Is this our future?
Wildlife conservation and habitat restoration efforts have all but died in California. State and federal public lands, already underfunded, are struggling to fund even the most minimal ecological projects that benefit wildlife, both game and non-game. Hunter numbers have declined to practically non-existent levels, prompting dramatic cutbacks in fish and game law enforcement staff.…
In my last column I left you wondering what was going on with the zebra data from Hadza kill sites. Were they employing strategies to conserve game populations? The dry season data would appear to confirm this: Hadza were taking mostly older adult males.…
In my last column, I briefly introduced you to the idea that, contrary to popular belief, aboriginal hunting is not inherently an effort in true conservation. However, there are many factors to consider when evaluating hunting as a conservation tool, aboriginal efforts or otherwise.…
In my previous column on that “management thing”, I make the argument that hunting and other forms of active management, although seemingly counter-intuitive to conservation, in fact promote healthier and more abundant wildlife than does the “hands off” approach to resource management.…
The term “theory” is one of the most difficult to get across to students in the science classroom. We all kind of inherently know what it means, but putting it into practice or understanding how it influences everyday decisions and processes is very….very….difficult.…
I have already written about my father getting his award for completing the North American sheep Grand Slam. We had a great time in Las Vegas (how could you not???). Really enjoyed the time talking guns and hunting with my brother and the guys at the Bergara booth, wonderful meal at the awards banquet and my wife apparently was a hit at the ladies luncheon for dancing with the Elton John impersonator (story for another time!).…
There are all types of hunting and hunting adventures. As I’ve previously mentioned, I don’t hunt with the same regularity or passion as some of my family, friends and colleagues. One thing I can say, however, is that I’ve probably experienced a greater variety of hunting types and hunting cultures than most everyone I know, including hardcore hunters.…
Time for storytelling. As an anthropologist, I can appreciate the importance of storytelling in human cultures – storytelling is an important method to educate, communicate and transfer the cultural mythos from one individual to another. And no human culture does storytelling better than the community of hunters.…
When I was in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, my graduate professor said something one day that that I’ve always remembered. At the time, he was embroiled in a particularly heated debate in the anthropological literature with another prominent anthropologist.…
This week I will be in Las Vegas with my wife, mother, brother and sister-in-law for a bit of a family reunion. We will all be attending the Friday night awards banquet at the Grand Slam Club Ovis convention, where a special member of our family will be honored.…