Alvarez, Lizette. "Florida’s Bears Go From Near Extinction to Cross Hairs."The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Oct. 2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
Only a few years ago, the Florida black bear was on a list of threatened species. Recently, a court ruling in Florida has allowed the hunt of these bears to be legal, for the first time in 21 years. After making an amazing comeback in terms of numbers, these bears have moved closer and closer to suburbs and caused, “annoying, and disturbing” chaos in these Florida areas. Many members of these areas are excited for this new prospect to rid the communities of bears, “So far, nearly 2,400 people have bought permits, a number that is expected to grow” (Alvarez). Others, however, are not as excited. Conservation groups and even regular community members think this is not safe for people, as well as for the bears, especially after their history as a threatened species. The hunt will last about a week, or until 320 bears maximum have been killed. Although there are some restrictions on the hunt, (ie no mothers or cubs) this could still be a dangerous practice and harm the bear population.
The black bear’s amazing recovery in terms of population is something very related to the scientific community. By studying this species and their recovery efforts, things can be learned about how to help raise threatened populations. These ideas can be applied to populations of other more endangered species. This is also relevant in political aspects, as hunts like these cause court appeals, and conservation groups to protest. The rights conservation groups have to protect these animals has been a long debated topic in our country, with things such as the ESA, or Endangered Species Act.
I really enjoyed this article, the information was clear, concise, and educational. The article was not too long, with no extra information just what was needed. One critique I would have for the article is in terms of textual evidence. The article provided many facts and statistics that were great, however it provided barely any quotes or evidence to support those conservationists that are protesting this behavior. This article seemed biased in this way.
Alvarez, Lizette. "Florida’s Bears Go From Near Extinction to Cross Hairs."The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Oct. 2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/us/floridas-bears-go-from-brink-of-extinction-to-rifles-crosshairs.html?_r=0
I thought that this review done by Estelle was very concise and easy to read. I thought that Estelle did a good job of choosing the most important information and condensing it into an easy to read summary. I also thought that Estelle did a good job of properly explaining all of her information. For example, when she said there were some restriction placed on the hunt, she went on to specify that no mothers or cubs could be hunted; in doing this Estelle made her review cohesive and made it easier to understand the information. Lastly, I liked how Estelle critiqued the article by saying that it lacked textual evidence and that this could have lead to a bias. I think that it is important to look for bias in an article and address the opposing viewpoint, which Estelle did.
Although this review was very well done, there were areas for improvement and clarification. First of all, there was a quote from “Alvarez,” who wasn’t identified. I think a better understanding of who said the quote would make it more meaningful. I think it would have been helpful to know what allowed the bears to have this resurgence in population. Often times, even after a nearly extinct population is not allowed to be hunted, it still doesn’t grow to be nearly as populous again. I think it would have been helpful to know what allowed the large boom in population of these bears, so that these procedures could be used on other nearly extinct populations.
I chose to read this review because I was intrigued that a nearly extinct population was able to grow to the point where it needs to be hunted. I think that it is amazing that this nearly extinct population was able to grow so large, but I wonder how well the hunting restrictions will work. I think that there could be people who don’t follow the rules and kill mothers and cubs or even shoot after the maximum number can be reached; this could lead to a much lower population. Overall, I hope that in allowing the bears to be hunted again, it doesn’t result in near extinction again.
Estelle's review of Florida’s Bears Go from Near Extinction to Cross Hairs was very interesting to me. Estelle did a very good job condensing the information into a very clear, concise summary which was easy to follow and easy to absorb. I also liked how Estelle seamlessly wove direct quotes from the article into her summary. However, my favorite part of the review is Estelle’s elaboration of the information of the article. Estelle takes the message of the article and focuses in on one part: the population growth in the twenty-one years before the hunting was made legal again. Estelle extends this to all endangered populations saying that through the same methods, endangered populations can be saved.
ReplyDeleteThis review was very well done, however, there are a few way in which it could have been improved. The first area involves Estelle’s elaboration into the survival of endangered populations. I would have liked it if Estelle had elaborated more into this idea and had given the ways which the endangered species could be helped. Also, Estelle states that the hunt “could still be a dangerous practice and harm the bear population.” I would have liked for Estelle to clarify if, besides the fact that some of the bears are being hunted, is there another way which the bear population is being hurt.
One idea that I found very interesting is the growth in population of the bears when they were not being hunted. A major problem is that, even after hunting stops, many endangered populations fail to grow. I think that it is very important for us to research further into what allowed the bear population to grow so that we can apply the same conditions to other endangered populations.