction to the history of wildlife in North America, biodiversity, natural selection, conservation biology, ecology, conservation legislation, alien species, wildlife and pollution, and things we can all do to save wildlife. We think you will find that they are not only fascinating to read but also very useful toward understanding the myriad of issues concerning conservation efforts today.

If you do use these readings, please inform Dr. Moyle ( [email protected] ). If you significantly modify the essays, please provide Dr. Moyle with an electronic copy of your final version (or a link to it). Comments and corrections are always welcome.

These particular essays are copyrighted by the Regents, University of California, but the only stipulation I have about their use for non-profit purposes is that their source be acknowledged.

About Peter Moyle, PhD. Peter Moyle has been studying the ecology and conservation of freshwater and estuarine fishes in California for over 30 years. He has documented the declining status of many native species in California as well as the invasions of alien species. The interactions among native and alien species in environments with varying degrees of disturbance have provided the basis for his ecological studies. Dr. Moyle served as member of the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project science team (1994-1996), developing strategies for the conservation of fish, amphibians, and watersheds in the mountain range that forms the state’s backbone (and main source of water). He is currently a member of the Independent Science Board for the CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program, which advises a consortium of state and federal agencies on restoration activities for the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed, one of the largest aquatic restoration projects ever attempted. He is author/coauthor of over 150 scientific papers and 5 books. For those of you who fish, keep an aquarium or just admire fish for what they are, he shamelessly recommends his Fish: an enthusiast’s guide , a cheap paperback published by University of California Press. The completely revised and updated version of his book Inland Fishes of California was recently published by the Press as well (2002). He is a professor of fish biology in the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis , where he teaches basic courses in ichthyology, wildlife conservation and watershed ecology.

Edited by Peter Moyle & Douglas Kelt

Foreword: A Reader on Wildlife Conservation

JULY 2004 Peter Moyle

The dodo was a large flightless pigeon that once inhabited the remote island of Mauritius. It was clubbed into extinction by sailors in the 17th century for food and sport. The dodo is remembered today mainly as a symbol of stupidity: it was too dumb to get out of the way of humans and was therefore wiped out. Unfortunately, most species sharing this island planet with us are dodos. They cannot get out of the way of human “progress” and will be beaten to extinction unless we actively protect them and their habitats. The essays that follow attempt to demonstrate why this last statement is true and also describe how humans and other forms of life are interdependent. They also provide some ethical and practical tools you can use to help improve the situation. If you choose not to be consciously involved in the conservation of forms of life other than your own, you should at least be aware that by doing nothing you are still having an impact on the biota of this planet. The water you drink, the food you eat, the land you live on, and the air you pollute were all obtained at the expense of other creatures. The decisions we make today on how we are going to share these resources will determine which other species will inhabit Earth for the indefinite future.

The course for which this reader was written, WFC 10, has been taught at the University of California Davis since about 1970. The change in subject matter over the short period of time since its inception reflects the change in the attitudes towards wild vertebrates (wildlife) of biologists, wildlife managers and the public. The earliest versions of the course were concerned primarily with economically important species such as deer, ducks, trout, and salmon and how to manage them to provide maximum harvest. Endangered species and environmental degradation were discussed only as a minor component of the lectures. Gradually the emphasis has shifted. The management of economically important species of wildlife is still discussed in the course but in the context of a concern for the preservation of all wildlife, from the most obscure species of small fish to spectacular predators like mountain lions. The course does focus on vertebrates as the traditional “wildlife”, but vertebrates should be regarded mainly as the forms of life with which we have the most empathy, being vertebrates ourselves. The conservation problems we are having with vertebrates are problems we are having with all forms of life and their interactions with each other (biodiversity). The conservation of biodiversity is the subject of a new, rapidly growing field called Conservation Biology. Conservation Biology gets its theory from ecology and the social sciences, its applied orientation from traditional wildlife and wildland management, and its ethics and energy from the environmental movement. This course is now in many respects a course in conservation biology, emphasizing vertebrates.

The essays in this electronic book have the following progression. The first two essays deal with the history of human-wildlife interactions. These are followed by a series of essays on basic biogeography, ecology, and evolution. The remaining essays deal with conservation problems and how to solve them. The final essay is about what you can do at a personal level to affect positive change. To round out these readings, various published papers, book chapters, essays, and other materials are used.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The first versions of many of these essays were produced in graduate seminar in textbook writing in 1990, by Dianne Leonard, Robert J. Meese, Tim F. Ginnett, Anitra Pawley, Anne Brasher, Steve Ellsworth, Michael Brown, and Jay Davis. The chapters have gone through several major revisions since that time. Douglas Kelt, who also teaches this WFC 10, has provided input on many aspects of the course and wrote the chapter on biogeography. Mary Orland helped to produce this particular version, as a postdoctoral scholar funded through the endowment for the President’s Chair in Undergraduate Education, co-held in 2003-2006 by myself and Jeffrey Mount of Geology. I am also appreciative of the many graduate student teaching assistants and undergraduate students who read the chapters and pointed out errors of commission and omission, thus helping to make these essays into dynamic documents. Further comments are always welcome.

Coexisting with our environment and the awe inspiring wildlife that inhabits it seems to be in short supply today. The threats to both just keep on coming, loss of habitat, trophy hunting chemical use etc. We must not bury our head in our hands however, taking action and not just tweeting something is important. We can all find something to do to help.

We couldn’t agree more. If you haven’t already, you might check out our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/marinebio/ where there are many of us that feel the same way. Stay safe.

Essay Types and Topics

Argumentative essay topics.

The impact of climate change on wildlife conservation efforts
Government policies and their influence on wildlife protection
The ethical debate surrounding zoos and wildlife preservation

Example Paragraph: Climate change poses a significant threat to the world's wildlife, leading to habitat loss and species extinction. In this essay, we will explore the impact of climate change on wildlife conservation efforts and the urgent need for proactive measures to protect vulnerable species.

Example Paragraph: It is evident that climate change poses a grave threat to wildlife conservation. By implementing sustainable practices and raising awareness, we can work towards a future where wildlife thrives in a changing environment.

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

The conservation efforts for marine wildlife versus land-based species
The impact of human activity on urban and rural wildlife habitats
The similarities and differences in conservation approaches across different countries

Descriptive Essay Topics

An exploration of a wildlife sanctuary or conservation area
The behavior and habitat of a specific endangered species
The intricate ecosystem of a rainforest and its conservation challenges

Persuasive Essay Topics

The importance of sustainable living in wildlife conservation
The role of community involvement in protecting wildlife habitats
The need for stricter laws to combat illegal wildlife trade

Narrative Essay Topics

A personal experience with wildlife conservation efforts
An imaginary journey to a world without wildlife protection
The inspiring story of a successful wildlife rehabilitation program

Engagement and Creativity

Essay writing is an opportunity to explore your interests and critical thinking skills. We encourage you to choose a topic that resonates with you and to approach your writing with creativity and enthusiasm. Your unique perspective and passion for the subject can greatly enhance the quality of your essay.

Educational Value

Each essay type offers valuable learning outcomes. Argumentative essays develop analytical thinking and persuasive writing skills, while compare and contrast essays foster critical analysis and organizational abilities. Descriptive essays enhance your observational and descriptive abilities, while persuasive essays strengthen your ability to influence and persuade. Narrative essays encourage the development of storytelling and narrative techniques.

Endangered Tiger: Paper

The plight of polar bears in a warming world, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

The Significance of Recycling in Environmental Conservation

Factors affecting the conservation of wildlife species and their habitats., wildlife and coexistence: the conflict between wild animals and humans, the importance of conserving biodiversity, let us write you an essay from scratch.

450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Smokey Bear Campaign to Prevent Forest Fires

Illegal wildlife trade across the world, the need for federal agencies funding towards wildlife conservation, national board for wildlife, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

Global Decline of High Value Large Old Trees and Its Impact on Wildlife

The effect of covid-19 lockdown on the wildlife conservation, beyond the limit: understanding the urgency of overfishing, the end of abundance: the impact of overfishing on oceans, saving the seas: causes and solutions to overfishing, how to conserve biodiversity: exploring some principles and strategies, importance and benefits of solar energy for planet and environment, conserving natural resources: nurturing our planet's lifelines, the lady and the tiger analysis, importance of game wardens.

Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems.

Major threats to wildlife include habitat destruction, degradation, fragmentation, overexploitation, poaching, pollution and climate change.

Relevant topics

Waste Management
Animal Ethics
Ocean Pollution
Air Pollution
Climate Change
Water Pollution
Nuclear Energy
Endangered Species

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

Instructions Followed To The Letter
Deadlines Met At Every Stage
Unique And Plagiarism Free

Search Menu
Sign in through your institution
Advance articles
Editor's Choice
In Remembrance
High-Impact Collection
ASM History
Author Guidelines
Submission Site
Open Access
Why Publish with Us?
About Journal of Mammalogy
About the American Society of Mammalogists
Editorial Board
Advertising and Corporate Services
Journals Career Network
Self-Archiving Policy
Dispatch Dates
Journals on Oxford Academic
Books on Oxford Academic

Article Contents

Status and threats, efficacy of protected areas, community efforts in human-occupied landscapes, critical areas for future research, acknowledgments, literature cited.

< Previous

Conservation of the world’s mammals: status, protected areas, community efforts, and hunting

Article contents
Figures & tables
Supplementary Data

R Terry Bowyer, Mark S Boyce, Jacob R Goheen, Janet L Rachlow, Conservation of the world’s mammals: status, protected areas, community efforts, and hunting, Journal of Mammalogy , Volume 100, Issue 3, 23 May 2019, Pages 923–941, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyy180

Permissions Icon Permissions

Mammals are imperiled worldwide. Threats to terrestrial species are primarily from habitat loss or modification, and in some instances from commercial, illegal, or unregulated hunting. Terrestrial species are negatively affected throughout the tropics from deforestation. Threats to marine mammals are related to harvest, strikes in shipping lanes, pollution, and depleted levels of food resources. Hazards to marine species are pronounced in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, and oceans and seas flanking southeastern Asia. Protected areas designed to conserve mammals often are too small, too few, poorly delimited or isolated, and too unreliably supported. The new conservation science proposes that human livelihoods be considered alongside traditional preservationist perspectives. For conservation outside of protected areas to succeed, the protection of wild mammals and their habitats should result in benefit to local people, especially in rural or poor communities. Concerns about declining populations of large mammals in North America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries resulted in the institution of regulations that contributed to the recovery of many populations. Today, in North America and Europe, wild populations are thriving and legal hunting is allowed for a number of mammals, something that is less common in many developing countries, where illegal killing remains a threat to conservation. Nevertheless, populations of large mammals are resilient to regulated hunting because of density-dependent processes that result in increased reproduction, survival, and growth rates. Unfortunately, hunting is unregulated for cultural and economic reasons over much of the Earth. We are beginning to see effects of climate change and invasive species on risk of extinction for many species. The future of mammals, however, is entwined ultimately with the size, growth, and resource demands of the human population.

Los mamíferos están en riesgo en todo el mundo. Las principales amenazas a las especies terrestres son la pérdida y modificación del hábitat, y en algunos casos la cacería comercial, ilegal o no regulada. Las especies terrestres son negativamente afectadas a lo largo de los trópicos por la deforestación. Las amenazas a los mamíferos marinos están relacionadas con la extracción ilegal, colisiones con embarcaciones, contaminación y agotamiento de recursos alimentarios. Los peligros para las especies marinas están más acentuados en el Atlántico Norte, el Pacífico Norte y los mares y océanos que rodean el sureste asiático. Las áreas protegidas diseñadas para proteger mamíferos frecuentemente son muy pequeñas, escasas, pobremente delimitadas o aisladas, además de contar con un mantenimiento incierto. La nueva ciencia de la conservación propone que las necesidades humanas sean consideradas en conjunto con las perspectivas preservacionistas tradicionales. Para que la conservación fuera de las áreas protegidas sea exitosa, la protección de los mamíferos silvestres y sus hábitats debería redundar en beneficios para los habitantes locales, especialmente en comunidades rurales o con altos niveles de pobreza. La preocupación por las poblaciones en declive de grandes mamíferos en Norteamérica durante finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX, resultaron en la implementación de regulaciones que contribuyeron a la recuperación de muchas poblaciones. En la actualidad, las poblaciones silvestres de Norteamérica y Europa son saludables, y la cacería legal es permitida para varias especies de mamíferos, algo que es menos común en muchos países en desarrollo, donde la cacería ilegal continúa siendo una amenaza para la conservación. Sin embargo, las poblaciones de grandes mamíferos son resilientes a la cacería regulada debido a procesos denso-dependientes que resultan en incrementos en las tasas de reproducción, supervivencia y crecimiento poblacional. Desafortunadamente, la cacería no está regulada por razones culturales y económicas en la mayor parte del mundo. Estamos comenzando a ver los efectos del cambio climático y de las especies invasoras sobre el riesgo de extinción de muchas especies. El futuro de los mamíferos, sin embargo, está finalmente ligado al tamaño, crecimiento y demanda de recursos de las poblaciones humanas.

Mammals capture our attention and engender curiosity, thereby enhancing their intrinsic value. This likely occurs because humans are mammals and because of our close and long-term association with canids, felids, and other domestic mammals as companions or livestock ( Clutton-Brock 1999 ; Diamond 2002 ), and our traditional reliance on wild mammals for food and sport ( Hull 1964 ). This affiliation between humans and mammals creates opportunities for education about populations, ecological communities, ecosystems, global climate, and conservation of all species. Thus, mammals are the most likely group to motivate investment of resources for conservation. Nonetheless, mammals are in jeopardy worldwide.

We review the conservation of mammals, and do so by examining threats to orders of mammals, differentiating among factors threatening terrestrial and aquatic species. We also examine strengths and weaknesses of protected areas, and how to achieve conservation objectives in human-occupied landscapes. We further explore the role of hunting in the conservation of mammals, differentiating between legal, regulated harvests, and illegal killing. Our goal is to provide an informed perspective on the threats to mammals and discuss feasible approaches to their worldwide conservation.

Mammalian extinctions.

Mammals are imperiled worldwide. Of 5,487 species recognized by the IUCN Red List, 76 (1.4%) have been declared extinct since 1500, with little chance that any still exist ( IUCN 2017 ). Extinctions are spread across the 27 orders of mammals, and most occur in orders that are species-rich: Primates (2 extinctions), Carnivora (5), Chiroptera (5), Cetartiodactyla (7), Diprotodontia (7), Eulipotyphla (7), and Rodentia (36). Slightly over one-half (55.6%) of the 27 mammalian orders are not known to have experienced extinctions since 1500 ( IUCN 2017 ). Rates of recent mammalian extinctions, however, far exceed past levels, necessitating increased efforts to conserve threatened mammals ( Ceballos and Ehrlich 2002 ; Isaac et al. 2007 ; Pimm et al. 2014 ). Moreover, > 70% of endangered mammals are characterized by declining populations, which bodes poorly for their continued existence ( Ceballos et al. 2017 ). Also, extinctions alone fail to describe the full extent of the threat faced by mammals.

Categories of threatened mammals.

