Killing One Owl to Save Another Owl? | National Geographic
Summary
TLDRThe script discusses the plight of the spotted owl, facing extinction due to the invasive bar owl. Despite habitat protections, the spotted owl population is in decline. The speaker, a conservationist, grapples with the difficult decision to use lethal removal of bar owls to save the spotted owls. Long-term studies reveal a significant annual decline in the northern range. The speaker is cautiously optimistic about the potential for coexistence after bar owl removal, emphasizing the importance of biodiversity for future generations.
Takeaways
- 🦅 The speaker is emotionally conflicted about lethally removing birds, indicating the difficulty of the decision.
- 📈 In the early 1990s, the population of barred owls increased, while the spotted owl population declined.
- 🔍 Habitat models indicated suitable habitats for spotted owls, yet their numbers continued to decrease.
- 🤔 The only feasible solution considered was the lethal removal of barred owls due to the difficulty of capturing them and uncertainty about what to do with them afterward.
- 📉 Long-term studies in the late 80s and early 90s showed a gradual decline in spotted owl populations, especially in Washington.
- 🏞️ Initial expectations were that protecting habitat would stabilize or increase spotted owl populations, but this did not happen.
- 🐾 Barred owls were found to invade spotted owl territories, causing physical confrontations and displacement.
- 🛡️ Two choices were presented: do nothing and allow spotted owls to go extinct, or control barred owl populations to allow coexistence.
- 📈 After initiating the removal of barred owls, spotted owl populations started to increase, suggesting the removal had a positive effect.
- 🧪 The speaker suggests experimental removal of barred owls to measure the effect on spotted owls from a scientific perspective.
- 🌿 The speaker believes in managing habitat for spotted owls and other old forest species, but is doubtful about long-term management of barred owls.
- 💔 The speaker expresses disappointment and disheartenment at the continued decline of the spotted owl population despite habitat protection efforts.
- 🌍 The speaker emphasizes the importance of protecting biodiversity for future generations and finds personal fulfillment in this work.
Q & A
What was the speaker's initial reaction to the idea of lethal removal of birds?
-The speaker was initially shaking and unsure, finding the idea of lethal removal very difficult due to the birds' beauty and close relation.
What are the two closely related birds mentioned in the script?
-The two closely related birds mentioned are the spotted owl and the barred owl.
When did the barred owl numbers start to increase significantly?
-The barred owl numbers started to increase significantly around the late 1990s to early 2000s.
What was the initial assumption about the spotted owl population after habitat protection?
-The initial assumption was that if habitat was protected, the spotted owl population would reach equilibrium or even increase.
What did the long-term demography studies reveal about the spotted owl population?
-The studies revealed that the spotted owl populations were gradually declining, with an estimated decline of about 7 or 8% per year in Washington.
How were the spotted owls tracked in the studies?
-The spotted owls were tracked by banding them and following them every year as part of the long-term demography studies.
What is the main threat to the spotted owls as indicated by the script?
-The main threat to the spotted owls is the invasion of their habitat by the barred owls, which chase and physically hit them.
What are the two choices presented for the spotted owl's survival?
-The two choices are to either do nothing and let the spotted owls go extinct or to control the barred owls in some areas to allow coexistence.
What was the immediate effect on the spotted owl population after the removal of barred owls?
-The immediate effect was a reversal in the spotted owl population's decline, with an increase in the number of occupied sites.
What is the purpose of experimental removal of barred owls according to the speaker?
-The purpose is to measure the effect on the spotted owl population and to understand if it is feasible from a scientific perspective.
What is the speaker's opinion on managing the barred owls in the long run?
-The speaker believes that managing the barred owls in the long run is not feasible and that the focus should be on managing habitat for the spotted owls.
Why is biodiversity important to the speaker?
-Biodiversity is important to the speaker because it makes life interesting on this planet and they believe it's crucial to protect it for future generations.
Outlines
🌿 Struggle with Lethal Removal for Spotted Owls
The speaker expresses their internal conflict over the decision to lethally remove Barred Owls to protect the Spotted Owl population. They describe the difficulty of deciding to kill one of two similar and beautiful birds. The speaker recounts the sudden increase in Barred Owl numbers around the year 2000, which coincided with a decline in Spotted Owl populations despite good habitat conditions. They explain that capturing Barred Owls is challenging, and even if captured, it's unclear what to do with them. The speaker's early work on Spotted Owls involved long-term demographic studies to track populations, which showed a concerning decline in the northern range of Washington. The speaker suggests that Barred Owls are invading and physically harassing Spotted Owls, leading to their displacement. They conclude that the options are to do nothing and let Spotted Owls go extinct or attempt to control Barred Owls to allow coexistence.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Spotted Owl
💡Barred Owl
💡Habitat
💡Demography Studies
💡Banding
💡Lethal Removal
💡Coexistence
💡Biodiversity
💡Population Decline
💡Experimental Removal
💡Habitat Management
Highlights
Emotional struggle with the decision to lethally remove birds.
