African elephants on the brink of extinction

[knocker]

It's so bloody sad that these iconic creatures but may soon be but a memory.

 

A Seneca cliff in the making: African elephants on the brink of extinction

 

Once you have given a name to a phenomenon and understood its causes, you can use it as a guide to understanding many other things. So, the concept of the "Seneca Cliff" tells us that the overexploitation of natural resources often leads to an abrupt decline that, often, takes people by surprise. In the case of biological resources, such as fisheries, the decline may be so fast and uncontrollable that it leads to the extinction or to the near extinction of the species being exploited. It has happened, for instance, for whales in 19th century and for the Atlantic cod.

 

http://cassandralegacy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/a-seneca-cliff-in-making-african.html

 

Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African Elephant

 

http://www.pnas.org/content/111/36/13117.full.pdf+html

Edited January 19, 2015 by knocker