What is a Wildlife Sanctuary?
What is a wildlife sanctuary? Tigers Rescued.
“When you think about it, it is a poor world we have made when one greedy monkey-like species can make such a mess of a planet that they must set aside little patches of wilderness to protect the last of the wild things.” – Brian Alan Burhoe
What is a wildlife sanctuary?
Wildlife sanctuaries are spaces set aside for the use of wild animals, particularly endangered species. A wildlife sanctuary may be either natural or created by a government or private party. Wildlife sanctuaries may focus on rehabilitation, wild release, education, emergency care, public education, shelter, and partnership.
Wildlife sanctuaries date back to the 3rd century BC when King Devanampiya Tissa, one of the earliest rulers of Sri Lanka, declared the area around Mihintale as a sanctuary for wildlife. The king forbade the destruction of trees and animals in the vicinity.
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt created the first American wildlife refuge, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge east of Florida. It was created for the purpose of protecting egrets from extinction. During the time, egrets were being endangered by plume hunters.[1]
Today, there are numerous non-profit wildlife sanctuaries in the United States and other countries in the world. They are mostly regulated by the American Sanctuary Association. The wildlife sanctuaries are designed to provide a safe habitat for different species.
For example, the Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jacksonville, Florida, helps rescue many cat species that are endangered or threatened due to loss of natural habitat. Catty Shack currently has Siberian tigers, lions, cougars, spotted and black leopards, a serval, a coatimundi, a European wild cat, and an arctic fox.[2]
Catty Shack and other wildlife sanctuaries sometimes operate like a zoo, allowing visitors to view and feed the animals. Since most wildlife sanctuaries are non-profit and receive donations, some wildlife sanctuaries even have no admission fees.
Some wildlife sanctuaries cage animals while others allow them to roam freely. The sizes of the wildlife sanctuaries also vary greatly depending on location and ownership. Wildlife sanctuaries often allow people to adopt animals. Due to financial constraints, wildlife sanctuaries often rely on volunteer labor.
Researches sometimes visit wildlife sanctuaries to learn more about species and their lifestyle. Wildlife sanctuaries usually make sure that researches minimally interfere with the animals.
Wildlife sanctuaries sometimes provide educational services for elementary, middle, and high students as well as some adults. These wildlife sanctuaries often have after-school programs.
Wild Tigers may soon be extinct…
The 2010 Tiger Forum was a conference and charity gala with an objective to help save tigers in many regions in the world. The event was called “the last stand for Siberian Tigers.”
The forum was held in St.Petersburg, Russia. Leonardo Dicaprio attended the event. Other guests included Joanna Lumley, Bill Oddie, Jimmy Greaves, Ronni Ancona and Alistair McGowan, Jimmy Choo, TV chef Ching-He Huang, Virginia McKenna and Will Travers, Donal MacIntyre, Liz Bonnin and Steve Backshall.
During the 2011 Forum, experts announced that wild tigers may become extinct by year 2025 if no action is taken. The main concerns pointed out by the forum were poaching, forest cutting, and construction.
Out of these concerns, poaching is the biggest one. However, woodcutting is also a growing problem. Currently, there are only 3,200 tigers left on the planet. This is the lowest level ever. A century ago, there were 100,000. That is a big drop. Only thirteen countries right now have tiger populations as of today. They include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, and Russia.
Tiger extinction is a significantly larger problem than many people think. Three out of the nine tiger subspecies, the Bali, Javan, and Caspian have become extinct in the last 70 years. In fact, all three of these subspecies were extinct by the 1980s.
In addition, 40% of the tiger habitat has been destroyed in the last 10 years. Some species of tigers are almost completely extinct. For example, there are only 500 Amur tigers living in the wild.
Some locations have already begun passing laws to help protect tigers. For example, Bangladesh has passed a law which allows up to a 12 year prison for tiger poachers. Other jurisdictions have enacted similar legislation. Russia and other countries are heavily investing in protecting the tiger population. Governments are exploring forest restoration as a way to help the tiger species survive.
The Forum pointed out that tiger reserves are important in protecting the tiger populations. Tiger reserves already exist all over the world including the United States. For example, The Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary houses tigers in Jacksonville, Florida.
Most people cannot afford to literally adopt a tiger. However, you can also protect tigers by donating to local and global tiger reserves, and petitioning for laws protecting tigers.
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[1] SEE “Teddy Roosevelt Called it Climate Change in 1908” at www.CivilizedBears.com/Teddy-Roosevelt-Called-Climate-Change-1908/.
[2] Content provided by Anton Lebedev. Anton is the director of Plus Plus Tutoring, a private K-12 in-home tutoring service. Anton Lebedev also volunteers at Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary and writes about wildlife sanctuaries.
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What is a wildlife sanctuary? Tigers Rescued.
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