Combining Red List ( IUCN 2017 ) categories of Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU), 1,219 species of mammals (22.2%) are ranked as Threatened or Extinct. These categories are based on the quantitative IUCN system for classifying threatened species ( Mace et al. 2008 ). The median percent of Threatened or Extinct species for the 27 orders is 19.0%; only six comparatively small orders (i.e., Dermoptera, Hyracoidea, Microbiotheria, Monotremata, Notoryctemorphia, Tubulidentata) have no species in that combined category. Those numbers, although disturbing, likely underestimate the true threat to mammals because an additional 323 (5.9%) species are categorized as Near Threatened (NT), with a median for the 27 orders of 0.6%. Chiroptera (23.8%) and Rodentia (31.9%) have the largest percentage of NT species. Moreover, many NT species exhibit downward trends in their population sizes ( Schipper et al. 2008 ; Ceballos et al. 2017 ). Slightly more than one-half of mammalian species (56.7%) are considered to be of Least Concern (LC), with a median of 54.7% across orders. An additional 836 (15.2%) species of unknown status are listed as Data Deficient (DD), with a median of 13.6% across the 27 orders. Orders with relatively large numbers of Data Deficient species are Primates (56), Cetartiodactyla (62), Eulipotyphla (77), Chiroptera (204), and Rodentia (369). Data Deficient species of terrestrial mammals are concentrated in tropical forests, and Data Deficient marine species are clustered in the Antarctic Convergence ( Schipper et al. 2008 ). In addition to identifying a need for further research on the status of Data Deficient species, this category holds import for determining how Threat Levels are assessed for mammals.

Threat Levels for orders of mammals.

The IUCN Red List currently recognizes 5,411 species of extant mammals ( IUCN 2017 ). The Threat Level (sensu Schipper et al. 2008 ) for those mammals can be assessed and bracketed by evaluating whether Data Deficient species would be categorized as threatened or not threatened. Therefore, Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW)/(Total − DD)] × 100, where acronyms represent the number of species within those IUCN Red List categories. The lower bound for the Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW)/Total] × 100; the upper bound for the Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW + DD)/Total] × 100. The median Threat Level across 27 orders of mammals is 23.0%, with a median for the lower bound of 18.8%, and a median for the upper bound of 33.8%. Davidson et al. (2017) reported that 36% of Data Deficient species of mammals have extrinsic and intrinsic factors associated with a high risk of extinction in other species. Threat Levels are extremely variable ( Fig. 1 ), and large differences exist in causes of potential risk of extinction among mammalian orders ( Davidson et al. 2009 , 2017 ). Orders containing large-bodied species (e.g., Cetartiodactyla, Primates, Perissodactyla, Proboscidea, Sirenia, and Carnivora) have comparatively high Threat Levels ( Fig. 1 ). In addition to taxonomic order and body size, other intrinsic characteristics such as small geographic range, inhabiting islands as opposed to the mainland, and having a slow speed of life history (e.g., low adult mortality, iteroparity, small litter size, high maternal investment in young, long generation times, low intrinsic rates of increase) are associated with high risks of extinction ( Davidson et al. 2017 ).

Threat Levels for 27 orders of mammals. Error bars indicate lower and upper bounds for Threat Levels. Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW)/(Total − DD)] × 100. The lower bound for the Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW)/Total] × 100; the upper bound for the Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW + DD)/Total] × 100 ( Schipper et al. 2008 ). This analysis is based on the IUCN system for classifying threatened species ( Mace et al. 2008 ): VU = number of Vulnerable species; EN = number of Endangered species; CR = number of Critically Endangered species; EW = number of species Extinct in the Wild; DD = number of species that are Data Deficient. Data from IUCN (2017) . J. Kenagy and J. Bradley provided access to the phylogeny for inclusion in this figure.

Geographic patterns of species richness.

Land mammals exhibit a peak in species richness centered on the equator ( Grenyer et al. 2006 ; Schipper et al. 2008 ; Ceballos et al. 2017 ). Species richness is especially pronounced in the Andes Mountains of South America, and in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Afromontane forests). High species richness also occurs in Asia, particularly in southwestern China, Malaysia, and Borneo ( Heaney 1986 ; Schipper et al. 2008 ).

Marine mammals have zones of high species richness clustered around 40° North or 40° South latitude. The prominent exception is in the North Atlantic Ocean, resulting from past exploitation by humans ( Schipper et al. 2008 ; Davidson et al. 2012 ). Notable areas of high species richness for marine mammals include tropical and temperate coastal benches, as well as offshore portions of the Tasman and Caribbean Seas, and the Southern Indian Ocean ( Grenyer et al. 2006 ; Schipper et al. 2008 ; Pompa et al. 2011 ). Areas with threatened species of terrestrial and marine mammals are characterized by high species richness, high endemism, and high human pressure ( Schipper et al. 2008 ; Ceballos et al. 2017 ).

Geographic patterns and types of threats.

Threatened land mammals are concentrated in southern and southeastern Asia, tropical portions of the Andes Mountains in South America, the highlands of Cameroon, the Albertine Rift in Africa, and the Western Ghats in India ( Schipper et al. 2008 ; Ceballos et al. 2017 ). For marine mammals, threatened species occur in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, and oceans and seas proximate to southeastern Asia ( Davidson et al. 2012 ). Species of mammals with small geographic ranges are especially threatened in southeastern Asia, whereas species with large geographic ranges are threatened in Africa, and portions of Asia and the Arctic ( Davidson et al. 2017 ). Fundamental differences exist for mammals inhabiting the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Endemics of the southern-temperate zone have smaller geographic range sizes and are at a greater risk of extinction than are their counterparts from the Northern Hemisphere ( Lamoreux and Lacher 2010 ). Moreover, southern-temperate endemics are less likely to occur within protected areas than are those from the Northern Hemisphere ( Lamoreux and Lacher 2010 ).

Habitat loss and degradation (40% of affected species), and overharvesting (17%) pose the greatest threats to mammals worldwide ( Schipper et al. 2008 ). Those threats are usually driven by human population density and climate change, which pose increasingly greater threats to the future of mammals ( Davidson et al. 2017 ). Threats to land mammals, however, differ markedly from those for marine species. Terrestrial species are negatively affected throughout the tropics from deforestation, especially in the Americas, Asia, and Africa ( Schipper et al. 2008 ). Negative effects of illegal killing on land mammals are most pronounced in Asia, but also in portions of Africa and South America. Overharvesting may result from poaching for food, the bushmeat trade, and use of animals for medicinal and other purposes, as well as from accidental capture in snares set for other species ( Schipper et al. 2008 ; Harrison et al. 2016 ). Overharvesting disproportionately affects larger mammals (Cetartiodactyla, Primates, Perissodactyla, Proboscidea, and Carnivora) compared with smaller ones, possibly because large mammals have slower life histories and larger home ranges compared with small mammals—characteristics that can increase vulnerability to harvest ( Cardillo et al. 2005 ; Schipper et al. 2008 ). Nonetheless, legal and regulated sport hunting, as practiced in much of North America and Europe, seldom threatens and may offer conservation benefits to land mammals ( Organ et al. 2010 ).

Disease is a threat to extinction for comparatively few (2%) species of mammals ( Schipper et al. 2008 ). Nevertheless, some diseases can have catastrophic effects on particular species. For example, a transmissible facial cancer in Tasmanian devils ( Sarcophilus harrisii ) devastated populations of this marsupial, yet because of their rapid evolutionary response, hope exists that they may not become extinct ( Epstein et al. 2016 ). White-nose syndrome, caused by a pathogenic fungus ( Pseudogymnoascus ), has killed millions of bats (Chiroptera) since its emergence in eastern North America in 2006 ( Frick et al. 2016 ). Nonetheless, a possibility exists for limiting the spread of this disease because the fungus is extremely sensitive to ultraviolet light, which might be applied to hibernating bats with a few seconds of exposure from a portable light source ( Palmer et al. 2018 ). Chronic wasting disease, which is caused by a prion, is uniformly fatal in cervids, and presents enormous management difficulties in coping with the spread of this infectious disease ( Saunders et al. 2012 ; Potapov et al. 2016 ). How emerging infectious diseases might interact with other threats to mammals, such as habitat loss and climate change, is uncertain. For instance, recent mass die-offs of the endangered saiga antelope ( Saiga tatarica ), associated with a common bacterium ( Pasteurella multocida ) under conditions of warmer temperatures and higher humidity, indicate that threats from diseases are likely to increase in unanticipated ways in the future ( Kock et al. 2018 ).

In addition to threats posed by disease-causing microorganisms, invasive animal and plant species threaten mammals worldwide. Based on IUCN data from 2014, alien species were listed as a causal threat for 70% ( n = 30) of 43 extinctions ( Bellard et al. 2016 ). Furthermore, during recent decades, increased globalization has accelerated rates of movement and introduction of alien species. Moreover, trade and transport of goods and people globally have created new pathways for biological invasions and new challenges for stemming the loss of biodiversity resulting from the spread of alien species ( Hume 2009 ).

Invasive species can threaten mammal populations in diverse and interacting ways. First, invasive predators often are effective in killing naive prey, and this is especially prevalent for insular populations. A recent review identified 189 mammals representing 45 families that have been negatively affected by invasive predators, with the greatest numbers occurring in Australia and Central America ( Doherty et al. 2016 ). At least 28 of Australian’s endemic mammals have become extinct since European settlement, and extinctions continue to occur at a rate of one to two per decade, primarily as a result of predation by invasive alien predators ( Woinarski et al. 2015 ). Generalist predators such as feral cats ( Felis catus ), canids, and rodents are among the most challenging for island mammals. Feral cats have been reported to threaten ≥ 27 mammalian species on ≥ 120 islands ( Medina et al. 2011 ). Efforts to remove invasive predators from islands have met with success and offer hope for restoration of island fauna ( Jones et al. 2016 ). Recent summaries indicate that efforts to eradicate invasive species have achieved > 85% success rates ( Genovesi 2011 ). Nonetheless, growing recognition of the complexity of multispecies interactions also cautions that unintended consequences can occur following removal or reduction of invasive species ( Lurgi et al. 2018 ).

Second, invasive species can compete with native ones directly for key resources and indirectly through the spread of parasites ( Dunn et al. 2012 ) and facilitation of predation (i.e., apparent competition). Introduction of feral pigs ( Sus scrofa ) to the California Channel Islands provided abundant food for golden eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos ) that colonized the islands and subsequently preyed heavily on the native Channel Island foxes ( Urocyon littoralis — Roemer et al. 2002 ). Such novel biological interactions can reduce fitness of native mammals, resulting in population declines that lead to extirpations.

Third, plant invasions can alter community composition with numerous potential consequences for mammals and the ecosystems they inhabit ( Vilà et al. 2011 ). Such effects include reduction in availability or quality of forage for herbivores, changes in hydrological cycles ( Huxman et al. 2005 ), and alteration of historic fire regimes ( Brooks et al. 2004 ). Invasion of exotic annual plants, including cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum ), in the western United States has increased frequency and severity of fires ( Balch et al. 2013 ), killing sagebrush ( Artimesia spp.) shrubs and precipitating loss of shrub-steppe habitats that support sagebrush-dependent mammals such as pygmy rabbits ( Brachylagus idahoensis ) and sagebrush voles ( Lemmiscus curtatus ). The uncertainty associated with effects of invasive species under changing climate regimes is an emerging threat to mammals. We address the issue of climate change later, but emphasize here that shifts in climate have the potential to alter consequences of species invasions in ways that have yet to be imagined. We view this as an important area for research to support future conservation of mammals.

For marine mammals, the principal threats are from accidental mortality (affecting 78% of species), including fisheries bycatch and vessel strikes, and pollution (60% of species). Pollution involves chemicals, marine debris, noise, and climate change ( Schipper et al. 2008 ). Harvesting of marine mammals remains a concern (52% of species) largely because of commercialization, notwithstanding improvements via international agreements ( Davidson et al. 2012 ; Bowen and Lidgard 2013 ; McCaughley et al. 2015 ).

Comparisons of terrestrial and aquatic taxa within Cetartiodactyla.

A positive relationship exists between threat of extinction and body size ( Purvis et al. 2000 ; Cardillo et al. 2005 ). Evaluating threats to large mammals of the Cetartiodactyla may offer insights into patterns that species in other orders may face.

For the 10 families of terrestrial species within Cetartiodactyla, a median of 55.5% of the species in those families are Threatened or Extinct. All species in three small families (Giraffidae, Hippopotamidae, Moschidae) are in that category. Threatened or Extinct species compose 37.3% of the species-rich Bovidae (142 species) and 49.0% of the Cervidae (54 species). Comparatively few species (16) from those two large families are Data Deficient, which is a small percentage (6.7%) of their extant species. Nevertheless, Threat Levels for terrestrial families of Cetartiodactyla ( Table 1 ) are high compared with other mammalian orders ( Fig. 1 ). A median Threat Level of 58.3%, with large lower (53.5%) and upper (61.8%) bounds are a clear cause for concern.

Threat levels with upper and lower bounds for families of terrestrial mammals in the order Cetartiodactyla. Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW)/(Total − DD)] × 100. The lower bound for the Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW)/Total] × 100; the upper bound for the Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW + DD)/Total] × 100. VU = number of Vulnerable species; EN = number of Endangered species; CR = number of Critically Endangered species; EW = number of species Extinct in the Wild; DD = number of species that are Data Deficient. Data from IUCN (2017) .

Family .	Extant species ( ) .	Threat level (%) .	Lower bound (%) .	Upper bound (%) .
Antilocapridae	1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Bovidae	142	36.0	35.0	37.9
Camelidae	3	33.0	33.0	33.0
Cervidae	54	57.8	48.1	64.8
Giraffidae	2	100.0	100.0	100.0
Hippopotamidae	2	100.0	100.0	100.0
Moschidae	7	100.0	100.0	100.0
Suidae	17	58.8	58.8	58.8
Tayassuidae	3	66.7	66.7	66.7
Tragulidae	10	14.2	0.0	40.0

Family .	Extant species ( ) .	Threat level (%) .	Lower bound (%) .	Upper bound (%) .
Antilocapridae	1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Bovidae	142	36.0	35.0	37.9
Camelidae	3	33.0	33.0	33.0
Cervidae	54	57.8	48.1	64.8
Giraffidae	2	100.0	100.0	100.0
Hippopotamidae	2	100.0	100.0	100.0
Moschidae	7	100.0	100.0	100.0
Suidae	17	58.8	58.8	58.8
Tayassuidae	3	66.7	66.7	66.7
Tragulidae	10	14.2	0.0	40.0

For the 11 families of aquatic species (some are not marine) within Cetartiodactyla, no species, with the possible exception of the baiji ( Lipotes vexllifer ), was thought to be extinct ( Turvey et al. 2007 ). The IUCN (2017) lists that species as Critically Endangered with an unknown population trend. A median of 33.3% of aquatic species in Cetartiodactyla were categorized as Threatened ( Table 2 ). This value likely is biased low because of the large number (45) of Data Deficient species, which constituted 51.7% of aquatic species. Threat Levels to aquatic species within Cetartiodactyla ( Table 2 ) are high compared with other orders ( Fig. 1 ), with a median of 50.0% (the lower bound for Threat Levels was 33.3% and the upper bound 75%). The upper bound for Threat Levels for aquatic families exceeded that for terrestrial families within Cetartiodactyla, largely because of the numerous Data Deficient aquatic species.

Threat levels with upper and lower bounds for aquatic families in the order Cetartiodactyla. Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW)/(Total − DD)] × 100. The lower bound for the Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW)/Total] × 100; the upper bound for the Threat Level = [(VU + EN + CR + EW + DD)/Total] × 100. VU = Vulnerable; EN = Endangered; CR = Critically Endangered; EW = Extinct in the Wild; DD = Data Deficient. Data from IUCN (2017) .

