Extinction Is Forever

[isanbirder]

I always imagined Thailand would have a lot of interesting wildlife but sadly it's not the case.

what a ridiculous thing to say.. of course it does. You obviously don't get out much..

.

Fortunately, In Thailand the King has decreed many national parks where all wild life are protected.

Right.. and most of these places are huge!

Together with the Non-hunting Areas, Forest Parks, Ramsar Wetlands etc.. i absolutely don't see the catastrophe that many posting here presume looms.

There are many Thai heavyweight conservation forums, groups & societies working in the country that most people on this thread (or site) probably aren't even aware of. Most of them are petitioning in some form for ever increasing areas of protection. Yes its very sad to see the deforested areas, particularly some of the small to mid size Doi in the north, but there's still vast tracts (and islands) of it remaining.

So, education is key.. and i'm always happy when i see large organised school groups visiting many of the National Parks on field trips.... Therein lies the spark..

I've seen it in these young kids eyes when they see perhaps a wild Hornbill feeding its young for the very first time, or maybe an otter hunting & catching fish..

Don't write the ecology off then people, most of the warnings ultimately come from grant hungry 'research' groups hoping to stay living/working out 'in the field' for months on end instead of getting a proper job..

(and the OP's map/graphic is vague & inaccurate)

While I agree with most of what you say, Goshawk, I think you're over-estimating the amount of forest cover. By forest cover, I mean natural forest, not degraded second growth, which supports a far smaller number of species. Some estimates say that only 5% of Thailand's natural forest remains.

[canuckamuck]

Most of the Canadian forest is single species plantations, right? And cutting is managed? Moreover, Canada is temperate zone (not to say Arctic, some of it); Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia are tropical. Compare like with like, Ian.

And if you're proud of all the fat people, I wouldn't be.

Apparently you haven't been there. The vast majority of Canada is natural, not plantations. Yes we are a temperate zone and Arctic, but being the second largest country on earth we have a tremendous variety of unique habitats. We maintain all our species through regulation. But like Ian says, plenty of fat Canadians out there hunting for the fun of it, in fact lots of fat Americans up here hunting for the fun of it. But you need a license and they regulate how many licenses are issued. Loss of habitat is also an issue here as well though.

Edited October 29, 2010 by canuckamuck

[thaihome]

[hawaiiman]

Apparently, I have a pangolin living on my land. It just tore up my melon patch digging for ants. Anyone wanting to save (or savour) one of these critters should pm me.

[toybits]

Who cares? Developed countries have already taken samples of every plant and animal species from these countries already - ready to be exploited for whatever pharmaceutical or pharmacological purpose. These countries are nothing more than biological resources that are to be mined.

Local people have other things in mind - what to eat the next day.

[jimbeam1]

No surprise here: every night some people are hunting (see the flash lights around my house) and killing anything that moves.

Same here.

What really upsets me is when I see the Thais keeping native species of wild birds in those tiny bamboo cages. I've had neighbors that keep a solitary bird in a cage so small that the bird could hardly move and left out fully exposed to the eliments. They teach the bird to make funny sounds like a phone ringing or a few words and the bird almost becomes an ornament in a box. After a year of neglect and lack of care the bird dies and is replaced with another one.

It`s a disgusting practice, yet there are no enforcements of any laws if they exist and no one cares.

They say Thai people love their country, yet how can this be true when people have no respect for it`s wildlife and the environment? Examples as travelmann and tartempion quite rightly point out.

When I lived in an Issan Village. The then g/f, extended family and myself went a visiting some other relatives. Whilst there the g/f pointed out a really beautiful lizard to me, that was climbing up a Coconut tree, the colours were amazing. She went on to tell me that they only live in/on Coconut trees. When I said to her that I had never seen any in our village, she said no we have eaten them all? Aparrantly they are really bootiful.

jb1

[Robby nz]

Dont know how many of you actually get out and look around you, or if you do realise what you are seeing.

Most mornings I walk down the river (Chao Phraya) and it is not uncommon to be able to count 20 different species of birds.

I read that Thailand has over 900 species of birds and over 850 species of fresh water fish.

Sure it is bad when something faces extinction but it is sometimes a natural process and not the fault of man.

[zzaa09]

I always imagined Thailand would have a lot of interesting wildlife but sadly it's not the case.

what a ridiculous thing to say.. of course it does. You obviously don't get out much..

.

Fortunately, In Thailand the King has decreed many national parks where all wild life are protected.

Right.. and most of these places are huge!

Together with the Non-hunting Areas, Forest Parks, Ramsar Wetlands etc.. i absolutely don't see the catastrophe that many posting here presume looms.

There are many Thai heavyweight conservation forums, groups & societies working in the country that most people on this thread (or site) probably aren't even aware of. Most of them are petitioning in some form for ever increasing areas of protection. Yes its very sad to see the deforested areas, particularly some of the small to mid size Doi in the north, but there's still vast tracts (and islands) of it remaining.

