Hunting is the practice of chasing animals to capture or kill them to eat, recreate or exchange their products.
In
modern usage, the term refers to regulated and legal hunting, unlike
poaching, which is the killing, capture or capture of animals contrary
to the law.
The hunted animals are known as game animals, and are usually large mammals or migratory birds.
By
definition, hunting strictly excludes killing, although the same
techniques can be used, from individual animals that have become
dangerous to humans and the slaughter of animals that are not game
animals, pets or bugs (or "varmints"). ") as a means of pest control.
Are you a Deer Hunter?
Hunting
can be a component of modern wildlife management, which is sometimes
used to help maintain a population of healthy animals within the
ecological carrying capacity of an environment. Wildlife
administrators are often part of regulatory agencies and hunting
licenses, where they help establish rules about the number, form and
conditions under which the game can be hunted or "harvested".
The
search, capture and release, or capture to eat of the fish is called
fishing, which is not usually classified as a type of hunting, although
many hunters can also fish. The capture is also usually considered as a separate activity. Nor
is hunting considered to pursue animals without the intent to kill,
such as in wildlife photography or bird watching, or to "hunt" plants or
mushrooms.
The history of hunting
Before
the widespread domestication of animals, hunting was a crucial
component of hunter-gatherer societies, and is a subject of many stories
and myths, as well as many proverbs, aphorisms, adages and metaphors
even today.
Persistence hunting may well have been the first form of hunting practiced by Paleolithic humans. It
is likely that this hunting method evolved before humans invented
missile weapons, such as the spear thrower or the bow and arrow.
Since
they could not kill their prey from a distance and were not quick
enough to catch the animal, the only reliable way to kill it would have
been to run it at a great distance.
During
the hunt for persistence, an antelope, like a kudu, does not get shot
or throw a spear from a distance, but simply runs in the midday heat. Depending
on the specific conditions, hunters of the Central Kalahari will chase a
kudu for approximately two to five hours for 25 to 35 km (15 to 22
miles) at temperatures of approximately 40 to 42 ° C (104 to 108 ° F).
The hunter pursues the kudu, who then escapes from sight. By tracking it at a rapid pace, the hunter reaches it before he has had enough time to rest in the shade. The animal is chased and tracked repeatedly until it is too exhausted to keep running. The hunter kills him at close range with a spear.
Persistence hunting is still practiced by hunter-gatherers (Bushmen) in the central Kalahari desert of southern Africa.
Even
when the domestication of animals became widespread, hunting generally
contributed significantly to the supply of food for humans, even after
the development of agriculture.
The
meat and complementary materials of the hunt included proteins
(literally "the most important"), food, bones for implements, tendons
for strings, skins and feathers for ornaments, with rawhide and leather
also used in clothing and shelter.
The first hunting weapons would have included rocks, spears, bow and arrows.
In
ancient reliefs, especially in Mesopotamia, kings are often depicted as
hunters in great games such as lions, especially a war chariot, another
symbol of manly status; Perhaps the archetype is the legendary biblical Nimrod (king).
The
cultural and psychological importance of hunting in ancient societies
is represented by deities such as the horned god Cernunnos, or lunar
goddesses of classical antiquity, Greek Artemis or Roman Diana. Taboos
are often related to hunting, and the mythological association of prey
species with a divinity could be reflected in hunting restrictions such
as a "reservation" surrounding a temple. The
tale of Artípis and Acteón of Eurípides, for example, can be seen like a
warning against the lack of respect to the prey or the reckless
boasting.
Hunting is still vital in marginal climates, especially those that are not suitable for pastoral use or agriculture. The
Inuit people in the Arctic trap hunt animals for clothing and produce
complicated parkas consisting of up to 60 stitched pieces capable of
withstanding temperatures below zero. From the skins of marine mammals can make kayaks, clothing, gloves and waterproof footwear.
