What Effect Does Predators Have On The Environment

LARGE PREDATORS MANKINDS FIRST ENEMY In the history of humankind, the extirpation of predators has always been at the top of the priority list. However, no one ever thought of the backlash it would have on the environment. Large predators have always been looked at as the enemy of man people have learned to fear these remarkable animals that they were directly competing with for resources and survival. The decline of large predator populations has caused ecological complications all over the world (Weber and Rabinowitz 2010). From tigers and wolves to fishers and orcas, the human species has extirpated these primary consumers for economic development, safety, and hunting preference (Weber and Rabinowitz 2010). In the past, these actions were encouraged, but as recent ecological studies have shown these top predators have proved to provide a necessary balance to ecological hierarchy (Beyer et al. 2006).

But even with this new information predators, especially large carnivores are still perceived as monsters or nuisances by many people who have led to major population declines throughout the world due to lack of education and irrationally biased hatred (Williams et al. 2002). Human-wildlife conflicts have shaped the way people view these predators, and strong economic incentives lead to illegal hunting and trade. Ecological sciences have been telling the world to reconsider what we have always thought about large carnivores and to realize that they may be the key to maintaining sustainable, healthy ecosystems. However, it has taken a lot of strong-willed conservationists such as Alan Rabinowitz to push people to realize that most of what people know about the predators is wrong and that ignorance will continue to destroy our