Family .	Extant species ( ) .	Threat level (%) .	Lower bound (%) .	Upper bound (%) .
Balaenidae	4	50.0	50.0	50.0
Balaenopteridae	8	60.0	37.5	75.0
Ziphiidae	21	0.0	0.0	90.5
Delphinidae	36	15.8	8.3	55.6
Monodontidae	2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Eschrichtiidae	1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Iniidae	3	100.0	66.7	100.0
Neobalaenidae	1	0.0	0.0	100.0
Physeteridae	3	100.0	33.3	100.0
Phocoenidae	7	60.0	42.9	71.4
Platanistidae	1	100.0	100.0	100.0

Family .	Extant species ( ) .	Threat level (%) .	Lower bound (%) .	Upper bound (%) .
Balaenidae	4	50.0	50.0	50.0
Balaenopteridae	8	60.0	37.5	75.0
Ziphiidae	21	0.0	0.0	90.5
Delphinidae	36	15.8	8.3	55.6
Monodontidae	2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Eschrichtiidae	1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Iniidae	3	100.0	66.7	100.0
Neobalaenidae	1	0.0	0.0	100.0
Physeteridae	3	100.0	33.3	100.0
Phocoenidae	7	60.0	42.9	71.4
Platanistidae	1	100.0	100.0	100.0

The primary factors threatening terrestrial Cetartiodactyla are similar across families based on the top three threats listed by the IUCN (2017) for each family (as determined by the number of species experiencing those threats). The category of “biological resource use” resulting principally from hunting and trapping was a primary threat for all 10 families. Nonetheless, many of those threats pertained to historical use of species, or illegal killing; no such reports listed legal and regulated sport harvest of mammals as a threat. Likewise, all 10 families included the IUCN category of “agriculture and aquaculture” as a threat, mostly a result of livestock farming or ranching. One-half of the families listed “residential and commercial development” as a threat, 20% included “human intrusions and development,” 10% listed “natural system modifications,” and 10% identified “invasive and other problematic species and diseases.” All of those categories except hunting and disease can be considered to be a consequence of habitat loss or modification.

The 11 families of aquatic species within Cetartiodactyla also face common threats. Foremost among those primary threats is “biological resource use” (90.9%), denoted mostly as harvest, fisheries bycatch, or harvesting of other aquatic resources. The only family that did not list “biological resource use” as a threat is the monotypic Neobalinenidae, for which no threats were listed because the pygmy right whale ( Caperea marginata ) was categorized as Data Deficient. “Pollution” also is a common threat (63.6%) in aquatic families; followed by “climate change and severe weather” (45.5%); “transportation and service corridors” (27.3%), which involve principally risks of collisions in shipping lanes; and “invasive and other problematic species and diseases” (18.2%).

Understanding patterns of extinction.

Mammals face dire threats throughout their distribution; the continued existence of many species, especially large-bodied, vagile taxa, is in question. Our results, however, are extremely conservative and do not fully address threats to mammalian species. The IUCN Red List considers only species-level taxa in categorizing the status of mammals, and consequently does not reflect threats to subspecies or local populations ( Butchart and Dunn 2003 ; Ceballos et al. 2017 ). For instance, the pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana ) is listed as a species of Least Concern, yet the Sonoran pronghorn ( A. a. sonoriensis ) is Endangered ( Hosack et al. 2002 ). Bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis ) also is a species of Least Concern, but the Sierra Nevada subspecies ( O. c. sierrae ) is Endangered ( Schroeder et al. 2010 ). The white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) has a wide distribution in the Americas and is a species of Least Concern, yet the Florida Key deer ( O. v. clavium ) is Endangered ( Haversohn et al. 2004 ).

Another problematic component of the IUCN database relates to the number of extant mammalian species. For instance, the Mammal Diversity Database ( https://mammaldiversity.org ) currently recognizes 6,399 species of extant mammals, with 96 species recently extinct ( Burgin et al. 2018 ). Moreover, a long-term average of 25 new species has been described each year ( Burgin et al. 2018 ). Undescribed species probably have experienced some extinctions, which would result in further underestimating extinction rate. Moreover, analyses based on IUCN (2017) data have 912 fewer mammalian species than recognized by the Mammal Diversity Database. The IUCN statistics clearly document past threats to mammals but may not track current ones, especially for rapidly occurring changes in the status of some mammalian species. Indeed, population status for many species is poorly documented in developing countries of the world, and nonexistent for the 912 mammal species that do not occur on the IUCN list ( Burgin et al. 2018 ).

Further, the IUCN Red List has been criticized as unscientific and in need of additional or revised metrics for classifying threatened species ( Mace and Lande 1991 ; Nowak 2009 ; Joppa et al. 2016 ). Nevertheless, some of those criticisms are based on misconceptions concerning the manner in which species are classified into categories ( Collen et al. 2016 ). Despite some shortcomings, we believe the IUCN Red List provides a benchmark against which the changing status of mammal species may be judged. The emphasis on extinction of species, regardless of the database used, has resulted in underestimating threats to mammals ( Ceballos et al. 2017 ).

Some mammals have experienced massive contractions in their geographic ranges during historic times ( Laliberte and Ripple 2004 ), and many species of Least Concern are declining, which may result in local extinctions ( Craigie et al. 2010 ; Ceballos et al. 2017 ). Large mammals, in particular, have the potential to greatly influence ecosystems that they inhabit ( McNaughton 1979 ; Stewart et al. 2006 ), but we must find ways to implement conservation measures that will benefit a diversity of mammalian taxa ( Ford et al. 2017 ). Ultimately, the fate of mammals is intertwined with the size, growth, and resource demands of the human population ( Vitousek et al. 1997 ; Czech et al. 2000 ; Gaston 2005 ; McKee et al. 2013 ).

Loss of habitat and habitat fragmentation ( Wilcox and Murphy 1985 ) are quintessential factors threatening most mammals, especially terrestrial taxa. Habitat restoration holds the potential to reduce rates of extinction in fragmented woodlands ( Newmark et al. 2017 ). Although there has been rapid progress in developing protected areas, those sites do not necessarily protect biodiversity ( Andelman and Willig 2003 ; Pimm et al. 2014 ; Bleich 2016 ).

Human livelihoods versus protection.

Curbing extinction and preserving populations are two major goals of mammal conservation. Historically, protected areas (national parks, reserves, and other legal designations intended to limit human activities with the overarching goal of conserving nature) have been a hub for conservation efforts. Recently, however, conservationists have come to realize that protected areas often are too small ( Woodroffe and Ginsberg 1998 ; Bleich 1999 , 2005 ; Gonzalez-Maya et al. 2015 ), too few ( Gaston et al. 2008 ; Newmark 2008 ; Durant et al. 2017 ), poorly delimited or isolated ( Bleich 2014 , 2016 ), or too unreliably supported ( Andelman and Willig 2003 ; Caro and Scholte 2007 ; Craigie et al. 2010 ) to meet many long-term (centuries to millennia) conservation prospects. Consequently, some conservationists are transitioning to a model in which the improvement of human livelihoods is considered (or even prioritized) alongside traditional preservationist views.

This outcome has been dubbed the “new conservation science” ( Kareiva and Marvier 2012 ), and it is reminiscent of the creation of Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs). In the mid-1980s, and largely in response to failures perceived with traditional conservation efforts in protected areas (i.e., “fences and fines” approaches), the World Wide Fund for Nature introduced 19 ICDPs in an attempt to meet socioeconomic priorities of rural communities and conservation goals simultaneously ( Hughes and Flintan 2001 ). These ICDPs were established across Africa and South America, normally in conjunction with national parks and typically funded by western governments and nongovernment organizations, with the goal of benefiting local communities through tourism dollars and job creation ( Hughes and Flintan 2001 ). The validity of the ICDP model for conservation rests on at least two assumptions. First, local peoples are hostile toward formally protected areas, and their livelihoods pose a direct threat to biodiversity ( Hughes and Flintan 2001 ). Second, ICDPs offer complementary or alternative livelihoods to locals that are sustainable, will increase living standards, and will reduce threats posed to biodiversity ( Newmark and Hough 2000 ). These assumptions are rarely tested and are sometimes wrong. Moreover, a possible (but not universal— Salerno et al. 2014 ) unintended consequence of ICDP establishment is the increased immigration of people toward the outskirts of protected areas ( Barrett and Arcese 1995 ; Scholte 2003 ; Guerbois et al. 2013 ).

Generally, shifts from traditional conservation to emphasis on human livelihoods are controversial (e.g., Kareiva and Marvier 2012 ; Doak et al. 2014 , 2015 ; Vucetich et al. 2015 ), and are exemplified by two quotations: “Nature preserves…are not places to be saved to be used at a later stage when an ever-growing human population claims more land because of lack of economic development” ( Prins 1992 ); and “Why should all that land be set aside for tourists when it can be used for farming? These white people care more about one dead elephant than they do for a hundred black children” ( Obama 1995 , quoting his sister). At the heart lies debate over the validity of two frequent claims ( Young 2006 ): conservation and improved human livelihoods are compatible; and economic interests, particularly those of rural communities, must be satisfied for conservation to be successful (i.e., “wildlife must pay its way”). Appealing though they may be, evidence for the two claims is equivocal in that valid examples refuting or supporting each are readily available. Each is true for some conservation efforts, in some areas, some of the time.

With these considerations in mind, we review the costs and benefits of protected areas and multi-use, human-occupied landscapes, with particular attention to if and how each has shaped conservation outcomes for mammals. We then consider two examples in which on-the-ground conservation efforts are relying on a combination of formally protected areas and landscapes inhabited by local communities to bolster populations of two related, rare antelopes (Bovidae). Although these examples are broadly applicable, we focus attention on eastern and southern Africa, which house iconic protected areas (Kruger National Park, Serengeti National Park, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Mara Conservancy, and other nearby conservancies), and are occupied by people and their livestock over 75–85% of the landscape, and thus lack formal protection ( Chape et al. 2005 ; Newmark 2008 ).

Costs, benefits, and logistics of protected areas for conserving wild mammals.

We follow Dudley (2008) in defining a protected area as a “clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.” By this definition, the world’s first protected area (the Main Ridge Forest Reserve in Tobago) was created in 1776 via British parliamentary ordinance to collect rainfall for agriculture elsewhere on the island ( UNESCO 2011 ). Since this time, more than 202,000 protected areas have been established across nearly 15% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface ( U.N. Environment Conservation Monitoring Centre 2017 ). Many successes in mammal conservation have arisen precisely because of the establishment of, or targeted efforts within, formally protected areas, which also can serve as critical reference points for restoration ( Arcese and Sinclair 1997 ; Berger 2008 ). For the 24 species of wild mammals for which populations have been bolstered by conservation efforts in recent decades, one-half have benefitted demonstrably from conservation in protected areas ( Hoffmann et al. 2010 , 2011 ). In an extreme example, conservation within a protected area (the Serengeti National Park–Maasai Mara National Reserve complex) almost certainly prevented the conservation status of common wildebeest ( Connochaetes taurinus ) from deteriorating from Least Concern to Critically Endangered ( Hoffmann et al. 2015 ).

Alternative views exist regarding the utility of protected areas as ecological baselines. For example, Sarmento and Berger (2017) demonstrate that increased rates of human visitation to Glacier National Park have caused mountain goats ( Oreamnos americanus ) to relax antipredator behaviors, thereby potentially reshaping predator–prey interactions. More generally, protected areas (even those designated as “wilderness”) often are too small, too isolated, or both to buffer wide-ranging ungulates and carnivores from human influence outside their borders ( Woodroffe and Ginsberg 1998 ; Bleich 2016 ). Therefore, there is some risk that our view of “pristineness” is illusory, and our perception of ecological baselines subjective.

Conservation within protected areas requires a combination of reduction (or exclusion) of people and the creation of economic benefits from wildlife to people around protected areas. With regard to the former, Hilborn et al. (2006) demonstrated that enhanced antipoaching efforts in Serengeti National Park were sufficiently strong to increase numbers of buffalo ( Syncerus caffer ), African elephant ( Loxodonta africana ), and black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis ). Examples of effective enforcement within protected areas are rare, despite their critical importance for conservation. Some have suggested that increased funding for antipoaching patrols, rather than increased sentences for captured poachers, is a more economically efficient means of deterring poaching ( Dobson and Lynes 2007 ). Because poaching reduces the effective size of protected areas, and because protected areas display classic species–area relationships ( Fig. 2 ), economic inputs toward enforcement should result in less disparity between the true size of a protected area and its effective size ( Leader-Williams and Milner-Gulland 1993 ; Dobson and Lynes 2007 ).

Species richness of large (> 10 kg) ungulates displays a classic species–area relationship (power function) for protected areas in East Africa, implying extinction risk is a function of size of protected areas ( Brashares et al. 2001 ). Protected areas comprise savanna woodland or grassland habitats in eastern and southern Africa, and include Amboseli National Park, Bontebuck National Park, Etosha National Park, Kora National Reserve, Kruger National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park, Moremi Game Reserve, Nechisar Nation Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Serengeti National Park, South Luanga National Park, Tsavo National Park (East and West combined), and West Caprivi Game Reserve. Data from the IUCN World Database on Protected Areas ( https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/our-work/world-database-protected-areas ).

Fencing of protected areas has been a particularly contentious subject in recent years, although this debate is rooted in discussions from the mid-1980s. The controversy ( Creel et al. 2013 ; Packer et al. 2013a , 2013b ) is related to how best to minimize retaliatory killing of large carnivores (particularly African lions, Panthera leo ) following livestock depredation, as well as effects of habitat loss and degradation from livestock and farming, and depletion of native prey because of their use as bushmeat and competition with livestock. On one hand, population persistence of African lions is projected to be highest within well-funded and fenced protected areas (where African lions are limited primarily by density dependence), and lowest within poorly funded, unfenced protected areas associated with high population densities of people ( Packer et al. 2013a ). Conversely, critics have argued that African lion densities are artificially high within fenced protected areas, and these are too expensive to install and maintain in most locales ( Creel et al. 2013 ). One point of agreement is that African lion conservation requires a larger, sustained financial base to be successful over the long term.

Still, protected areas are not a panacea, and often fall short as a stopgap to prevent population declines, local extirpations, or even extinction. This happens for a number of reasons, foremost among them illegal hunting within protected areas that exist in name only, but that lack adequate enforcement (so-called “paper parks”— Gates 1999 ). Although they occur largely in protected areas, West African chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes verus ) are on the brink of extinction in several countries; the same is true for addax ( Addax nasomaculatus ) and dama gazelle ( Nanger dama ), despite occurring in the largest protected area on the continent (the 100,000 km 2 Termit Massif Reserve in Niger). In 2000, Miss Waldron’s red colobus monkey ( Piliocolobus waldronae ) was declared extinct in a network of national parks in Ghana and Ivory Coast ( Oates et al. 2000 ; but see the following section). Additionally, extinction risk is amplified in small reserves in West Africa via demographic stochasticity ( Brashares et al. 2001 ) and in the Horn of Africa because of compromised ability of several antelopes with small geographic ranges to track suitable habitats as drying and warming intensifies ( Payne and Bro-Jørgensen 2016 ).