So, education is key.. and i'm always happy when i see large organised school groups visiting many of the National Parks on field trips.... Therein lies the spark..

I've seen it in these young kids eyes when they see perhaps a wild Hornbill feeding its young for the very first time, or maybe an otter hunting & catching fish..

Don't write the ecology off then people, most of the warnings ultimately come from grant hungry 'research' groups hoping to stay living/working out 'in the field' for months on end instead of getting a proper job..

(and the OP's map/graphic is vague & inaccurate)

Well constructed, Goshawk! Unfortunately, most will take the info of convention instinctively without examining any sensible counter-sources.

[StreetCowboy]

Like global warming, it may prove prudent to be conservative (!) in assessing the risk from climate change or species extinction. If we do not know how to reverse them (global warming, species extinction) then parhaps we should try to avoid them, just in case it is bad for us.

SC

[lovelomsak]

Who Really Cares.?

Edited April 17, 2011 by lovelomsak

[zzaa09]

No one has touched upon the huge number of newly discovered species {mostly in the tropical zones} that are found every year.....perhaps, making up for the supposed disappearing numbers of the assorted varieties.

[StreetCowboy]

No one has touched upon the huge number of newly discovered species {mostly in the tropical zones} that are found every year.....perhaps, making up for the supposed disappearing numbers of the assorted varieties.

But these are not new species - just previously unknown. Who knows how many specieis have been lost prior to discovery through reckless habitat loss in the developing world?

SC

How much are people actually willing to give up to save species, or avoid global warming, or pollution?

Generally speaking, people who complain about species loss generally seem to want other people to change their behaviours...

I understand that safari tourism is a major contributor to survival of big game in Africa- though probably also a contributor to global warming; its mostly not local people that go on safari

[dumball]

IanForbes' timestamp='1288247895' post='3985727']

'isanbirder' timestamp='1288242855' post='3985505']

What none of you seem to realise is that Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are all countries where most of the forest cover has been or is being destroyed; this provided the most diverse habitat for the largest number of species. Destroy the forest; species become extinct in large numbers

Yah mean like we do in Canada? And, Canadians are hardly starving. Just go into any big super market and look at all the fat people walking around.

Hardly room to point fingers Mr Forbes what ??? You often brag about your plentiful supply of wild meat and fish etc, thy table surely runneth over .

Ever noticed that most civilized countries rear their own meat supply and have enough left over from demand to export to other countries , hardly worth a call of extermination in the wild , they even have ' Farms where wild animals are reared in captivity for human consumption .

Obesity is not caused so much from " Food guzzeling " as it is from a poor dietary habit and lack of activity .

[zzaa09]

No one has touched upon the huge number of newly discovered species {mostly in the tropical zones} that are found every year.....perhaps, making up for the supposed disappearing numbers of the assorted varieties.

But these are not new species - just previously unknown. Who knows how many specieis have been lost prior to discovery through reckless habitat loss in the developing world?

SC

How much are people actually willing to give up to save species, or avoid global warming, or pollution?

Generally speaking, people who complain about species loss generally seem to want other people to change their behaviours...

I understand that safari tourism is a major contributor to survival of big game in Africa- though probably also a contributor to global warming; its mostly not local people that go on safari

Duly noted. It also might be possibility that we {as a life form} extend too much emphasis {aka self-importance} on ourselves. Common and masses extinction, and it's counter-part newly created life forms, might just be a cycle of nature.....less to do with what we do or don't do - your reference to the developing progress. This cycle of natural extermination might surely include us, as well.

Edited April 17, 2011 by zzaa09

[Tonto21]

Interesting, I, only a few weeks ago very near posted a topic touching on this subject. Not about facts and figures on the extinction for birds and wildlife, but purely to ask the question am I alone in thinking some areas in Thailand are total void of warm blooded wildlife.

I spend a fair amount of time up in Mae Taeng, off the beaten track and sometimes the silence, (lack of birds) is deafening. I can’t see a way this will change, in fact it’s going to get a lot worse, the one thing I do see is a lot of Thai’s hunting, nearly every time I go into the hills I will meet at least one ‘team’ with gun’s, nets and gilly wire, (for trapping birds on the branch’s) I don’t blame these guys for hunting, it’s something they have always done. They are not the underlying problem; just the fall guys for the crimes on our fellow critters in this world.

Looking at facts and figures is all well and good, but it does not hit the senses! We tend to think the country side is quiet, we get used to the wildlife sounds around use. Take that sound away…….It’s very disturbing I can tell you. But being humans we tend to say things like ‘it’s terrible’ and ‘someone should do something’ and only really try do something when it’s too late.

[Tonto21]

Sorry, coal driven internet connection! Dubben post!!

Edited April 18, 2011 by Tonto21

[jlaaway]

All my family was from Oregon. Over the years as they all died, I inherited many hunting rifles, etc. I sold them all before I left my country.

The only thing I have EVER shot a deer with is a 35 mm camera.