Of all the continents, the most drastic reduction in wildlife has occurred in North America, where the transition from a rural to a highly industrialized society has been most rapid. Among the victims are birds, mammals, and fish. We will never again see the passenger pigeon or the eastern elk. They have been wiped out.Of many other species, only a few representatives still survive in the wild. The U.S. Department of the Interior has put no fewer than 109 species on the endangered species list.(An endangered species is one with poor prospects for survival and in need of protection.) This list includes everything from the timber wolf to the whooping crane. Even the bald eagle, our national symbol, is threatened.
Animals that kill other game for food are called predators. The predators include the wolf, mountain lion, fox, bobcat, and bear. Attack against these animals began with the arrival of the first European settlers, who wished to protect their livestock. Eventually,a reward was offered to hunters for every predator that was killed. This reward is called a bounty. Ironically, the Federal government is the chief funder of predator-control programs.
The settlers also brought with them their Old World fears and superstitions concerning predators. Whether preying on livestock or not, predators were shot on sight. This attitude continues to this day for coyotes, eagles, foxes, mountain lions,and bobcats, and is largely responsible for placing the eastern timber wolf, grizzly bear, and bald eagle on the endangered species list.
Yet every animal, including the predator, has its place in nature's grand design.Predators help maintain the health of their prey species by eliminating the diseased, young, old, and injured. Predators like the mountain lion and the wolf help to keep the deer herds healthy. Their kill also provides food for scavengers that feed on carrion. Occasional loss of livestock must be weighed against the good these animals do in maintaining the balance of nature.
Overhunting an animal is an obvious form of extermination, but there are more subtle processes that often have the same fatal result. One of these is destruction of habitat. When farmers introduced sheep and cattle to North America, the domestic animals competed with the wild animals for the available grazing land. Animals like the buffalo and the pronghorn antelope, which once roamed the plains in countless numbers, were either killed or pushed off the grasslands. Today, a few remnants of these giant herds are protected from hunters in national game preserves and wildlife refuges.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?
2. In Paragraph 2, the word “ predators ” refers to .
3. Which of the following is true based on Paragraph 2?
4. Predators are important in the natural world because .
5. What message does the author want to get across to his readers?