With
the domestication of the dog, the birds of prey and the ferret, various
forms of animal-assisted hunting were developed, including landscapes
(hunting of smell, such as fox hunting), hunting (hunting of the dog),
falconry and theft. All these are associated with medieval hunting; Over
time, several breeds of dogs were selected for very precise tasks
during hunting, reflected in names such as pointer and setter.
Archaeologists have discovered what could be the oldest evidence of ancient human ancestors that hunt and gather meat.
The
animal bones and thousands of stone tools used by ancient hominids
suggest that primitive human ancestors were slaughtering and stealing
animals at least 2 million years ago. The
findings, published on April 25 in the journal PLOS ONE, support the
idea that the consumption of ancient meat could have generated large
changes in Homo species at that time.
"Almost
at that moment, 2 million years ago, we see great changes in the human
fossil record of increased brain size, increased body size and hominins
leaving Africa for Eurasia," said study co-author Joseph Ferraro, Baylor archaeologist. University in Waco, Texas. Meat meals may have provided the energy for those transformations, he said.
Earlier, the earliest evidence of eating meat, found at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, dates back to 1.8 million years ago. But
that fossil record does not suggest clear evidence of hunting and meat
collection until more than a million years later, Ferraro said.
Ancient hunters
Exactly what caused great changes in human ancestors about 1.9 million years ago has been a mystery. Some
studies suggest that a shift to a meaty diet allowed for changes, while
others suggest that it was not only meat, but meat that made us human.
More
than a decade ago, researchers unearthed a treasure trove of thousands
of stone tools piled on animal bones in silt and sandy sediment off the
shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. The
artifacts on the site, known as Kanjera, were around 2 million years
old and provided some of the earliest evidence of human species living
in grasslands, rather than forests.
Among the findings were dozens of gazelles the size of a goat. Most of the bones were found at the site, suggesting that their bodies were taken entirely to the site.
In
addition, "we found cut marks on his bones where raw stone tools were
used to skin the animal and to extract its meat and organs," Ferraro
told LiveScience.
The combination of evidence suggests that the animals must have been hunted, not looted. (In
modern Africa, scavengers do not eat such animals because their main
predators, such as lions and hyenas, will consume them completely,
leaving nothing behind).
The site also contained the cracked skulls of larger antelopes, similar in size to the wildebeest.
The researchers concluded that these skulls were probably sacked by the ancient hominids. Even today, the Serengeti is filled with heads the size of a wildebeest, Ferraro said.
"Scavengers
like hyenas will consume all the rest of the body, but they will leave
their heads behind because they can not open them to extract the brain,"
said Ferraro.
The
team hypothesized that ancient human ancestors found discarded heads in
their landscape, and then opened their skulls to access fatty,
nutritious, energy-rich brains. That could have fueled the bodily changes seen later in modern human ancestors, such as Homo erectus.
HUNT: A NECESSARY EVIL?
In
recent times, several schools of thought have developed the promotion
of hunting as a "rich heritage that should not be forgotten". However,
hunting acts as a unique method of survival for the numerous rural
groups in the contemporary world and allows control of the wildlife
population. Any hunting operation allows only a small number of animals to be captured annually. During
this process, biological data are recorded and sent to the wildlife
service in order to maintain control over the general health and
population of the species.
The supporters of this "sport" have also developed tranquilizer guns to merge leisure with animal welfare. Wagner,
a businessman from Fort Worth, offered $ 23,000 in an online auction
for the opportunity to participate in the first hunt and capture of a
bongo (an endangered animal from Africa) in danger of extinction. This auction was organized by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fund of Bisbee. The income of which was allocated to research and conservation, effort in Africa. "It moved me more (about traditional hunting) because the animal got up and lived another day," Wagner said.
Conservation
societies and organizations have begun the paradoxical attempt to bring
back some of these species by legalizing hunting for the high license
fees. These fees are spent on conservation supplies, equipment, technology and personnel. Animals are often hunted under the law in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.
