Wildlife Conservation and Biology

There are 6.5 million species of land mammals. Wildlife biologists get the privilege of studying and spending time with these animals as their everyday life. I should be a wildlife biologist so I can study land mammals.

Wildlife biology is a field of biology in which land animals are studied. It deals with all animals with backbones and studies individual species of wildlife, their habitats, and surrounding ecosystems (Fitzgerald). It also studies how animals may interact with their ecosystem. Without wildlife biology we would not have extensive knowledge of other animal species, and how they could be linked to humans.

Wildlife conservation in the United States has been based on the Public Trust Doctrine where in wildlife and fishes, water, and scenic places were deemed too valuable for greater good to be held in private ownership (Brown). Wildlife in America has struggled since the 1400s. Native American’s utilized wildfire heavily until Europeans arrived. Disease decimated the Indians and wildlife rebounded (Brown). The westward expansion in the 1800s caused much of the wildlife habitats to be turned into farms for European settlers. Historically, vast numbers of deer, elk, moose, and beavers lived in eastern forests; polar bears muskoxen, moose and caribou in the northwest; and millions of buffalo, pronghorn antelope, along with thousands of grizzly bears in the west (Brown). Because the wildlife species’ habitats were being taken and market hunting became huge, the wildlife population in the United States went drastically down. At the turn of the century, Americans finally took notice of the wildlife’s declining numbers. The disappearance of the bison became a rallying cry for those concerned about the future of wil...

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... them. Wildlife biology is the perfect choice for my career.

Works Cited

Brown, Robert D. "The History of Wildlife Conservation and Research in the United States." ncr.ncsu. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. .

"Classes One Should Take in College to Become a Wildlife Biologist." Everyday Life. Global Post, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

Fitzgerald, Helen “What are the Different Branches of Biology?” eHow.com Web. 18 Mar. 2014

"Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.

"The Top Universities to Study Wildlife Management & Biology." Education. Hearst Seattle Media, LLC, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

Wildlife Biologist Benefits?" - Ask.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014

Wolfe, Michael “Pros and Cons of being a Zoologist” eHow.com Web. 18 Mar. 2014