Comparison of the physical similarities between the two bird species.
The realization that lethal removal might be the only solution.
The increase in Barow numbers in the early 2000s.
Habitat models indicating good habitat despite declining spotted owl numbers.
The initiation of long-term demography studies in the late 80s and early 90s.
Use of banded birds to track population trends.
Gradual decline of spotted owl populations in the northern range.
Expectation that habitat protection would stabilize spotted owl populations.
Observation of continued decline despite habitat protection.
The impact of Barow invasion on spotted owl territories.
Two choices presented: do nothing or control Barow populations.
Positive results from the removal of Barow leading to an increase in spotted owl sites.
Uncertainty about the long-term success of the removal strategy.
The idea of experimental removal of Barow to measure effects on spotted owls.
Personal view on managing habitat for spotted owls and letting nature take its course.
Disheartening decline in spotted owl population despite habitat protection efforts.
Importance of protecting biodiversity for future generations.
Spotted owl as a symbol of the incredible biodiversity that makes life worth living.
Transcripts
I was shaking and uh I had to steady
myself I wasn't sure I could actually do
it there was just something in me that
seemed like this was so
wrong here's two birds they're closely
related they they look similar they're
both beautiful birds and then to go out
and decide I'm going to I'm going to
kill one of these birds I'm going to
remove them is a really difficult thing
to
do
that's the female that's the male over
there in the early 1990s we started
hearing some bardas around
2000 the Bardow numbers suddenly started
going up our our habitat models
indicated that there's good habitat out
there but despite that our spotted out
numbers started to go downhill we soon
recognized that this this was going to
be a problem and we're wondering what
are we going to do about it and it it
seemed like the only feasible thing
probably was going to be lethal removal
of barow because they're difficult to
capture but even if you can capture them
the issue is what would you do with
them when I first started working on
spotted Al there was very little known I
mean we we knew that they were out there
in Old Forest because there were some
IAL records but we really had no
information on how abundant they were we
didn't know what their Total
distribution was they were just a whole
lot of
unknowns starting in the late 80s and
early 90s we initiated some long-term
demography studies which are they're
studies that are designed to track the
population and we use banded Birds to do
that so we go out and we Mark all the
birds and and follow them every year
this off right here so it doesn't stick
out so far you about an eighth of an
inch sticking
out okay good what the data suggests
from all those study areas is that the
populations are gradually declining in
the northern part of the range in
Washington uh where the we're estimating
about 7 or 8% decline per year which is
really a a pretty it's a crash
basically we thought that if we just did
a good job of protecting habitat that
the spotted out population would
eventually reach equilibrium or even
increase and everything would be fine
we're seeing a continued Decline and all
the evidence suggests that that's due to
the invasion of this whole area by the
bardal bows come into a spal territory
and chase them around and physically hit
them if they can uh and basically chase
them
out we basically have two choices one is
to do nothing and spotted owls slowly go
extinct or we tried to control bows at
least in some areas so that the two
species can
coexist the the the results have been in
my opinion quite um profound in the
sense that that a spotted our population
which was going in this direction as
soon as we started the removal
immediately started going in the other
direction in terms of the number of
occupied
sites I guess I would say um I can't be
100% confident that it's going to work
in the long term but I'm quite confident
that if we don't do
anything that that the spotted owl is is
headed towards
extension I think the idea of doing an
experimental removal of B Al is to
measure the effect on spotted Al makes
sense from a scientific perspective it
it'll help us to understand you know Is
it feasible personally I kind of think
about all we can do is do our best to
manage habitat for spotted owls and
other species that occur in Old Forest
and kind of let the two species work it
out I personally don't think we can ever
manage bows in the long
run to me I mean I spent my life trying
to protect and and and save this species
uh we've done I think an incredible job
of protecting habitat and yet we're
still seeing the population declining
and that's really
disheartening for me what makes life
interesting on this planet is the
incredible biodiversity that that
surrounds us it's what it's what I live
for I mean I think this is the only
chance we get and I think it's
incredibly important that we try to
protect that biodiversity for future
Generations because this place we live
in is amazing this spad is just one
little piece of that incredible
biodiversity it's a piece that I happen
to get focused on for most of my life
but it's what makes life worth living
for
me
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