Because protected areas generally are viewed as safeguards in which pristine and fragile nature is physically separated from human activities, protected areas risk being perceived as incompatible with human livelihoods. This observation is particularly applicable to developing countries, where more affluent nations are responsible for the bulk of conservation funding ( Hickey and Pimm 2011 ; Miller et al. 2013 ). Such division between the nations that fund conservation and nations that bear the costs of conservation can result in mistrust of government agencies and other organizations dedicated to conservation in protected areas. By virtue of their proximity to protected areas, local peoples are asked to tolerate direct (e.g., livestock depredation, crop loss) or indirect (e.g., restrictions on development, competition from game species) economic losses to wild mammals ( Waylen et al. 2010 ; Bruskotter et al. 2017 ). Perceptions aside, local peoples derive at least some benefits from protected areas, as evidenced by growing human populations on the outskirts of national parks and reserves in Africa and Latin America ( Wittemyer et al. 2008 ), and increasing human pressures within a substantial fraction of protected areas ( Jones et al. 2018 ).

Costs, benefits, and logistics of human-occupied landscapes for conserving wild mammals.

We consider conservation in human-occupied landscapes (areas with conservation needs that also include people) as synonymous with community-based conservation, in which local involvement in areas lacking formal protection is aimed at enhancing conservation and maintaining or improving living standards ( Berkes 2004 ). Conservation in human-occupied landscapes may complement conservation in formally protected areas, or it may be the only option through which conservation can occur ( Western et al. 2015 ). The latter is particularly the case in developing nations, where governments lack the authority or resources to advance conservation. In such instances, the explicit consideration of human livelihoods may be crucial for curbing extinction and bolstering population sizes of rare or declining mammals.

Conservation failure is the norm in human-occupied landscapes, but it is by no means a foregone conclusion. For conservation outside of formally protected areas to succeed, the protection of wild mammals and their habitats should result in some benefit to local people. Examples include direct payments from ecotourism ( Sindinga 1995 ) and trophy hunting ( Lindsey et al. 2006 ), ecosystem services in the form of enhanced forage quality ( Odadi et al. 2011 ), and reduced risk of tick-borne diseases ( Allan et al. 2017 ). These benefits arise from the diversification of land uses, which increasingly are being implemented to buffer against unpredictable climates and livestock markets ( Reid et al. 2014 ). These benefits also should be tied directly to decisions made by local residents, who should oversee conservation efforts ( Goodwin and Roe 2001 ).

As with protected areas, examples of conservation success in human-occupied landscapes are many. Black-footed ferret ( Mustela nigripes ) restoration is occurring on privately owned rangelands in Wyoming because of a recent clause of the Endangered Species Act, affording regulatory relief for landowners in the form of relaxed prohibitions on take ( USFWS 2014 ). Similar to ferrets, other species of mammals thought to be extinct, have been rediscovered in human-occupied landscapes, including the Philippine naked-backed fruit bat ( Dobsonia chapmani ) on Cebu and Negros Islands (rediscovered in 2000— Paguntalan et al. 2004 ), and the Miss Waldron’s red colobus monkey in the Ehy Forest of Ivory Coast (rediscovered in 2002— McGraw 2005 ). Engaging local people in participatory forest management has been very effective in reducing forest loss around Chitwan National Park, Nepal ( Stapp et al. 2016 ).

Human–wildlife conflict frequently constrains opportunities for conservation in human-occupied landscapes, particularly in the absence of strong local investment in conservation or transparent benefits to individuals from conservation. This occurs because common resources, such as rangelands, forests, and water, are susceptible to overexploitation via the Tragedy of the Commons ( Hardin 1968 ). Self-governance of common resources can benefit wildlife, if major decisions are made locally by communities ( Fennell 2011 ). Ostrom (1990) articulated eight principles that are necessary to prevent a commons tragedy from arising, four of which are particularly germane when considering conservation efforts in human-occupied landscapes:

Clearly defined common resources, and effective exclusion of unentitled parties;

Collective choice, such that users of common resources can participate in decision-making (or elected officials serve as proxies in decision-making);

Sanctions for those who violate community rules in appropriating common resources; and

Recognition of leaders by higher-level authorities of the community.

The success of conservation in human-occupied landscapes hinges strongly on those principles. Ultimately, their implementation requires strong leadership through heads, elders, or other respected individuals in the community, who have strong public support (e.g., Kothari et al. 2013 ; Hazzah et al. 2014 ). Local conservation requires local knowledge, which is necessary but insufficient for conservation in human-occupied landscapes. Local conservation also requires local leaders.

In the following section, we detail two cases in which current conservation efforts rely on a combination of protected areas and human-occupied landscapes to bolster population sizes of two species of imperiled antelope. Both lean heavily on strong local knowledge and local leadership. At first glance, these examples seem similar: the antelope species are close relatives, occur in Kenya, and share the landscape with people and their livestock. But each example highlights a truism: while conservation is a global problem, the solutions are typically local, and require sustained input over the long term ( Pringle 2017 ). Inevitably, such long-term dedication necessitates a focus on place: intimate knowledge of system-specific details of the protected areas or human-occupied landscapes in which conservation challenges occur and can be fixed.

Case study 1: livestock production as a tool to lessen apparent competition for hartebeest.

The aim of this project is to reverse declines of hartebeest ( Alcelaphus buselaphus ) inhabiting the 10,000 km 2 Laikipia Plateau of central Kenya over one or more decades. Since the mid-1980s, hartebeest and several other populations of wild ungulates in Laikipia have declined, due to the increasing tolerance of ranchers toward large carnivores, particularly African lions. The rate and timing of these declines is the same, indicating one or more common underlying mechanisms. Georgiadis et al. (2007a) tested seven nonexclusive hypotheses (including poaching, parasitism, interspecific competition, intraspecific competition, habitat conversion, displacement by humans, and exceptional rainfall patterns) for those declines, rejecting all but predation. Further, the authors suggested that many species of wild ungulates in Laikipia, the hartebeest in particular, were suppressed via apparent competition with plains zebra ( Equus burchelli ), a wild ungulate that has not exhibited the same steep declines characteristic of others in Laikipia, and that is the most common prey of African lions ( Georgiadis et al. 2007b ; Frank 2011 ).

At Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Ng’weno et al. (2017) reported support for the hypothesis that African lions had suppressed population growth of hartebeest. Additionally, hartebeest were preferred by African lions over 10 wild ungulate species with which they co-occurred, and exhibited an African lion-mediated Allee effect ( Ng’weno 2017 ). Risk of mortality to hartebeest from African lion predation increased in association with plains zebra and dense vegetation ( Ng’weno et al. 2017 ). These observations support the idea that an increasing African lion population in Laikipia has been subsidized by plains zebra and caused hartebeest to decline to < 10% of their historical abundance.

Finding lethal control of African lions improper and extirpation of hartebeest populations undesirable, Ng’weno (2017) implemented a solution to bolster numbers of hartebeest that did not require lethal control of African lions. Within Laikipia, ranchers corral livestock nightly in temporary, circular corrals (“bomas”) to reduce predation ( Ogada et al. 2003 ). Bomas are occupied between 1 and 6 months, after which they are abandoned and livestock are moved in a rotational scheme. Over 1 year, bomas transition into nutrient-rich grazing lawns, as dung and urine break-down and enrich the soil ( Veblen 2012 ; Porensky and Veblen 2015 ). Those grazing lawns are attractive to plains zebra, but are virtually ignored by hartebeest. Consequently, Ng’weno (2017) used bomas to create grazing lawns away from hartebeest territories, thereby manipulating the distribution of primary prey (zebra) on the landscape and providing a spatial refuge from African lion predation for hartebeest. This approach more than doubled survival rates of hartebeest, although it is too early to know whether this effect is sufficiently strong to reverse population declines of hartebeest.

Case study 2: engaging Somali communities to conserve hirola antelope.

This project involves hirola ( Beatragus hunteri ), a close relative of hartebeest that is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, with a global population size of < 500 individuals ( King et al. 2011 ). Hirola have never been common, and are restricted to grassland habitats east of the Tana River on the Kenya–Somalia border; such small-ranged species are particularly susceptible to demographic stochasticity, and thus present major conservation challenges ( Caughley 1994 ). In the mid-1980s, geographic range collapse (and the associated global population crash) occurred in response to a rinderpest ( Morbillivirus ) outbreak ( IUCN 2008 ), such that hirola are now restricted to an approximate 1,200 km 2 swath of land on the Kenya–Somalia border. Nonetheless, eradication of rinderpest from the Horn of Africa in the early 2000s did not prompt hirola recovery ( Ali et al. 2017 ). At approximately the same time that hirola populations plummeted, financial backing for the only protected area in the region, Arawale National Reserve, dwindled because of remoteness of the area, lack of a viable tourism industry, and lack of local involvement.

Motivated by increasing calls for in situ conservation and local involvement, the Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy was established in eastern Kenya in 2005 by Terra Nuova (an Italian nongovernmental organization) and has been overseen since by the Northern Rangelands Trust (a Kenyan nongovernment organization supported largely by USAID, The Nature Conservancy, and other international donors). This marked a major shift in attempts to conserve hirola, as local Somali communities were engaged, and indeed were the driving force behind those efforts. In 2012, a predator-proof sanctuary was constructed within Ishaqbini to serve as a source for future reintroductions of hirola throughout their historical range, the first of which is slated for 2018. Interestingly, populations of hirola have grown within Ishaqbini at the same time that they remained stable or declined slightly within a protected area to which they were introduced in the mid-1990s (Tsavo East National Park— Probert et al. 2014 ; Ali et al. 2018 ).

Despite its successes, Ishaqbini is small (72 km 2 ) and therefore insufficient for the long-term persistence of hirola. At approximately the same time as the sanctuary was being created, a coordinated, parallel effort (the Hirola Conservation Programme; HCP) was established. The HCP’s mission is to “regazette” Arawale National Reserve and restore hirola populations throughout their 7,600 km 2 historical range, which would result in the downlisting of hirola from Critically Endangered to Endangered. In the aftermath of rinderpest eradication, hirola populations have been suppressed by a combination rangeland deterioration via tree encroachment and predation by African lions, cheetahs ( Acinonyx jubatus ), and African wild dogs ( Lycaon pictus ), each of which is an IUCN red-listed species ( Ali et al. 2017 , 2018 ).

Because predator control is arguably undesirable and logistically impossible, efforts have centered on identifying strategies to revert Acacia -dominated woodlands to the open grasslands that characterized the historical range of hirola. Local communities support restoration strategies that have been successful elsewhere, including manual clearing of trees and reseeding of grasses over large areas ( Ali 2016 ). Although it is too early to know whether range-restoration efforts have been successful, signs are encouraging because several of Ostrom’s (1990) criteria for combating the Tragedy of the Commons are being met: well-defined community boundaries exist within the hirola’s range, rules are being created for the provision of restored grasslands to individuals, and participatory decision-making is being overseen by a small number of elders who have broad community support ( Ali 2016 ). Mammal conservationists await results with cautious optimism.

The cases of hartebeest conservation in Laikipia and hirola conservation in eastern Kenya represent place-based, system-specific conservation efforts. Those efforts would not be possible without elements of conservation in protected areas and human-occupied landscapes in tandem, and neither would be possible without strong local leadership. Such is the norm for mammal conservation throughout the globe. Although several contributions over the past decade have been key in identifying common challenges associated with protected areas (e.g., Woodroffe and Ginsberg 1998 ; Tranquilli et al. 2014 ; Venter et al. 2017 ) and human-occupied landscapes (e.g., Walpole and Thouless 2005 ; Chapron et al. 2014 ), workable solutions often are difficult to apply generally. In the previous examples, each conservation solution arose because of particularities inherent to the study system. In the first, secondary prey of African lions (hartebeest) are not attracted to grazing lawns to the same degree as are primary prey of African lions (zebra), thereby offering potential for physical separation and spatial refugia. In the second, Somali pastoralists typically do not hunt wild ungulates, and ascribe to hirola a near-mythical status (because hirola are associated with high-quality, abundant grasses Kimitei et al. 2015 ). Such is the nuance of successful conservation efforts, for which we expect both protected areas and human-occupied landscapes to play key roles in the 21st century and beyond.

Patterns of use and exploitation.

Humans have been hunting other mammals throughout our species’ existence ( Bunn and Gurtov 2014 ). The primary motivation for hunting always has been for food, and this remains among the most common justifications for hunting, whether it be for bushmeat by aboriginal peoples in tropical areas of Asia ( Harrison et al. 2016 ), Africa ( Fa et al. 1995 ), Australia ( Finch et al. 2014 ), or South America ( Hames and Vickers 1982 ), or for highly regulated hunting in North America and Europe ( Responsive Management 2013 ). Culling is another term for hunting, but culling is most often used when removals are motivated to reduce population size to lessen conflicts with agriculture or to control predators ( Quirós-Fernández et al. 2017 ).

When tied to economic incentives and commercial markets, however, hunting has led to excessive harvests and declines in wild mammal populations ( Geist 1988 ; Harrison et al. 2016 ). In some instances, this has been the consequence of market hunting, for example, in the bushmeat trade in Asia ( Scheffers et al. 2012 ; Harrison et al. 2016 ) and Africa ( Fa et al. 1995 ) or early exploitation of elk ( Cervus elaphus ) in North America ( Geist 1988 ). During the 18th and 19th centuries, beavers ( Castor canadensis and C. fiber ) and otters ( Endydra lutris , Lontra canadensis , and Lutra lutra ) were extirpated from most of North America and Europe because of a lack of regulations and high economic demand for fur ( Ray 1974 ; Estes 2016 ).

In North America, deliberate exploitation was used to eliminate bison ( Bison bison ) from the Great Plains during warfare by the United States government against aboriginal people who depended on bison for food ( Allen 1954 ). Likewise, European bison ( B. bonasus ), deer ( C. elaphus and Capreolus capreolus ), and beavers ( C. fiber ) were severely overharvested across vast regions of Europe. Large carnivores have been especially persecuted, including wolves ( Canis lupus ), large cats ( P. leo and Puma concolor ), and bears ( Ursus spp.) that were killed to prevent livestock depredation ( Ripple et al. 2014 ).

Declining populations and restorations.

Concerns about declining wildlife populations in the late 19th century prompted Theodore Roosevelt and an elite group of hunters and nature enthusiasts to form the Boone and Crockett Club to initiate major conservation initiatives ( Organ et al. 2010 ; Krausman and Bleich 2013 ). Regulations limiting hunting, with restricted seasons and quotas, were implemented in many areas early in the early 20th century, and reintroduction programs were conducted to restore depleted or extirpated populations of a number of species, including bighorn sheep ( Bleich et al. 2018 ), elk, beavers, and otters ( Geist 1995 ). More recently, large carnivores have returned to parts of their former range even though they are still persecuted in many areas ( Ripple et al. 2014 ). Generally, however, these conservation measures were highly effective for a number of mammal species, and today, in North America and Europe, wild mammal populations are thriving to the extent that legal hunting is allowed for a number of species ( Organ et al. 2010 ). Indeed, hunters in North America have contributed billions of dollars toward conservation and wildlife management ( Southwick and Allen 2010 ).

Patterns of management.

In developing countries, management of hunting varies substantially because of societal views and economics. Artiodactyls threatened with extinction, for example, occur most often in poor countries with unregulated hunting ( Price and Gittleman 2007 ). Hunting of wildlife is banned in several countries, notably China and India, although illegal hunting (i.e., poaching) is known to be a concern in most places to various degrees and has been exceedingly challenging for the black rhinoceros, white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum ), three species of Asian rhinoceros ( Rhinocerus sondiacus , R. unicornis , Dicerorhinus sumatrensis ), and African elephant. In some countries, including Namibia and South Africa, trophy hunting generates substantial revenues for local communities and for conservation, and justifies maintaining and restoring native vegetation with benefits for biodiversity protection ( Lindsey et al. 2007 ).

