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In the aftermath of surfer Mick Fanning's encounter with a shark last week, there has rightly been widespread acclaim for the way the three-time world champion handled the terrifying incident. Julian Wilson, Mick's mentee and competitor, also richly deserves admiration and respect for bravely swimming to his aid. The way they have handled themselves in the aftermath has shown them to be true role models.
However, the coverage of this highly unusual event should not be used as an excuse to mount further campaigns to kill even more sharks. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed each year in commercial fisheries, mainly for their fins to be used in making shark fin soup. Around 30 percent of sharks are threatened with extinction, with a further quarter of sharks close to becoming threatened in the near future.
Shark attacks on humans are extremely rare. I have swum with many species of sharks on many occasions, including tiger sharks and great white sharks. I have always found it a remarkable, peaceful experience, and I wholeheartedly believe they have no interest in humans as food.
This view is shared by an extraordinary group called Shark Attack Survivors for Shark Conservation, which has joined forces with The Pew Charitable Trusts to support efforts to restore and conserve the world's shark populations. It is led by Pew's Debbie Salamone, who herself is a shark attack survivor. As she told The Humane Society: “If a group like us can see the value in saving sharks, everyone should."
The group's members range from a Wall Street banker to a South African Paralympic swimmer and Australian navy diver, and many of them have lost limbs to sharks. Surfer Mike Coots, who lost a leg to a shark, continues to surf and has become a notable underwater photographer. Others include: Achmat Hassiem, Krishna Thompson, Chuck Anderson, Laurie Boyett, Kent Bonde, Scott Curatolo-Wagemann, Paul de Gelder, Al Brenneka, Mike Beach, Michelle "Micki" Glenn, Jonathan Kathrein and Eric Larsen. They all agree that sharks are a beautiful, vital part of the ocean ecosystem.
By removing sharks from reef ecosystems, which have been swimming there for 440 million years, the natural food web is broken. Fewer sharks in the ocean results in less healthy coral, and therefore fewer fish, which damages food security, hurts the health of the ocean and reduces tourism dollars too.
Because sharks grow slowly, mature late and have few offspring, it is not sustainable to manage them like other commercially-sought fish. They need strong protections to stop numbers dropping past the point of no return. The largely unregulated shark fin trade is the key driver of shark declines worldwide, with very few shark species subject to catch and trade controls, which are needed to properly protect them.
There have been conservation successes for sharks in recent years in securing commitments to creating sharks sanctuaries. In March of this year, the Federated States of Micronesia created the world's 10th shark sanctuary, joining together a massive area of the western Pacific Ocean as a huge regional sanctuary. In the Caribbean, similar moves are afoot with the Bahamas, Honduras and The British Virgin Islands waters declared protected, and momentum for action being taken in the Caymans, St Eustatius, Bonaire, Saba and Grenada, Sint Maarten in the Caribbean, and Samoa in the Pacific. I had the pleasure of joining a number of officials working to protect the Caribbean's sharks in February of this year and was really encouraged by their commitment and enthusiasm. However, far more needs to be done.
We need to introduce more shark sanctuaries, establish stronger global protections and tackle the demand for shark fin soup and other shark products. We absolutely do not need to kill more sharks.
A beloved black rhino living in Zimbabwe's Matopo National Park was euthanized after suffering from "unimaginable pain" from multiple poaching wounds, Zimbabwean wildlife authorities said.
The 8-year-old rhino was named Ntombi, which translates to "girl" in Zimbabwe’s Ndebele language. The well-known rhino, who was reportedly featured in the 2012 Animal Planet series Karina Wild on Safari, was also the mother of a 13-month-old calf which was not harmed by poachers.
As mentioned in the video, the rare black rhino was part of a groundbreaking genome sequencing project to save the endangered species, which currently has a global population of less than 5,000.
The poachers had targeted Ntombi earlier this month, according to the Bhejane Trust, a Zimbabwe-based rhino and wildlife conservation nonprofit:
Tragic news from the Matopos where a well known young 8 year old rhino cow, Ntombi, was shot and wounded. The shots were heard on Tuesday last week but nothing was found after a search by parks. Only days later was the severely wounded Ntombi found, and had to be euthanised as the vet ruled there was no possibility of saving her - she had lived a week of indescribable agony! Ntombi had a 13 month calf ( her first) and we are following up on what has happened to this youngster. We have suspicions as to who the poachers were, and will be offering a substantial reward for any arrest in this case!
Caroline Washaya-Moyo, a spokeswoman for Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA), told Reuters Africa that the rhino had four bullet wounds in her legs and shoulder after being shot last week. Her horns had been sawn off but were later recovered.
She "endured unimaginable pain caused by broken legs and open wounds," Washaya-Moyo said.
"The animal was very immobile and was unable to walk to access food and water. Because of the seriousness of the wounds the authority had to put the animal to sleep," she added.
Veterinarians from animal conservation group Aware Trust carried out X-rays on Ntombi. On Facebook, the group said the situation was "gut wrenching" and "one of the most difficult things we've had to do."
"Now is the time to come forward and help Zimbabwe's National Parks," Aware Trust wrote. "If we don't stand united against poachers, we will lose our wildlife heritage forever. Please ... support Zimparks."
Reuters reported that ZPWMA is conducting an investigation into the poaching and wardens are now caring for Ntombi's young calf.
Consumer demand of rhino horn in parts of Asia have driven a tragic increase in wildlife crime. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists black rhinos as Critically Endangered:
The population of Black Rhino has declined by an estimated 97.6% since 1960 with numbers bottoming out at 2,410 in 1995, mainly as a result of poaching. Since then, numbers have been steadily increasing at a continental level with numbers doubling to 4,880 by the end of 2010. Current numbers are however still 90% lower than three generations ago.
Survival of these species is at incredible risk. A record 1,305 rhinos were illegally killed in Africa last year, according to Reuters. Zimbabwe's black and white rhino population is estimated at just over 800, Washaya-Moyo said.
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