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Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

latimes.com

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Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#121

Post by duderific »

MadSudaca wrote: post #22
sharkweek wrote: post #7

I sometimes wonder if the earth is trying to remove us, its own infection of sorts. If memory serves this was also the plot of some terrible M Night Shyamalan movie.

Nature has been trying to remove us since the very beginning. The process of preventing our removal is called surviving, we've been at it for as long as we can remember.

We are part of nature, not separate from it. We can either choose to live in harmony with nature or try to overcome/dominate it. When we try to dominate, the non-human parts of nature will try to snap back, or we see unintended consequences. For example, cutting down trees for firewood or paper goods leading to environmental problems.

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#122

Post by jshevek »

romanovtexas wrote: post #115

I wonder if we can create ways in which this will remain enabled even post the COVID crisis. Limit the amount of visitors, keep the parks open only during certain months of the year, etc.

I'm excited about the possibility that the covid experience (and data) will strengthen the arguments and motivations for various ecologically sound cultural shifts, but I'm less sure about the specific issue of bears getting comfortable in close proximity to human campgrounds.

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#123

Post by TYPE_FASTER »

volak wrote: post #85

A month without humans, bears are moving through survey zones more frequently. The problem highlighted here is our methods for setting up survey zones is terrible and is severely UNDERCOUNTING the population. Even more troubling is systems of surveillance like these provide the inputs for the climate change models we've depended on and which have predicted we'll all be extinct in 50 years. I swear by the end of Covid…

Yeah, I didn't understand how hard it was to get wildlife population surveys right until I read about some of the work of MacArthur Grant winner Ted Ames (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Ames). Some years, the random sampling wouldn't find any fish. Some years, it would end up sampling a school of fish that happened to be moving through the area (as far as I understand it). That data is used to determine fishing limits, so it's important to figure out how to survey (local limits might be different in different areas, etc.).

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#124

Post by option »

viklove wrote: post #90
rllearneratwork wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>"I also think we need to reduce how many people visit certain places" - Yes, please start with yourself

Never been to Yosemite, you? I would like to go one day, but I'd be happy to wait in a gov't queue to help limit human intrusion in wildlife preserves.

been there many times. Now only visit in winters. The solution is really simple - for a fixed supply (e.g park) the prices should just go up enough to lessen the demand

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#125

Post by zip1234 »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #94
0xB31B1B wrote: post #10

I hope this inspires our generation. I hope we remember that the way things were recently aren’t they way have to be, or the way things naturally are. We need more pollution controls, clean power, and less driving. I also think we need to reduce how many people visit certain places as the harsh reality is that impact is clearly related to visits. It will mean a shared sacrifice but a healthier planet. Hopefully limit…

> We need more pollution controls, clean power, and less driving. I don't know about the less driving part. Less driving implies higher density living and massive reliance on public transport. I think the higher density and massive reliance on public transport have been one of the big reasons why New York City has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the US and a much higher mortality rate than the rest of the cou…

Hong Kong and plenty of other cities have had the same exposure to the virus as NYC but have handled it better. There are plenty of places that are much nicer to live and have a medium density but are much more friendly to other ways of getting around than cars. The only options for getting around are not public transport or a car. Biking, electric scooters, and so many more.

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#127

Post by sharkweek »

Koshkin wrote: post #64
sharkweek wrote: post #7

I sometimes wonder if the earth is trying to remove us, its own infection of sorts. If memory serves this was also the plot of some terrible M Night Shyamalan movie.

Indeed: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143774-mother-nature-i...

Oh fun I haven't heard of this book - worth a read?

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#129

Post by allannienhuis »

jelliclesfarm wrote: post #3
throwaway888abc wrote: post #2

That's so nice to read. Coral reefs, glaciers, many species ... https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/03/1059061

It’s happening all around the world. Places like India has seen a remarkable drop in pollution levels. People are able to see Himalayas for the first time from their homes near by. Everest gets a break from the climbers. And even Ganges is showing levels of purity never seen before : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/gang... [..] When the ancient Yamuna River in Delhi has reached a remarkable le…

or treat your effluent, or avoid it in the first place? Pretty sure it would cost less than shutting everything down...

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#130

Post by nogabebop23 »

Florin_Andrei wrote: post #101
hentrep wrote: post #5

As noted in the article, the headline is misleading. The population obviously hasn't quadrupled since Yosemite closed to visitors on March 20th. It is remarkable though to see how quickly wildlife is willing to re-enter areas that have historically been overrun with humans!

They define "population" as the number of bears living in that area. That could easily quadruple if bears move there from surrounding areas, which is to be expected if humans are out of the equation. This is no different from the human population of cities - it goes up or down not just due to births and deaths, but also due to individuals moving in or out.

I don't think we'd accept population estimates for our cities as "anecdotal observation from random hotel employee" either though.
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