The legal killing of a telemetered male African lion near Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe prompted huge public media discussions about the ethics of trophy hunting ( Di Minin et al. 2016 ; Macdonald et al. 2016 ). Although still controversial, a report by the IUCN (2016) details circumstances when trophy hunting can be an effective tool for conservation and offers guidelines. The IUCN report details many examples including the local-community management of trophy hunting to support conservation of the Suleiman markhor ( Capra falconeri ) and the Afgan urial ( Ovis orientalis ) in Pakistan ( Woodford et al. 2004 ) and Tajikistan.

Sustainability of harvest.

In most places where hunting is legal, it is regulated to ensure that harvests are sustainable, but sustainable harvests may not ensure hunting in some instances ( Fig. 3 ). Hunting is sustainable, in part, because of density-dependent survival or reproduction ( Boyce et al. 1999 ; Kokko 2001 ; Bowyer et al. 2014 ). Hunting reduces population density, resulting in increased food availability per capita, with consequent enhanced nutrition increasing survival or fecundity, thereby compensating for animals removed by harvest ( Owen-Smith 2006 ). These density-dependent responses to exploitation include increased survival, especially of juveniles ( Eberhardt 2002 ; Bonenfant et al. 2009 ), and increased growth rates ( Schmidt et al. 2007 ; Gamelon et al. 2017 ; Monteith et al. 2018 ). Also, life-history responses influencing reproduction can include larger litter sizes and reproductive output ( Bowman et al. 1999 ; Hanson et al. 2009 ; Gamelon et al. 2017 ), higher pregnancy rates ( Stewart et al. 2005 ), and earlier age at first reproduction ( Boyce 1981 ). Density dependence facilitates resilience to harvest removals and promotes persistence of hunted populations of large mammals.

Grizzly bear ( Ursus arctos ) in central British Columbia, Canada. Trophy hunting for grizzly bears in British Columbia was closed in 2017 because of public opposition to hunting even though research indicated that the hunt was sustainable. Photograph by Mark Boyce.

The hydra effect.

Although hunter harvest or culling typically reduces population size, density-dependent responses in seasonal environments can interact with hunter harvest in a way that can actually increase annual survival ( Boyce et al. 1999 ) and total population size ( Jonzén and Lundberg 1999 ; Abrams 2009 ). Such overcompensation responses to hunting removals (where harvests result in increased survival or increased population size) have been termed the “hydra effect” ( Abrams and Matsuda 2005 ). A variety of mechanisms can cause the hydra effect in multispecies systems ( Cortez and Abrams 2016 ). Likewise, culling of predators resulting in trophic-level interactions can create counterintuitive results ( Mitchell et al. 2015 ; Costa et al. 2017 ). For example, in a tri-trophic system on Little Barrier Island, New Zealand, culling of feral cats ( F. catus ) resulted in increased abundance of Pacific rats ( Rattus exulans ) that caused Cook’s petrel ( Pterodroma cookii ) populations to decline ( Rayner et al. 2007 ). In a similar example, harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ) were culled to enhance the fishery, but seal removals allowed Pacific hake ( Meluccius productus ) populations to increase, which subsequently caused a decrease in the abundance of Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasii — Bowen and Lidgard 2013 ). Finally, removal of dingos ( Canis lupus dingo ) in Australia has resulted in population increases by red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) with resulting predation that caused a reduction in native marsupials ( Letnic and Koch 2010 ).

Behavioral outcomes from hunting.

Hunting also can have complex consequences for social structure and behavior of individuals in harvested populations. In African lions and brown bears ( Ursus arctos ), removal of an adult male by hunting can result in sexually selected infanticide ( Packer and Pusey 1983 ; Swenson et al. 1997 ; Whitman et al. 2004 ). After a mature male has been removed by hunting, subordinate males will move into the area vacated by the removal, and will kill young to bring females into estrus so that they can breed with the females in their new home range ( Packer et al. 2011 ).

Other behavioral consequences of hunting, such as disruption of social structure in African elephant populations ( Shannon et al. 2013 ) and elimination of individuals with “bold personalities” in elk ( Ciuti et al. 2012 ), have been documented. Vigilance behavior of black-tailed prairie dogs ( Cynomys leudovicianus ) is disturbed by hunting, which results in reduced body condition and fitness ( Pauli and Buskirk 2007 ). Exposure to hunting can influence learning whereby older animals adopt behaviors to reduce the chances that they will be killed by hunters ( Thurfjell et al. 2017 ). In this example, young North American elk were more vulnerable to hunter harvest, resulting in high turnover among younger individuals in the population. Nonetheless, because elk learn to avoid hunters ( Lone et al. 2015 ), by the time that elk are 9–10 years old, it is highly unlikely that they will be killed by a hunter. This outcome is important because older individuals know migration routes, seasonal foraging areas, and calving sites, and retaining older individuals in the population can potentially enhance population resilience ( Thurfjell et al. 2017 ).

Effects of selective harvests.

Clearly, hunting can be selective, if certain individuals are more vulnerable to harvest than others ( Festa-Bianchet 2017 ). Yet, hunters usually are not highly selective, often taking the first opportunity to kill a legal animal ( Heffelfinger 2018 ) and uncertainty remains about the possibility that selective hunter harvests can have detrimental effects ( Mysterud 2011 ). An evolutionary response requires intense selection on highly heritable traits for an extended period ( Coulson et al. 2018 ; Festa-Bianchet and Mysterud 2018 ). Clearly, hunting can alter the demography of a population, thereby increasing population turnover, changing sex and age ratios, or both ( Milner et al. 2007 ; Monteith et al. 2013 , 2018 ; Hewitt et al. 2014 ). Moreover, a small amount of immigration from an unhunted area can be sufficient to swamp the effect of size-selection by hunting ( Tenhumberg et al. 2004 ). In landscapes with private land ownership, variation in hunter access can be sufficient to ensure that effects of hunting are overwhelmed by spatial patterns on the landscape, because nearby areas exist with fewer hunters and more ungulates ( McCullough 1996 ).

Conservation.

Unregulated or illegal hunting of wild mammals by humans continues to be a threat to the conservation of some mammals, especially in tropical regions with diverse mammal faunas ( Van Vliet et al. 2015 ). Yet, in North America, Europe, and parts of Africa, hunting has been the basis for effective programs to ensure conservation of essential habitats and to restore wild populations ( Organ et al. 2010 ). Resilience of populations to hunting driven by density dependence has proven to be a powerful stabilizing force that ensures sustainable harvests if hunting is managed. Unfortunately, unregulated or illegal hunting continues for cultural or economic reasons over much of the Earth. Finding ways to overcome such cultural and economic barriers to conservation remains among those obstacles preventing continued loss of mammalian diversity.

Climate change.

A rapidly changing climate with accelerating risks of extinction for mammals as well as other taxonomic groups ( Urban 2015 ) augurs poorly for the continued existence of many species. Life-history traits that make mammalian species vulnerable to extinction also make them more susceptible to a changing climate ( Davidson et al. 2017 ). Moreover, geographical areas associated with risk of extinction for mammals may be modified under a rapidly changing climate as a result of altered landscapes or from the decoupling of phenology and life-history events ( Davidson et al. 2017 ). Indeed, threats from climate change are prevalent for both marine and terrestrial mammals ( Simmonds and Isaac 2007 ; Mallory and Boyce 2018 ).

Large-scale climatic variability has negatively influenced growth, development, fecundity, and demographic trends in northern ungulates ( Post and Stenseth 1999 ). In addition, increases in rain or snow events may promote icing and adversely affect cold-adapted mammals at high latitudes ( Berger et al. 2018 ). Changes in snow conditions influencing subnivian spaces may adversely affect small mammals that rely on those seasonal refugia ( Pauli et al. 2013 ).

A warming climate can affect species composition and quality of forage plants available to large herbivores ( Lenart et al. 2002 ). This holds demographic consequences for some of those mammals ( Burthe et al. 2011 ), although not all large herbivores respond immediately to such changes ( Bowyer et al. 1998 ). Shifts in forage phenology also may influence diets and behaviors for large omnivores, with unknown consequences for the community and ecosystem ( Deacy et al. 2017 ). Recruitment in moose ( Alces alces ) near the southern extent of their range was negatively affected by warm temperatures ( Monteith et al. 2015 ). In addition, climate change has affected long-term population growth of pronghorn populations ( Gedir et al. 2015 ). A free-ranging population of Soay sheep ( Ovis aries ) experienced reduced twinning and size of neonates, as well as delayed sexual maturation during warmer winters ( Forchhammer et al. 2001 ). Large mammals, as well as those with nocturnal activity patterns, were more likely to respond as expected to climate change than were other species with regard to local extirpations, decreased abundance, range contractions and shifts, and morphological and genetic changes ( McCain and King 2014 ). Only 52% of all mammalian species studied by McCain and King (2014) responded as expected to climate change. In addition, climate change may require a rethinking of how public lands are managed for native ungulates to lessen effects of competition with domestic and feral herbivores ( Beschita et al. 2013 ). Linkages between climate change and population demography of mammals, including latitudinal and elevational shifts, require additional study ( Moritz et al. 2008 ; Meserve et al. 2011 ; Baltensperger et al. 2017 ). Future research should evolve from descriptions of shifting patterns to investigations of consequences resulting from a changing climate. Species respond to thermal landscapes in complex ways that require information about considerably more than ambient temperatures ( Bowyer and Kie 2009 ; Long et al. 2014 ). For instance, northward range shifts in the distribution of snowshoe hares ( Lepus americanus ) were related to decreasing persistence of snow cover, which created a color mismatch, and ostensibly lead to increased mortality of white hares on a brown landscape ( Sultaire et al. 2016 ; Zimova et al. 2016 ). Similarly, Atmeh et al. (2018) reported that a white morph of weasels ( Mustela nivalis ) was declining compared with their brown counterparts because of a shortening of days with snow cover, likely from increased predation. Much remains to be discovered about how and when a changing climate will affect mammals. For many species, factors that threaten them cannot be eliminated entirely, and those species will need to be managed to ensure their persistence. Such species are “conservation reliant” ( Goble et al. 2012 ), and long-term conservation of many if not most wild mammals will require more intensive efforts.

All authors made major contributions to this paper and order of authorship is alphabetical. We thank M. R. Willig, A. V. Linzey, and E. J. Heske for overseeing this process, V. C. Bleich for his thoughtful review of our manuscript, and R. Ávila Flores for preparing the Spanish summary. The phylogeny in Fig. 1 was modified from one created by J. Kenagy and provided courtesy of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

Abrams , P. A . 2009 . When does greater mortality increase population size? The long history and diverse mechanisms underlying the hydra effect . Ecology Letters 12 : 462 – 474 .

Google Scholar

Abrams , P. A. , and H. Matsuda . 2005 . The effects of adaptive changes in prey on the dynamics of an exploited predator population . Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 62 : 785 – 766 .

Ali , A. H . 2016 . Range collapse, demography, and conservation of the critically endangered hirola antelope in Kenya . Ph.D. dissertation , University of Wyoming , Laramie .

Google Preview

Ali , A. H. , et al. 2017 . Resource selection and landscape change reveal mechanisms suppressing population recovery for the world’s most endangered antelope . Journal of Applied Ecology 54 : 1720 – 1729 .

Ali , A. H. , et al. 2018 . Demographic drivers of a refugee species: large-scale experiments guide strategies for reintroduction of hirola . Ecological Applications 28 : 275 – 283 .

Allan , B. , et al. 2017 . Can integrating wildlife and livestock enhance ecosystem services in central Kenya? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 15 : 328 – 335 .

Allen , D. L . 1954 . Our wildlife legacy . Funk & Wagnalls Company, Inc. , New York .

Andelman , S. J. , and M. R. Willig . 2003 . Present patterns and future prospects for biodiversity in the Western Hemisphere . Ecology Letters 6 : 818 – 824 .

Arcese , P. , and A. R. E. Sinclair . 1997 . The role of protected areas as ecological baselines . Journal of Wildlife Management 61 : 587 – 602 .

Atmeh , K. , A. Andruskienicz , and K. Zub . 2018 . Climate change is affecting mortality of weasels due to camouflage mismatch . Scientific Reports 8 : 7648 .

Balch , J. K. , B. A. Bradley , C. M. D’Antonio , and J. Gómez-Dans . 2013 . Introduced annual grass increases regional fire activity across the arid western USA (1980-2009) . Global Change Biology 19 : 173 – 183 .

Baltensperger , A. P. , J. M. Morton , and F. Huettman . 2017 . Expansion of American marten ( Martes americana ) distribution in response to climate and landscape change on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska . Journal of Mammalogy 98 : 703 – 714 .

Barrett , C. B. , and P. Arcese . 1995 . Are integrated conservation-development projects (ICDPs) sustainable? World Development 23 : 1073 – 1084 .

Bellard , C. , P. Cassey , and T. M. Blackburn . 2016 . Alien species as a driver of recent extinctions . Biology Letters 12 : 20150623 .

Berger , J . 2008 . Undetected species losses, food webs, and ecological baselines: a cautionary tale from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA . Oryx 42 : 139 – 142 .

Berger , J. , C. Hartway , A. Gruzdev , and M. Johnson . 2018 . Climate degradation and extreme icing events constrain life in cold-adapted mammals . Scientific Reports 8 : 1156 .

Berkes , F . 2004 . Rethinking community-based conservation . Conservation Biology 18 : 621 – 630 .

Beschita , R. L. , et al. 2013 . Adapting to climate change on western public lands: addressing the ecological effects of domestic, wild, and feral ungulates . Environmental Management 51 : 474 – 491 .

Bleich , V. C . 1999 . Wildlife conservation and wilderness management: uncommon objectives and conflicting philosophies . North American Wild Sheep Conference Proceedings 2 : 195 – 205 .

Bleich , V. C . 2005 . Politics, promises, and illogical legislation confound wildlife conservation . Wildlife Society Bulletin 33 : 66 – 73 .

Bleich , V. C . 2014 . Thoughts on the Wilderness Act . The Wildlife Professional 8 : 7 .

Bleich , V. C . 2016 . Wildlife conservation and wilderness: wishful thinking? Natural Areas Journal 36 : 202 – 206 .

Bleich , V. C. , G. A. Sargeant , and B. P. Wiedmann . 2018 . Ecotypic variation in population dynamics of reintroduced bighorn sheep: implications for management . Journal of Wildlife Management 82 : 8 – 18 .

Bonenfant , C. , et al. 2009 . Empirical evidence of density-dependence in populations of large herbivores . Advances in Ecological Research 41 : 313 – 357 .

Bowen , W. D. , and D. Lidgard . 2013 . Marine mammal culling programs: review of effects on predator and prey populations . Mammal Review 43 : 207 – 220 .

Bowman , J. L. , B. T. Bond , B. D. Leopold , M. J. Chamberlain , and J. M. Ross . 1999 . Effect of harvest on previously unexploited populations of fox and gray squirrels . Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 53 : 282 – 295 .

Bowyer , R. T. , V. C. Bleich , K. M. Stewart , J. C. Whiting , and K. L. Monteith . 2014 . Density dependence in ungulates: a review of causes, and concepts with some clarifications . California Fish and Game 100 : 550 – 572 .

