More than 40 scorpion varieties live in Arizona, the most deadly being the Arizona bark scorpion. There are 1,500 scorpion species, about 90 in the U.S. While deaths from scorpions are rare in the U.S., it's reported that over 1,000 people die annually from them in Mexico, and many times that number worldwide. Such changes will ultimately affect humans in a negative way in the long run.Few creatures are more scary or intimidating than scorpions, and their venomous sting can be a wallop or a whimper, depending on what species delivers the pop. However, a decreasing apex predator population can drastically alter their ecosystems. As a result, many apex predator populations have drastically declined over the years. Since top predators are strong and skilled hunters, humans fear them and have killed them for various reasons. These apex predators include lions, killer whales, and great white sharks. Apex Predators Must Be ConservedĪpex predators are at the top of the food chain and have no other animals that eat them for food. Crocodiles have good night vision and an acute sense of smell, making them one of the world’s most successful apex predators. This technique is known as the death roll. They then repeatedly spin the prey with exceptional force to tear away flesh and inflict fatal wounds. Once their prey approaches, they will strike it and drag it underwater. These reptiles hunt their prey by lying in wait in the water. They are stealthy and boast long, powerful jaws and teeth. Crocodiles are the ultimate lurkers, camouflaged by their environments. Crocodiles will even resort to cannibalism and attack other crocodiles. Crocodiles are one of the most aggressive and violent animals and hunt all animals, including wild boar, monkeys, and fish. Image credit: Archna Singh/Ĭrocodiles are the world’s largest reptiles, weighing over 1,000 kilograms. A tiger stalking a spotted deer in a national park in India. The wolves’ aggression towards coyotes decreased their population, which may have also affected other animals such as smaller predators and rodents. Once wolves were reintroduced, they brought the elk population down and allowed trees to grow along stream banks, which encouraged beavers’ return. When human interference eradicated wolves from the park, the elk population multiplied rapidly and grazed across the land, killing young brush and trees. Perhaps one of the most well-known examples of a trophic cascade is the gray wolf’s extirpation and subsequent reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park. Trophic cascade occurs when apex predators are either removed or added to an area and dramatically change an ecosystem’s structure. According to the trophic cascade theory, predation is essential in limiting an ecosystem’s population size for various species.
Researchers have conducted many aquatic experiments that show predator removal causes damage to food chains. A 2006 study found humans kill over 70 million sharks by finning per year to keep up with shark fin soup demand.Įxperts believe that ecosystems are ruled from the top, starting with the apex predators. Shark populations have drastically declined as a result of being hunted for their fins. Marine apex predators are also vulnerable to human interference. Although there have been many conservation efforts spanning years and costing millions of dollars, wolves only live in 5% of their historic range in the US. In the US, evidence shows that approximately 200,000 wolves once roamed across the country when Europeans first arrived. Many other apex species are already extinct: three tiger subspecies, two wolf species, and one lion subspecies. Some reports predict that they could disappear from their habitats in 20 years if there’s no intervention to protect them. In Africa, the lion populations are under threat due to killing by guns or spears, poisoning, and habitat loss. This dramatic change in their numbers is due to humans killing them to protect livestock or other people, hunting them for food, or encroaching on their habitat, resulting in habitat loss. Many of the world’s top predators are either endangered or have had their populations drop drastically over the years. While apex predators are not hunted and killed by other animals, they are not safe from humans.
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