South
Africa, home of the critically endangered black rhino, has decided to
sell some of the animals to professional fighters at very high prices. In
1996, a man named John Hume bought three of them for $ 200,000 and then
sold the hunting rights to two of them to two other men. They requested anonymity due to death threats, but paid $ 150,000 each to hunt the animals. Hume hunted the third himself. He was one of the first to pay money to a conservation society for the privilege of hunting a black rhinoceros.
The exorbitant fee generated by the hunting of a few is channeled towards the conservation and safeguarding of many. In addition, most of the time, the animals sold to these groups are old, sick or dishonest. Therefore,
the defenders of these hunts maintain that they save the animal the
miserable death by starvation and that they also lead to the threat of
extinction.
A BIRD BY HAND IS LESS THAN TWO IN THE HOME
Tewksbury,
director of the Luc Hoffmann Institute of the World Wildlife Fund,
notes that the Mekong basin of Southeast Asia, through its fisheries,
supports 60 million people while in the United States, shark observation
results. they are $ 314 million per year, directly supporting 10,000 jobs.
According
to Rogers, a researcher in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology at Rice University, 73 percent of visitors to Namibia are
nature-based tourists, and their money accounts for 14.2 percent of
their economic growth.
"The sighting of whales alone in Latin America generates more than 275 million dollars a year. Several studies have shown how turtles are worth more alive than dead, "said Tewksbury.
The
lemurs, the famous large-eyed primates that are found only on the
island of Madagascar, are one of the critically endangered species on
Earth. Like
the lions in Zimbabwe, lemurs are a major tourist attraction for
Madagascar and will always generate more profits for more people alive
than dead.
Pablo
Escobar, the infamous multimillionaire of drug trafficking, was the
owner of four African hippopotamuses and when his farm was liquidated,
the hippos became too dangerous to even approach and were allowed to
roam freely. They raised a total of 16, one of whom was subsequently shot in self-defense. The rest are still in the Magdalena River.
GOING
The
murder of Cecil, one of Zimbabwe's most beloved wild animals, is only
the tip of the iceberg when it comes to thousands of animals captured by
poachers each year. Some
are captured by hunters, others by organized criminals who want to sell
different parts (it was reported that the rhino horn sold for $ 65,000
for 2.2 pounds, which makes it more expensive by weight than gold,
diamond or cocaine) . Sometimes they are impoverished people looking for an easy catch or a square meal. Either way the animal ends up dying. Whatever the motivation of the poacher, they are elbowing these iconic animals to the edge.
Human
beings have caused 322 extinctions of animals in the last 500 years,
with two thirds of those that have occurred in the last two centuries. This rate of extinction has not been unprecedented since the dinosaurs finished their reign 65 million years ago.The
most complete data from the survey indicated that 100,000 African
elephants were looted across the continent between 2010 and 2012.
According to those figures, in 2011 alone, poachers killed approximately
one in 12 African elephants. We know that they are terribly endangered, but their total number is still between 450,000 and 700,000 today. In 1900, there were 10 million. Most
of them were killed by hunting for legal trophies before African
nations began protecting them in the mid-twentieth century. Today, most of the dead are the result of illegal poaching. Although
ivory is internationally banned, it remains popular among the rich,
especially in Asia, and poachers earn $ 5,000 per pair of tusks.
Humans are killing tigers faster than they are destroying their habitat. The disturbing evidence that poaching is the biggest threat to tigers: "Empty Forest Syndrome." Approximately 620,000 square miles of what should be a tiger habitat is currently unoccupied.
For
all sea turtles, including leatherbacks and green turtles that are also
on the receiving end of the deadly attention of poachers, poaching is
potentially catastrophic. Animals
take so long to reach reproductive age (more than 30 years, in some
cases) that many die before they have a chance to reproduce.
Hunting
for animals to establish respect in society, hunting for leisure and
hunting for smuggled exotic species to earn a lot of money are practiced
in many parts of the world, especially among elite groups or parts of
Africa.
When hunting is unnecessary, it is barbaric. Sometimes, hunting falls into the category of necessary evil. But
when the goal is simply the pleasure of stalking and killing, or the
pride of a "trophy," the need is absent and you must ask yourself what
is left and what is next.