Bowyer , R. T. , and J. G. Kie . 2009 . Thermal landscapes and resources selection by black-tailed deer: implications for large herbivores . California Fish and Game 95 : 128 – 139 .

Bowyer , R. T. , V. Van Ballenberghe , and J. G. Kie . 1998 . Timing and synchrony of parturition in Alaskan moose: long-term versus proximal effects of climate . Journal of Mammalogy 79 : 1332 – 1344 .

Boyce , M. S . 1981 . Beaver life history responses to exploitation . Journal of Applied Ecology 18 : 749 – 753 .

Boyce , M. S. , A. R. E. Sinclair , and G. C. White . 1999 . Seasonal compensation of predation and harvesting . Oikos 87 : 419 – 426 .

Brashares , J. S. , P. Arcese , and M. K. Sam . 2001 . Human demography and reserve size predict wildlife extinction in West Africa . Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B. Biological Sciences 268 : 2473 – 2478 .

Brooks , M. L. , et al. 2004 . Effects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes . AIBS Bulletin 54 : 677 – 688 .

Bruskotter , J. T. , et al. 2017 . Modernization, risk, and conservation of the world’s largest carnivores . Bioscience 67 : 646 – 655 .

Bunn , H. T. , and A. N. Gurtov . 2014 . Prey mortality profiles indicate that early Pleistocene Homo at Olduvai was an ambush predator . Quaternary International 322–323 : 44 – 53 .

Burgin , C. J. , J. P. Colella , P. L. Kahn , and N. S. Upham . 2018 . How many species of mammals are there? Journal of Mammalogy 99 : 1 – 14 .

Burthe , S. , A. Butler , K. R. Searle , S. J. Hall , S. J. Thackeray , and S. Wanless . 2011 . Demographic consequences of increased winter births in a large aseasonally breeding mammal ( Bos taurus ) in response to climate change . The Journal of Animal Ecology 80 : 1134 – 1144 .

Butchart , S. , and E. Dunn . 2003 . Using the IUCN Red List criteria to assess species with declining populations . Conservation Biology 17 : 1200 – 1202 .

Cardillo , M. et al. , 2005 . Multiple causes of high extinction risk in large mammal species . Science 309 : 1239 – 1241 .

Caro , T. , and P. Scholte . 2007 . When protection falters . African Journal of Ecology 45 : 233 – 235 .

Caughley , G . 1994 . Directions in conservation biology . Journal of Animal Ecology 63 : 215 – 244 .

Ceballos , G. , and P. R. Ehrlich . 2002 . Mammal population losses and the extinction crisis . Science 296 : 904 – 907 .

Ceballos , G. , P. R. Ehrlich , and R. Dirzo . 2017 . Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 : E6089 – E6096 .

Chape , S. , J. Harrison , M. Spalding , and I. Lysenko . 2005 . Measuring the extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicator for meeting global biodiversity targets . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B. Biological Sciences 360 : 443 – 455 .

Chapron , G. et al. , 2014 . Recovery of large carnivores in Europe’s modern human-dominated landscapes . Science 346 : 1517 – 1519 .

Ciuti , S. , T. B. Muhly , D. G. Paton , A. D. McDevitt , M. Musiani , and M. S. Boyce . 2012 . Human selection of elk behavioural traits in a landscape of fear . PLoS One 7 : e50611 .

Clutton-Brock , J . 1999 . The natural history of domesticated mammals . Cambridge University Press , Cambridge, United Kingdom .

Collen , B. , et al. 2016 . Clarifying misconceptions of extinction risk with the IUCN Red List . Biology Letters 12 : 20150843 .

Cortez , M. H. , and P. A. Abrams . 2016 . Hydra effects in stable communities and their implications for system dynamics . Ecology 97 : 1135 – 1145 .

Costa , M. I. , P. V. Esteves , L. D. Faria , and L. Dos Anjos . 2017 . Prey dynamics under generalist predator culling in stage structured models . Mathematical Biosciences 285 : 68 – 74 .

Coulson , T. , S. Schindler , L. Traill , and B. E. Kendall . 2018 . Predicting the evolutionary consequences of trophy hunting on a quantitative trait . Journal of Wildlife Management 82 : 46 – 56 .

Craigie , I. D. , et al. 2010 . Large mammal population declines in Africa’s protected areas . Biological Conservation 143 : 2221 – 2228 .

Creel , S. et al. , 2013 . Conserving large populations of lions - the argument for fences has holes . Ecology Letters 16 : 1413, e1 – 1413, e3 .

Czech , B. , P. R. Krausman , and P. K. Devers . 2000 . Economic associations among causes of species endangerment in the United States . BioScience 50 : 593 – 601 .

Davidson , A. D. , M. J. Hamilton , A. G. Boyer , J. H. Brown , and G. Ceballos . 2009 . Multiple ecological pathways to extinction in mammals . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106 : 10702 – 10705 .

Davidson , A. D. , et al. 2012 . Drivers and hotspots of extinction risk in marine mammals . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109 : 3395 – 3400 .

Davidson , A. D. et al. , 2017 . Geography of current and future global mammal extinction risk . PLoS One 12 : e0186934 .

Deacy , W. W. , et al. 2017 . Phenological synchronization disrupts trophic interactions between Kodiak brown bears and salmon . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 : 10432 – 10437 .

Diamond , J . 2002 . Evolution, consequences and future of plant and animal domestication . Nature 418 : 700 – 707 .

Di Minin , E. , N. Leader-Williams , and C. J. A. Bradshaw . 2016 . Banning trophy hunting will exacerbate biodiversity loss . Trends in Ecology & Evolution 31 : 99 – 102 .

Doak , D. F. , V. J. Bakker , B. E. Goldstein , and B. Hale . 2014 . Moving forward with effective goals and methods for conservation: a reply to Marvier and Kareiva . Trends in Ecology & Evolution 29 : 132 – 133 .

Doak , D. F. , V. J. Bakker , B. E. Goldstein , and B. Hale . 2015 . What is the future of conservation? Trends in Ecology & Evolution 29 : 77 – 81 .

Dobson , A. , and L. Lynes . 2007 . How does poaching affect the size of national parks? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 4 : 177 – 180 .

Doherty , T. S. , A. S. Glen , D. G. Nimmo , E. G. Ritchie , and C. R. Dickman . 2016 . Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 113 : 11261 – 11265 .

Dudley , N. (ed.) 2008 . Guidelines for applying protected areas management categories . IUCN , Gland Switzerland .

Dunn , A. M. , et al. 2012 . Indirect effects of parasites in invasions . Functional Ecology 26 : 1262 – 1274 .

Durant , S. M. , et al. 2017 . The global decline of cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and what it means for conservation . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 : 528 – 533 .

Eberhardt , L. L . 2002 . A paradigm for population analysis of long-lived vertebrates . Ecology 83 : 2841 – 2854 .

Epstein , B. et al. , 2016 . Rapid evolutionary response to a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils . Nature Communications 7 : 12684 .

Estes , J. A . 2016 . Serendipity: an ecologist’s quest to understand nature . University of California Press , Berkeley .

Fa , J. E. , J. Juste , J. Perez del Val , and J. Castroviejo . 1995 . Impact of market hunting on mammal species in Equatorial Guinea . Conservation Biology 9 : 1107 – 1115 .

Fennell , L. A . 2011 . Ostrom’s Law: property rights in the commons . International Journal of the Commons 5 : 9 – 27 .

Festa-Bianchet , M . 2017 . When does selective hunting select, how can we tell, and what should we do about it? Mammal Review 47 : 76 – 81 .

Festa-Bianchet , M. , and A. Mysterud . 2018 . Hunting and evolution: theory, evidence, and unknowns . Journal of Mammalogy 99 : 1281 – 1292 .

Finch , N. , P. Murray , J. Hoy , and G. Baxter . 2014 . Expenditure and motivation of Australian recreational hunters . Wildlife Research 41 : 76 – 83 .

Forchhammer , M. C. , T. H. Clutton-Brock , J. Lindström , and S. D. Albon . 2001 . Climate and population density induce long-term cohort variation in a northern ungulate . Journal of Animal Ecology 70 : 721 – 729 .

Ford , A. T. , S. J. Cooke , J. R. Goheen , and T. P. Young . 2017 . Conserving megafauna or sacrificing biodiversity? BioScience 67 : 193 – 196 .

Frank , L. G . 2011 . Living with lions: lessons from Laikipia. Pp. 73 – 83 in Conserving wildlife in African landscapes: Kenya’s Ewaso ecosystem ( N. J. Georgiadis , ed.). Smithsonian Institution Press , Washington, D.C.

Frick , W. F. , S. J. Puechmaille , and C. K. R. Willis . 2016 . White-nose syndrome in bats. Pp. 245 – 262 in Bats in the Anthropocene: conservation of bats in a changing world ( C. Voight and T. Kingston , eds.). Springer , New York .

Gamelon , M. et al. , 2017 . Reproductive allocation in pulsed-resource environments: a comparative study in two populations of wild boar . Oecologia 183 : 1065 – 1076 .

Gaston , K. J . 2005 . Biodiversity and extinction: species and people . Progress in Physical Geography 29 : 239 – 247 .

Gaston , K. J. , S. F. Jackson , L. Cantú-Salazar , and G. Cruz-Piñón . 2008 . The ecological performance of protected areas . Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 39 : 93 – 223 .

Gates , J. F . 1999 . Myth and reality in the rainforest, how conservation strategies are failing in West Africa . University of California Press , Berkeley .

Gedir , J. V. , J. W. Cain III , G. Harris , and T. T. Turnball . 2015 . Effects of climate change on long-term population growth of pronghorn in an arid environment . Ecosphere 6 : art189 .

Geist , V . 1988 . How markets for wildlife meat and parts, and the sale of hunting privileges, jeopardize wildlife conservation . Conservation Biology 2 : 15 – 26 .

Geist , V . 1995 . North American policies of wildlife conservation. Pp. 75 – 129 in Wildlife conservation policy ( V. Geist and I. McT. Cowan , eds.). Detselig Enterprises, Limited , Calgary, Alberta, Canada .

Genovesi , P . 2011 . Are we turning the tide? Eradications in times of crisis: how the global community is responding to biological invasions. Pp. 5 – 8 in Island invasives: eradication and management ( C. R. Veitch , M. N. Clout , and D. R. Towns , eds.). IUCN , Gland, Switzerland .

Georgiadis , N. J. , F. Ihwagi , J. G. N. Olwero , and S. S. Romanach . 2007a . Savanna herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape: ecological, conservation, and management implications of predator restoration . Biological Conservation 137 : 473 – 483 .

Georgiadis , N. J. , G. Ojwang , J. G. N. Olwero , and S. S. Romanach . 2007b . Savanna herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape: dependence on land use, rainfall, density, and time . Biological Conservation 137 : 461 – 472 .

Goble , D. D. , J. A. Wiens , J. M. Scott , T. D. Male , and J. A. Hall . 2012 . Conservation-reliant species . BioScience 62 : 869 – 873 .

Gonzalez-Maya , J. F. , L. R. Víquez-R , J. L. Belant , and G. Ceballos . 2015 . Effectiveness of protected areas for representing species and populations of terrestrial mammals in Costa Rica . PLoS One 10 : e0124480 .

Goodwin , H. , and D. Roe . 2001 . Tourism, livelihoods, and protected areas: opportunities for fair-trade tourism in and around national parks . International Journal of Tourism Research 3 : 377 – 391 .

Grenyer , R. et al. , 2006 . Global distribution and conservation of rare and threatened vertebrates . Nature 444 : 93 – 96 .

Guerbois , C. , A. B. Dufour , G. Mtare , and H. Fritz . 2013 . Insights for integrated conservation from attitudes of people toward protected areas near Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe . Conservation Biology 27 : 844 – 855 .

Hames , R. B. , and W. T. Vickers . 1982 . Optimal foraging theory as a model to explain variability in Amazonian hunting . American Ethnologist 9 : 358 – 378 .

Hanson , L. B. , M. S. Mitchell , J. B. Grand , D. B. Jolley , B. D. Sparklin , and S. S. Ditchkoff . 2009 . Effect of experimental manipulation on survival and recruitment of feral pigs . Wildlife Research 36 : 185 – 191 .

Hardin , G . 1968 . The tragedy of the commons . Science 162 : 1243 – 1248 .

Harrison , R. D. et al. , 2016 . Impacts of hunting on tropical forests in Southeast Asia . Conservation Biology 30 : 972 – 981 .

Haversohn , P. M. , L. L. Lopez , N. J. Silvy , and P. A. Frank . 2004 . Source-sink dynamics of Florida Key deer on Big Pine Key, Florida . Journal of Wildlife Management 68 : 909 – 915 .

Hazzah , L. et al. , 2014 . Efficacy of two lion conservation programs in Maasailand, Kenya . Conservation Biology 28 : 851 – 860 .

Heaney , L. R . 1986 . Biography of the mammals of Southeast Asia: estimates of rates of colonization, extinctions, and speciation . Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 28 : 127 – 165 .

Heffelfinger , J . 2018 . Inefficiency of evolutionarily relevant selection in ungulate trophy hunting . Journal of Wildlife Management 82 : 57 – 66 .

Hewitt , D. G. , M. W. Hellickson , J. S. Lewis , D. B. Wester , and F. C. Bryant . 2014 . Age-related patterns of antler development in free-ranging white-tailed deer . Journal of Wildlife Management 78 : 976 – 984 .

Hickey , V. , and S. L. Pimm . 2011 . How the World Bank funds protected areas . Conservation Letters 4 : 269 – 277 .

Hilborn , R. et al. , 2006 . Effective enforcement in a conservation area . Science 314 : 1266 .

Hoffmann , M. et al. , 2010 . The impact of conservation on the status of the world’s vertebrates . Science 330 : 1503 – 1509 .

Hoffmann , M. et al. , 2011 . The changing fates of the world’s mammals . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B. Biological Sciences 366 : 2598 – 2610 .

Hoffmann , M. , J. W. Duckworth , K. Holmes , D. P. Mallon , A. S. Rodrigues , and S. N. Stuart . 2015 . The difference conservation makes to extinction risk of the world’s ungulates . Conservation Biology 29 : 1303 – 1313 .

Hosack , D. A. , P. S. Miller , J. J. Hevert , and R. C. Lacy . 2002 . A population viability analysis for the endangered sonoran pronghorn, Antilocapra americana sonoriensis . Mammalia 66 : 207 – 220 .

Hughes , R. , and F. Flintan . 2001 . Integrating conservation and development experience: a review and bibliography of the ICDP Literature . International Institute for Environment and Development , London, United Kingdom .

Hull , D. B . 1964 . Hounds and hunting in ancient Greece . University of Chicago Press , Chicago, Illinois .

Hume , P. E . 2009 . Trade, transport and trouble: managing invasive species pathways in an era of globalization . Journal of Applied Ecology 46 : 10 – 18 .

Huxman , T. E. , et al. 2005 . Ecohydrological implications of woody plant encroachment . Ecology 86 : 308 – 319 .

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) . 2016 . Informing decisions on trophy hunting . IUCN , Morges, Switzerland . www.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_informingdecisionsontrophyhuntingv1.pdf .

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) . 2017 . The IUCN red list of threatened species. Version 2017-1 . https://www.iucnredlist.org/ . Accessed August 2017 .

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission . 2008 . Beatragus hunteri . The IUCN red list of threatened species. Version 2014.2 . www.iucnredlist.org . Accessed July 2018 .

