Environmental Risk Perception

Introduction
As the world population grows so does where the individuals live. People are taking up space that once where animals inhabited. Some animals have been hunted over the years for food, while others have been hunted for sport. The animals that have been hunted for food and sport some of them have started to become extinct. One will see how the animals are saved once they start to become extinct and the outcome of the animals once they get off the extinction list. As old as man and time individuals have killed animals for food. In the beginning, when man killed for food, they used the entire animal they killed not just for food. They used its hide for clothing, shelter, and the bones as weapons. It is not just individuals who kill animals; animals kill other animals. The animals that kill other animals sometimes are in the same herd, fighting over a female, fighting for the top spot or killing to feed upon.

Dinosaurs roamed the Earth 230 million years ago. They were on this planet for over 160 million years. During this time, there were three different time sections for the dinosaurs. There was the Triassic period, Jurassic period, and the Cretaceous period. The Cretaceous was the last period and they became extinct in this time period. Not all dinosaurs became extinct; they have ancestors in today’s the world. The ones that did not survive, no one has a clue how they died out. There is speculation on how they died out, from ice bergs moving and flooding the planet or tar pits. Guess this is something that no one will know for a while.

Granted most dinosaurs were herbivorous (plant eaters) and the others were carnivorous (meat eaters). The dinosaurs,that were herbivorous, were not a threat to the other dinosaurs and the cavemen. They ate quite a bit of the planet life, which in turn affected the environment. If the carnivorous had not become extinct or almost extinct, all plant life as individuals knows it today would not exist, because the carnivorous dinosaurs would have eaten it all. The carnivorous was not a threat to the carnivorous dinosaurs either it was the other way around.

The carnivorous dinosaurs were a threat to the cavemen. Of course, the cavemen ate the same things that the dinosaurs did. The carnivorous dinosaurs were a threat to the herbivorous dinosaurs. If the carnivorous dinosaurs had not become extinct or almost extinct except for some of their ancestor that survived; the world population might not exist, as well as the animals that one can see daily in life or a zoo. The Native Americans hunted buffalo for food, shelter, clothing, and weapons. They left nothing of the buffalo; they used every single bit of it. Than the “white man” came, they shot the buffalo they got the meat and maybe the hide to use for clothing and left the rest to rot. This was a disgrace not only to the Native Americans who hunted the buffalo for more than just food.

After the “white man” hunted the buffalo to almost extinction and put the Native Americans on plots of land that the government decided was good enough for them. Once the buffalo was almost extinct they went on a list so they could breed and multiple. Once the buffalo started to reproduce and got to a certain number they got off the endangered list. In 1966, Congress passed the first federal endangered species. “A year later, the government compiled the first official list of endangered species” (Bean, 1999, p. 14). Even though this law was passed it did not do much to protect the animals. It soon came to notice that there was a difference of endangerment when it came to the stages of extinction of the animal or sea life. In 1973, President Nixon signed a stronger bill for a stronger law.

Each of these animals that are on this list individuals’ are trying to make sure that they do not become extinct. Once they become extinct there is no way to get them back. If they are endangered individuals’ can put them in zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, or special farms so they can be safe. When they are left out in the wild where they are can strive it is best for them. The bad thing is poachers; this is individuals who kill the animals for a prize like their heads or hides. The poachers are bad for the environment because they do not let the animals thrive in their natural setting. When an animal is taken from its natural environment they have to learn to rely on a person(s) to feed them, clean their cages, and provide them with entertainment as in toys or trees.

Some sea life are considered mammals this includes whales and dolphins. Many do not realize that whales and dolphins are mammals. These mammals affect the ecosystem by eating the smaller fish this keeps the population down so one type of fish does not get overpopulated.

The North Atlantic Right Whale is high on the endangered species list, there are only 400 left that scientist believe. Their food supply is limited which is primarily eating zooplankton and small fishes, which they encounter in large swarms or schools. Their habitats and their movement could boggle the mind, since it is Western North Atlantic for more than 30 years.

The North Atlantic Right Whale depending on the gender will state where they will move to and how fast they get where they are going. The males are smaller and move faster than the females. The females hang back since they give birth to the calves, which they start doing around when they are 10 years old. The female whale stays pregnant for a year and the calf will stay with the mother for up to a year.

Like a realtor says “Location, location, location.” That is the key; this is true for a realtor and for animals as well as whales. Zoologist, whale watchers, and scientist take pictures of these whales to note their location. Not only are they taking pictures of their location, but to note their health as well. “This synoptic view of health is very powerful, because it provides a picture of the animal’s health during times and places that the animal was not observed” (Schick, etc., 2013, para. 51). Conclusion

At the end of the day, one has to look at the world around one’s self and either be thankful for all of the animals that are here or grumble that they are still here. Everything affects the environment and or the ecosystem it might seem small on the scale of things, but to the North Atlantic Right Whale eating a school of fish is a big deal. Yet, a dinosaur,that was carnivorous, might find a smaller herbivorous dinosaur quite yummy. There is an endangered list of species that goes from not quite that bad to extremely life threatening. The aforementioned list affects the environment by having extra animals if the ones on the list become extinct. The food chain relies on the animals and sea creatures to keep the environment and ecosystem in balance.

References
Bean, M. (1999, January). Endangered Species, Endangered Act?. Environment: Science and
Policy for Sustainable Development, 41(1), 12-18. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/224017904?accountid=458
Schick, R.S., Kraus, S.D., Rolland, R.M., Rosalind, M., Knowlton, A.R., Hamilton, P.K., Pettis, H.M.,…Clark, J.S. (2013). Using Hierarchical Bayes to Understand Movement, Health, and Survival in the Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale: e64166. PLoS One, 8(6), doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/10.1371/journal.pone.0064166