Isaac , N. J. , S. T. Turvey , B. Collen , C. Waterman , and J. E. Baillie . 2007 . Mammals on the edge: conservation priorities based on threat and phylogeny . PLoS one 2 : e296 .

Jones , H. P. , et al. 2016 . Invasive mammal eradication on islands results in substantial conservation gains . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113 : 4033 – 4038 .

Jones , K. R. et al. , 2018 . One-third of global protected land is under intense human pressure . Science 360 : 788 – 791 .

Jonzén , N. , and P. Lundberg . 1999 . Temporally structured density dependence and population management . Annales Zooligici Fennici 36 : 39 – 44 .

Joppa , L. N. , et al. 2016 . Impact of alternate metrics of estimates of extinction risk . Conservation Biology 30 : 362 – 370 .

Kareiva , P. , and M. Marvier . 2012 . What is conservation science? Bioscience 62 : 962 – 969 .

Kimitei , K. K. , J. Kimanzi , and S. A. Andanje . 2015 . Habitat suitability modelling for hirola ( Beatragus hunteri ) in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya . African Journal of Ecology 53 : 550 – 559 .

King , J. , et al. 2011 . Aerial survey of hirola ( Beatragus hunteri ) and other large mammals in southeastern Kenya . Technical Report to the Kenya Wildlife Service files .

Kock , R. A. et al. , 2018 . Saigas on the brink: multidisciplinary analysis of the factors influencing mass mortality events . Science Advances 4 : eaao2314 .

Kokko , H . 2001 . Optimal and suboptimal use of compensatory responses to harvesting: timing of hunting as an example . Wildlife Biology 7 : 141 – 150 .

Kothari , A. , P. Camill , and J. Brown . 2013 . Conservation as if people also mattered: policy and practice of community-based conservation . Conservation and Society 11 : 1 – 15 .

Krausman , P. R. , and V. C. Bleich . 2013 . Conservation and management of ungulates in North America . International Journal of Environmental Studies 70 : 372 – 382 .

Laliberte , A. S. , and W. J. Ripple . 2004 . Range contractions of North American carnivores and ungulates . BioScience 54 : 123 – 138 .

Lamoreux , J. F. , and T. E. Lacher , Jr. 2010 . Mammalian endemism, range size and conservation status in the southern temperate zone . Diversity and Distributions 16 : 922 – 931 .

Leader-Williams , N. , and E. J. Milner-Gulland . 1993 . Policies and enforcement of wildlife laws: the balance between detection and penalties in Luangwa Valley, Zambia . Conservation Biology 7 : 611 – 617 .

Lenart , E. A. , R. T. Bowyer , J. Ver Hoef , and R. W. Ruess . 2002 . Climate change and caribou: effects of summer weather on forage . Canadian Journal of Zoology 80 : 664 – 678 .

Letnic , M. , and F. Koch . 2010 . Are dingoes a trophic regulator in arid Australia? A comparison of mammal communities on either side of the dingo fence . Austral Ecology 35 : 167 – 175 .

Lindsey , P. A. , R. Alexander , L. G. Frank , A. Mathieson , and S. S. Romanach . 2006 . Potential of trophy hunting to create incentives for wildlife conservation in African where alternative wildlife-based land uses may not be viable . Animal Conservation 9 : 283 – 291 .

Lindsey , P. A. , P. A. Roulet , and S. S. Romañach . 2007 . Economic and conservation significance of the trophy hunting industry in sub-Saharan Africa . Biological Conservation 134 : 455 – 469 .

Lone , K. , L. E. Loe , E. L. Meisingset , I. Stamnes , and A. Mysterud . 2015 . An adaptive behavioural response to hunting: surviving male red deer shift habitat at the onset of the hunting season . Animal Behaviour 102 : 127 – 138 .

Long , R. A. , R. T. Bowyer , W. P. Porter , P. Mathewson , K. L. Monteith , and J. G. Kie . 2014 . Behavior and nutritional condition buffer a larger-bodied endotherm against direct and indirect effects of climate . Ecological Monographs 84 : 513 – 532 .

Lurgi , M. , E. G. Ritchie , and D. A. Fordham . 2018 . Eradicating abundant invasive prey could cause unexpected and varied biodiversity outcomes: the importance of multispecies interactions . Journal of Applied Ecology . 55 : 2396 – 2407 .

Macdonald , D. W. , P. J. Johnson , A. J. Loveridge , D. Burnham , and A. J. Dickman . 2016 . Conservation or the moral high ground: siding with Bentham or Kant . Conservation Letters 9 : 307 – 308 .

Mace , J. M. , and R. Lande . 1991 . Assessing extinction threats—toward a reevaluation of IUCN threatened species categories . Conservation Biology 5 : 148 – 157 .

Mace , G. M. et al. , 2008 . Quantification of extinction risk: IUCN’s system for classifying threatened species . Conservation Biology 22 : 1424 – 1442 .

Mallory , C. D. , and M. S. Boyce . 2018 . Observed and predicted effects of climate change on arctic caribou and reindeer . Environmental Reviews 26 : 13 – 25 .

McCain , C. M. , and S. R. King . 2014 . Body size and activity times mediate mammalian responses to climate change . Global Change Biology 20 : 1760 – 1769 .

McCaughley , D. C. , M. L. Pinsky , S. R. Palumvi , J. A. Estes , F. A. Joyce , and R. R. Warner . 2015 . Marine defaunation: animal loss in the global ocean . Science 347 : 236 – 247 .

McCullough , D. R . 1996 . Spatially structured populations and harvest theory . Journal of Wildlife Management 60 : 1 – 9 .

McGraw , W. S . 2005 . Update on the search for Miss Waldron’s red colobus monkey . International Journal of Primatology 26 : 605 – 619 .

McKee , J. , E. Chambers , and J. Guseman . 2013 . Human population density and growth validated as extinction threats to mammal and bird species . Human Ecology 41 : 773 – 778 .

McNaughton , S. J . 1979 . Grazing as an optimization process: grass-ungulate relationships in the Serengeti . American Naturalist 113 : 691 – 703 .

Medina , F. M. , et al. 2011 . A global review of the impacts of invasive cats on island endangered vertebrates . Global Change Biology 17 : 3503 – 3510 .

Meserve , P. L. , D. A. Kelt , M. A. Previtali , W. B. Milsted , and J. R. Gutierréz . 2011 . Global climate change and small mammal populations in north-central Chile . Journal of Mammalogy 92 : 1223 – 1235 .

Miller , D. C. , A. Agrawal , and J. T. Roberts . 2013 . Biodiversity, governance, and the allocation of international aid for conservation . Conservation Letters 6 : 12 – 20 .

Milner , J. M. , E. B. Nilsen , and H. P. Andreassen . 2007 . Demographic side effects of selective hunting in ungulates and carnivores . Conservation Biology 21 : 36 – 47 .

Mitchell , C. D. , R. Chaney , K. Aho , J. G. Kie , and R. T. Bowyer . 2015 . Population density of Dall’s sheep: effects of predator harvest? Mammal Research 60 : 21 – 28 .

Monteith , K. L. , R. W. Klaver , K. R. Hersey , A. A. Holland , T. P. Thomas , and M. J. Kauffman . 2015 . Effects of climate and plant phenology on recruitment of moose at the southern extent of their range . Oecologia 178 : 1137 – 1148 .

Monteith , K. L. , R. A. Long , V. C. Bleich , J. R. Heffelfinger , P. R. Krausman , and R. T. Bowyer . 2013 . Effects of harvest, culture, and climate on trends in size of horn-like structures in trophy ungulates . Wildlife Monographs 183 : 1 – 26 .

Monteith , K. , R. A. Long , T. R. Stephenson , V. C. Bleich , R. T. Bowyer , and T. N. LaSharr . 2018 . Horn size and nutrition in mountain sheep: can ewe handle the truth? Journal of Wildlife Management 82 : 67 – 84 .

Moritz , C. , J. L. Patton , C. J. Conroy , J. L. Parra , G. C. White , and S. R. Beissinger . 2008 . Impact of a century of climate change on small-mammal communities in Yosemite National Park, USA . Science 322 : 261 – 264 .

Mysterud , A . 2011 . Selective harvesting of large mammals: how often does it result in directional selection? Journal of Applied Ecology 48 : 827 – 834 .

Newmark , W. D . 2008 . Isolation of African protected areas . Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6 : 321 – 328 .

Newmark , W. D. , and J. L. Hough . 2000 . Conserving wildlife in Africa: integrated conservation and development projects and beyond . BioScience 50 : 585 – 592 .

Newmark , W. D. , C. N. Jenkins , S. L. Pimm , P. B. McNeally , and J. M. Halley . 2017 . Targeted habitat restoration can reduce extinction rates in fragmented forests . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 : 9635 – 9640 .

Ng’weno , C. C . 2017 . Predator-prey interactions and apparent competition following the restoration of lions to a human-occupied savanna . Ph.D. dissertation , University of Wyoming , Laramie .

Ng’weno , C. C. , N. J. Maiyo , A. H. Ali , A. K. Kibungei , and J. R. Goheen . 2017 . Lions influence the decline and habitat shift of hartebeest in a semiarid savanna . Journal of Mammalogy 98 : 1078 – 1087 .

Nowak , R . 2009 . Conservation’s Red List is unscientific and often wrong . New Scientist 201 : 8 – 9 .

Oates , J. F. , M. Abedi-Lartey , W. S. McGraw , T. T. Struhsaker , and G. H. Whitesides . 2000 . Extinction of a West African red colobus monkey . Conservation Biology 14 : 1526 – 1532 .

Obama , B . 1995 . Dreams from my father . Times Books , New York .

Odadi , W. O. , M. K. Karachi , S. A. Abdulrazak , and T. P. Young . 2011 . African wild ungulates compete with or facilitate cattle depending on season . Science 333 : 1753 – 1755 .

Ogada , M. O. , R. Woodroffe , N. O. Oguge , and L. G. Frank . 2003 . Limiting depredation by African carnivores: the role of livestock husbandry . Conservation Biology 17 : 1521 – 1530 .

Organ , J. F. , S. P. Mahoney , and V. Geist . 2010 . Born in the hands of hunters: the North American model of wildlife conservation . The Wildlife Professional 4 : 22 – 27 .

Ostrom , E . 1990 . Governing the commons: the evolution of institutions for collective action . Cambridge University Press , Cambridge, United Kingdom .

Owen-Smith , N . 2006 . Demographic determination of the shape of density dependence for three African ungulate populations . Ecological Monographs 76 : 93 – 109 .

Packer , C. , H. Brink , B. M. Kissui , H. Maliti , H. Kushnir , and T. Caro . 2011 . Effects of trophy hunting on lion and leopard populations in Tanzania . Conservation Biology 25 : 142 – 153 .

Packer , C. , and A. E. Pusey . 1983 . Adaptations of female lions to infanticide by incoming males . American Naturalist 121 : 716 – 728 .

Packer , C. et al. , 2013a . Conserving large carnivores: dollars and fence . Ecology Letters 16 : 635 – 641 .

Packer , C. et al. , 2013b . The case for fencing remains intact . Ecology Letters 16 : 1414, e4 .

Paguntalan , L. M. , M. G. Pedregosa , and M. J. Gadiana . 2004 . The Philippine bare-backed fruit bat Dobsonia chapmani : rediscovery and conservation status on Cebu Island . Silliman Journal 45 : 113 – 122 .

Palmer , J. M. , K. P. Drees , J. T. Foster , and D. L. Lindner . 2018 . Extreme sensitivity to ultraviolet light in the fungal pathogen causing white-nose syndrome of bats . Nature Communications 9 : 35 .

Pauli , J. N. , and S. W. Buskirk . 2007 . Risk-disturbance overrides density dependence in a hunted colonial rodent, the black-tailed prairie dog Cynomys ludovicianus . Journal of Applied Ecology 44 : 1219 – 1230 .

Pauli , J. N. , B. Zuckerberg , J. P. Whiteman , and W. Porter . 2013 . The subnivium: a deteriorating seasonal refugium . Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 11 : 260 – 267 .

Payne , B. L. , and J. Bro-Jørgensen . 2016 . Disproportionate climate-induced range loss forecast for the most threatened African antelopes . Current Biology 26 : 1200 – 1205 .

Pimm , S. L. et al. , 2014 . The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection . Science 344 : 1246752 .

Pompa , S. , P. R. Ehrlich , and G. Ceballos . 2011 . Global distribution and conservation of marine mammals . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108 : 13600 – 13605 .

Porensky , L. M. , and K. E. Veblen . 2015 . Generation of ecosystem hotspots using short-term corrals in an African savanna . Rangeland Ecology and Management 68 : 131 – 141 .

Post , E. , and N. C. Stenseth . 1999 . Climatic variability, plant phenology, and northern ungulates . Ecology 80 : 1322 – 1339 .

Potapov , A. , E. Merrill , M. Pybus , and M. A. Lewis . 2016 . Chronic wasting disease: transmission mechanisms and the possibility of harvest management . PLoS One 11 : e0151039 .

Price , S. A. , and J. L. Gittleman . 2007 . Hunting to extinction: biology and regional economy influence extinction risk and the impact of hunting in artiodactyls . Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B. Biological Sciences 274 : 1845 – 1851 .

Pringle , R. M . 2017 . Upgrading protected areas to conserve wild biodiversity . Nature 546 : 91 – 99 .

Prins , H. H. T . 1992 . The pastoral road to extinction: competition between wildlife and traditional pastoralism in East Africa . Environmental Conservation 19 : 117 – 123 .

Probert , J. , B. Evans , S. Andanje , R. Kock , and R. Amin . 2014 . Population and habitat assessment of the critically endangered hirola Beatragus hunteri in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya . Oryx 49 : 514 – 520 .

Purvis , A. , J. L. Gittleman , G. Cowlishaw , and J. M. Mace . 2000 . Predicting extinction risk in declining species . Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B. Biological Sciences 267 : 1947 – 1952 .

Quirós-Fernández , F. , J. Marcos , P. Acevedo , and C. Gortázar . 2017 . Hunters serving the ecosystem: the contribution of recreational hunting to wild boar population control . European Journal of Wildlife Research 63 : 57 .

Ray , A. J . 1974 . Indians in the fur trade . University of Toronto Press , Toronto, Ontario, Canada .

Rayner , M. J. , M. E. Hauber , M. J. Imber , R. K. Stamp , and M. N. Clout . 2007 . Spatial heterogeneity of mesopredator release within an oceanic island system . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104 : 20862 – 20865 .

Reid , R. S. , M. E. Fernandez-Gimenez , and K. A. Galvin . 2014 . Dynamics and resilience of rangelands and pastoral peoples around the globe . Annual Review of Environment and Resources 39 : 217 – 242 .

Responsive Management . 2013 . Nationwide survey of hunters regarding participation in and motivations for hunting . Harrisonburg, Virginia .

Ripple , W. J. et al. , 2014 . Status and ecological effects of the world’s largest carnivores . Science 343 : 1241484 .

Roemer , G. W. , C. J. Donlan , and F. Courchamp . 2002 . Golden eagles, feral pigs, and insular carnivores: how exotic species turn native predators into prey . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 99 : 791 – 796 .

Salerno , J. D. , M. Borgerhoff Mulder , and S. C. Kefauver . 2014 . Human migration, protected areas, and conservation outreach in Tanzania . Conservation Biology 28 : 841 – 850 .

Sarmento , W. M. , and J. Berger . 2017 . Human visitation limits the utility of protected areas as ecological baselines . Biological Conservation 212 : 316 – 326 .

Saunders , S. E. , S. L. Bartelt-Hunt , and J. C. Bartz . 2012 . Occurrence, transmission, and zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease . Emerging Infectious Diseases 18 : 369 – 376 .

Scheffers , B. R. , R. T. Corlett , A. Diesmos , and W. F. Laurance . 2012 . Local demand drives a bushmeat industry in a Philippine forest preserve . Tropical Conservation Science 5 : 133 – 141 .

Schipper , J. et al. , 2008 . The status of the world’s land and marine mammals: diversity, threat, and knowledge . Science 322 : 225 – 230 .

Schmidt , J. I. , J. M. Ver Hoef , and R. T. Bowyer . 2007 . Antler size of Alaskan moose Alces alces gigas : effects of population density, hunter harvest and use of guides . Wildlife Biology 13 : 53 – 65 .

Scholte , P . 2003 . Immigration: a potential time bomb under the integration of conservation and development . Ambio 32 : 58 – 64 .

Schroeder , C. A. , R. T. Bowyer , V. C. Bleich , and T. R. Stephenson . 2010 . Sexual segregation in Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis sierrae ): ramifications for conservation . Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 42 : 476 – 489 .

Shannon , G. et al. , 2013 . Effects of social disruption in elephants persist decades after culling . Frontiers in Zoology 10 : 62 .

Simmonds , M. P. , and S. J. Isaac . 2007 . The impacts of climate change on marine mammals: early signs of significant problems . Oryx 41 : 19 – 26 .

Sindinga , I . 1995 . Wildlife-based tourism in Kenya . Journal of Tourism Studies 6 : 45 – 55 .

Southwick , R. , and T. Allen . 2010 . Expenditures, economic impacts and conservation contributions of hunters in the United States. Pp. 308 – 313 in World symposium: ecologic and economic benefits of hunting . World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities , Windhoek, Namibia .

Stapp , J. R. , R. J. Lilieholm , J. Leahy , and S. Upadhaya . 2016 . Linking attitudes, policy, and forest cover change in buffer zone communities of Chitwan National Park, Nepal . Environmental Management 57 : 1292 – 1303 .

Stewart , K. M. , R. T. Bowyer , B. L. Dick , B. K. Johnson , and J. G. Kie . 2005 . Density-dependent effects on physical condition and reproduction in North American elk: an experimental test . Oecologia 143 : 85 – 93 .

Stewart , K. M. , R. T. Bowyer , R. W. Ruess , B. L. Dick , and J. G. Kie . 2006 . Herbivore optimization by North American elk: consequences for theory and management . Wildlife Monographs 167 : 1 – 24 .

Sultaire , S. M. , J. N. Pauli , K J. Martin , M. W. Meyer , M. Notaro , and B. Zuckenberg . 2016 . Climate change surpasses land-use change in the contracting range boundary of a winter adapted mammal . Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B. Biological Sciences 283 : 20160020 .

Swenson , J. E. , F. Sandegren , A. Söderberg , A. Bjärvall , R. Franzen , and P. Wabakken . 1997 . Infanticide caused by hunting of male bears . Nature 386 : 450 – 451 .

Tenhumberg , B. , E. J. Tyre , A. R. Pople , and H. P. Possingham . 2004 . Do harvest refuges buffer kangaroos against evolutionary responses to selective harvesting? Ecology 85 : 2003 – 2017 .

Thurfjell , H. , S. Ciuti , and M. S. Boyce . 2017 . Learning from the mistakes of others: how female elk ( Cervus elaphus ) adjust behaviour with age to avoid hunters . PLoS One 12 : e0178082 .

Tranquilli , S. et al. , 2014 . Protected areas in tropical Africa: assessing threats and conservation activities . PLoS One 9 : e114154 .

Turvey , S. T. et al. , 2007 . First human-caused extinction of a cetacean species? Biology Letters 3 : 537 – 540 .

U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) . Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve . 2011 . https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5646/ . Accessed 22 May 2018 .

U.N. Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Database on Protected Areas . 2017 . www.protectedplanet.net . Accessed May 2018 .

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) . 2014 . Black-footed ferret 10(j) rule . USFWS Mountain Prairie Press Release , Lakewood, Colorado .

Urban , M. C . 2015 . Climate change. Accelerating extinction risk from climate change . Science 348 : 571 – 573 .

Van Vliet , N. , J. Fa , and R. Nasi . 2015 . Managing hunting under uncertainty: from one-off ecological indicators to resilience approaches in assessing the sustainability of bushmeat hunting . Ecology and Society 20 : 7 .

Veblen , K. E . 2012 . Savanna glade hotspot: plant community development and synergy with large herbivores . Journal of Arid Environments 78 : 119 – 127 .

Venter , O. et al. , 2017 . Bias in protected-area location and its effects on long-term aspirations of biodiversity conventions . Conservation Biology 32 : 127 – 134 .

Vilà , M. et al. , 2011 . Ecological impacts of invasive alien plants: a meta-analysis of their effects on species, communities and ecosystems . Ecology Letters 14 : 702 – 708 .

Vitousek , P. M. , H. A. Mooney , J. Lubencho , and J. M. Melillo . 1997 . Human domination of the Earth’s ecosystems . Science 277 : 292 – 499 .

Vucetich , J. A. , J. T. Bruskotter , and M. P. Nelson . 2015 . Evaluating whether nature’s intrinsic value is an axiom of or anathema to conservation . Conservation Biology 29 : 321 – 332 .

Walpole M. J. , and C. R. Thouless . 2005 . Increasing the value of wildlife through non-consumptive use? Deconstructing the myths of ecotouism and community-based tourism in the tropics. Pp. 122 – 139 in People and wildlife, conflict or coexistence? ( R. Woodroffe , S. Thirgood , and A. Rabinowitz , eds.). Cambridge University Press , Cambridge, United Kingdom .

Waylen , K. A. , A. Fischer , P. J. McGowan , S. J. Thirgood , and E. J. Milner-Gulland . 2010 . Effect of local cultural context on the success of community-based conservation interventions . Conservation Biology 24 : 1119 – 1129 .

Western , D. , J. Waithaka , and J. Kamanga . 2015 . Finding space for wildlife beyond national parks and reducing conflict through community-based conservation . Parks 21 : 51 – 62 .

Whitman , K. , A. M. Starfield , H. S. Quadling , and C. Packer . 2004 . Sustainable trophy hunting of African lions . Nature 428 : 175 – 178 .

Wilcox , B. A. , and D. D. Murphy . 1985 . Conservation strategy: the effects of fragmentation on extinction . American Naturalist 125 : 879 – 887 .

Wittemyer , G. , P. Elsen , W. T. Bean , A. C. Burton , and J. S. Brashares . 2008 . Accelerated human population growth at protected area edges . Science 321 : 123 – 126 .

Woinarski , J. C. , A. A. Burbidge , and P. L. Harrison . 2015 . Ongoing unraveling of a continental fauna: decline and extinction of Australian mammals since European settlement . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112 : 4531 – 4540 .

Woodford , M. H. , M. R. Frisina , and G. A. Awun . 2004 . The Torghar Conservation Project: management of the livestock, Sulieman markhor ( Capra falconeri ) and Afghan urial ( Ovis orientalis ) in the Torghar Hills, Pakistan . Game and Wildlife Science 21 : 177 – 187 .

Woodroffe , R. , and J. R. Ginsberg . 1998 . Edge effects and the extinction of populations inside protected areas . Science 280 : 2126 – 2128 .

Young , T. P . 2006 . Declining rural populations and the future of biodiversity: missing the forest for the trees? Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy 9 : 319 – 334 .

Zimova , M. , L. S. Mills , and J. J. Nowak . 2016 . High fitness costs of climate change-induced camouflage mismatch . Ecology Letters 19 : 299 – 307 .

Month:	Total Views:
May 2019	151
June 2019	93
July 2019	40
August 2019	51
September 2019	36
October 2019	45
November 2019	44
December 2019	27
January 2020	33
February 2020	28
March 2020	29
April 2020	32
May 2020	12
June 2020	19
July 2020	8
August 2020	21
September 2020	18
October 2020	24
November 2020	42
December 2020	15
January 2021	19
February 2021	79
March 2021	138
April 2021	183
May 2021	153
June 2021	162
July 2021	64
August 2021	107
September 2021	137
October 2021	117
November 2021	194
December 2021	123
January 2022	140
February 2022	176
March 2022	172
April 2022	152
May 2022	162
June 2022	121
July 2022	92
August 2022	86
September 2022	142
October 2022	254
November 2022	224
December 2022	144
January 2023	139
February 2023	233
March 2023	143
April 2023	149
May 2023	161
June 2023	75
July 2023	90
August 2023	104
September 2023	95
October 2023	175
November 2023	170
December 2023	133
January 2024	295
February 2024	170
March 2024	169
April 2024	160
May 2024	184
June 2024	130
July 2024	118
August 2024	76
September 2024	38

Email alerts

Citing articles via.

Recommend to your Library

Affiliations

Online ISSN 1545-1542
Print ISSN 0022-2372
About Oxford Academic
Publish journals with us
University press partners
What we publish
New features
Open access
Institutional account management
Rights and permissions
Get help with access
Accessibility
Advertising
Media enquiries
Oxford University Press
Oxford Languages
University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

Cookie settings
Cookie policy
Privacy policy
Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Home / Essay Samples / Science / Zoology / Wildlife Conservation

Wildlife Conservation Essay Examples

Understanding the critical significance of wildlife conservation.

There used to be minimum human interference on wildlife, when the number of animals was increasing greatly. But with the expansion of settlement, agriculture and industrial developments. This lead to the decrease of wildlife and it put many species on the verge of extinction. We...

A Report on Wildlife Conservation in Singapore

According to a report by WWF and TRAFFIC, Singapore was ranked the world’s second-largest shark fin trader by value after Hong Kong. Singapore was even found to have the world’s second-largest seizure of illegally-imported ivory in 2002. These dishonourable findings question Singapore’s role in conserving...

The Need to Preserve Wilderness in the United States

The Wilderness Act of 1964 established that the United States, with increasing population, expanding settlement and growing mechanization, needed to preserve the enduring resource of “wilderness”. The four federal agencies: the Forest Service (FS), in the Department of Agriculture; the National Park Service (NPS); Fish...

Exploring the Importance of Wilderness Preservation

Environmentalism has been one of the most grounded developments for more than thirty years. Environmentalists are the main heroes behind this fight; one of them being Wallace Stegner, who never stopped battling for the trees. Throughout the years our nation has been gradually wrecking nature,...

Wildlife Protection: Combating Animal Poaching and Exploitation

“Poaching is the illegal harvesting of game or fish. Until the twentieth century, most poaching was subsistence hunting or fishing to augment scanty diets. In the early twenty-first century, poaching usually is committed for sport or profit”. The leading questions ask, how do we protect...

Rules and Legislation for Hunting in the United States

Hunting in United States is the oldest recreational activity fancied by many across the state. It is a legal course of action, hence to prevail from any danger to the species and wildlife, the states government has set up some rules which needs to be...

Environmental Ethics Issues of Hunting and Conservation

Great ethical challenges have always posed themselves when humans confront the wildlife community. Those who support hunting often cite an anthropocentric view of the interaction between man and beast dating back to Genesis. On another hand, human stewardship of creation is also a central theme...

Analysis of the Importance of Zoos in the Role of Conservation with Specific Reference to Chester Zoo

Zoos are often a very controversial subject, however, one thing that most people can agree on is the fact that they are a great way to help conserve species of threatened animals. There are four fundamental roles of a zoo, these are: Conservation, education, research...

The Work of Joint Conservation Initiative for Environmental Protection

Both South Asia and Southeast Asia regions are rich in having unique habitats, numerous forests majestic wildlife and rich biodiversity. The rich belts of tropical and subtropical forests, deciduous forest forests, evergreen forests, mountain cloud forests, Himalayan bamboo forests to vast stretches of massive valleys,...

The Solutions How to Safe Wildlife of Louisiana

According to Wetland and Erosion researchers, Hurricane Katrina destroyed 40 square miles of the Pontchartrain Basin in one day. Result of this damage was between 60 and 70% of both residents and wildlife became vulnerable. As said in Louisiana’s Disappearing Wetlands, “These barriers served as...

Trying to find an excellent essay sample but no results?

Don’t waste your time and get a professional writer to help!

About Wildlife Conservation

Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting plant and animal species and their habitats. As part of the world’s ecosystems, wildlife provides balance and stability to nature’s processes. The goal of wildlife conservation is to ensure the survival of these species and to educate people on living sustainably with other species.

Wildlife conservation aims to protect plant and animal species as the human population encroaches on their resources. Major threats to wildlife include habitat destruction, degradation, fragmentation, overexploitation, poaching, pollution and climate change.

samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->

500+ Words Essay on Wildlife Conservation

Let’s Being with the Essay on Wildlife Conservation for Students in English

Causes for Decline or Threat to Wildlife

Steps to Conserve Wildlife

FAQs on Essay on Wildlife Conservation

Wildlife Conservation Essay

Deforestation

Importance of Wildlife Conservation

How can we conserve wildlife?

Conclusion of Wildlife Conservation Essay

Frequently asked Questions on Wildlife conservation Essay

How to write a 500+ words essay within the stipulated time?

Which topics are to be asked in the Board exam essay question (most probable)?

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Essay on Wildlife Conservation

Introduction to Wildlife Conservation

Importance of Wildlife Conservation

Threats to Wildlife

Conservation Strategies

Human-Wildlife Conflict

Economic Aspects of Wildlife Conservation

Challenges and Limitations

Role of Government and NGOs

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Case Studies

Future Outlook

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Loading ...

Media Credits

Production Managers

User Permissions

Interactives

Related Resources

Marine Conservation

MarineBio is proud to present Essays on Wildlife Conservation written and edited by Dr. Peter Moyle, et al. for an introductory course on wildlife conservation taught at the University of California, Davis.

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Essay Types and Topics

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

Descriptive Essay Topics

Persuasive Essay Topics

Narrative Essay Topics

Engagement and Creativity

Educational Value

Endangered Tiger: Paper

The Significance of Recycling in Environmental Conservation

Smokey Bear Campaign to Prevent Forest Fires

Global Decline of High Value Large Old Trees and Its Impact on Wildlife

Relevant topics

Article Contents

Conservation of the world’s mammals: status, protected areas, community efforts, and hunting

Mammalian extinctions.

Categories of threatened mammals.

Threat Levels for orders of mammals.

Geographic patterns of species richness.

Geographic patterns and types of threats.

Comparisons of terrestrial and aquatic taxa within Cetartiodactyla.

Understanding patterns of extinction.

Human livelihoods versus protection.

Costs, benefits, and logistics of protected areas for conserving wild mammals.

Costs, benefits, and logistics of human-occupied landscapes for conserving wild mammals.

Case study 1: livestock production as a tool to lessen apparent competition for hartebeest.

Case study 2: engaging Somali communities to conserve hirola antelope.

Patterns of use and exploitation.

Declining populations and restorations.

Patterns of management.

Sustainability of harvest.

The hydra effect.

Behavioral outcomes from hunting.

Effects of selective harvests.

Conservation.

Climate change.

Email alerts

Affiliations

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Wildlife Conservation Essay Examples

A Report on Wildlife Conservation in Singapore

The Need to Preserve Wilderness in the United States

Exploring the Importance of Wilderness Preservation

Wildlife Protection: Combating Animal Poaching and Exploitation