Introductory Chapter: Sustainable Wildlife Management

1. Introduction

1.1 Wildlife

The wildlife means the native fauna and sometimes flora of a region, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. In various circumstances, however, this natural wildlife is, deliberately or automatically, restricted to vertebrate species, and it occasionally eliminates fish, as indirectly obscure in terms of fish and wild flora and fauna civilizations and facilities in the world. Contrariwise, fish, at least fresh-water fish, is considered wildlife worldwide, as they are part of identical bionetworks and their organization is comparable. Similarly, insects and other invertebrates are typically comprised in wildlife records in a little case in many countries. On the other hand, wildlife is also implied as a word for undomesticated animals alive in the barren, according to the Dictionary of American Heritage and for fauna and flora that raise autonomously of individuals, generally in ordinary environments, according to Thesaurus and Dictionary Advance Cambridge Learner. Traditionally, wildlife includes all game species in the universe, as hunting represents, in the social discourse, a way to approach wilderness. Indeed, according to the Webster’s Dictionary, wildlife means wild animals, especially those hunted for food or sport [1].

2. Wildlife classification

The pyramid in Figure 1 shows the taxonomic position of the wild animals for their description. Out of more than 120,000 species monitored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, up to 17,000 have a data-deficient (DD) status [1].

Figure 1.

General criteria for giving the taxonomic position to the wild animal [1].

3. Wildlife importance

Wildlife is important for human beings for many aspects. Two such aspects are as follows.

3.1 Religion

Many wildlife species and their secretions and creations may be utilized as holy substances in spiritual sacraments. For instance, hawks, eagles, falcons and their plumages and fluffs have excessive social and mystical importance to religious objects for the people of the USA. In Hindu religion, the cow is observed as a sanctified animal. Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha by scarifying animals to memorize Abraham’s spiritual scarifications with God’s love. Many tetrapod’s animals, cows, bulls, goats, sheep and camels may be presented as sacrifice animals during the Eid’s three days [2]. The holy book of Christians, that is, the Bible, has names of various animals as symbols of the Lamb as a well-known name of Jesus. In the Novel Testimony, the Gospels, John, Luke and Mark have instinctive cryptograms. The lion is a symbol for Mark, the bull for Luke and the eagle for John [3].

3.2 Tourism

By the wildlife tourism, animals can be vied in their native or similar environments, from vehicles or on foot. Elephants in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, were quite undisturbed by people and vehicles (Figure 2) [4]. The tourism industry of wildlife is a component of several countries’ commerce of travel concentrated everywhere reflection and dealing with resident fauna and flora existing in their usual territories. It comprises human, animal, environment sociable leisure industry and expedition hunting, and is comparable to great event attributions, which come under the canopy of touristic wildlife industry. It, in modest meaning, is networking with non-domesticated creatures in the original habitat, either dynamically (e.g., shooting or gathering) and indirectly (e.g., viewing or cinematography). Wildlife tourism is a significant fragment of travel businesses in many nations, for example, African countries, South-American states, Bangladesh, Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This industry has a melodramatic and speedy development in the current global era, and several fundamentals are thoroughly associated with ecotourism and sustainable tourism. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), an annual growth of around 3–7% of world tourism industry is related to wildlife tourism. They similarly estimate that the progress is greatly advanced at UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS). Around 22 million people worldwide are straightly or circuitously employed in this industry and share additional $120 billion to the total GDP. As a multimillion-dollar international industry, wildlife tourism is frequently categorized by the contribution of modified tour packages and expeditions to permit nearby contact to animals living in natural environment [5] in Royal Chitwan National Park, Manali, India [4].

Figure 2.

Elephant safari after the one-horned rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis Linnaeus, 1758.

4. Wildlife biodiversity

Wildlife biodiversity is domineering for several motives; they can be commonly separated into two classes: 1) essential for bioenvironments and 2) importance intended for human beings. Wildlife biodiversity allows ecosystems to grow and become more beautiful. From millions of centuries, countless dissimilar kind of animals and plants have been created to live in identical territories. Over time, they equilibrate independently to each other and grasp the bio-ecosystem assembly. When a type of animal or plant is detached, natural biodiversity is compact, and bio-ecosystem could drop its steadiness, triggering it to break down. One of the great examples is the sea otters, Enhydra lutris (Linnaeus, 1758) in kelp (large brown seed: Laminariales; Agaraceae) forests along the California coast. Enhydra lutris feed on sea urchins, Lytechinus anamesus Clark, 1912 and L. anamesus feed on kelp. If E. lutris are removed, L. anamesus multiply, eating large portions of the kelp forest, destroying the habitat and eventually leading to the death of other animals that live there. The whole ecosystem is destroyed. Wildlife biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate. This loss comprises not only genetic, but also ecological and behavioral diversity and is currently not understood clearly. Usually, there are three levels of biodiversity: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Genetic diversity is all the different genes contained in all individual animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms [6]. Table 1 shows the percentage of some threatened with extinction species of wildlife worldwide according to the Red List of IUCN [7].

Table 1.

Percentage of threatened with extinction species worldwide according to the Red List of IUCN [7].

*More than 41,000 wildlife species are threatened with extinction, that is, still 28% of all assessed species.

5. Threats to wildlife biodiversity

Wildlife has faced various pressures in recent decades and has, therefore, attracted attention with regard to research and conservation worldwide. The impacts of human activities or man-made destructions, such as habitat degradation and loss, illegal wildlife trade, introduction of invasive alien species, spread of invasive species and diseases, overexploitation, pollution, changes in disturbance regime, the human impact on the earth’s weather-temperature alteration and synergistic features, are the main accountable aspects for the cumulative hazard of extermination for countless wild animal species. Additionally, climatic or weather procedures together with storms, inundations, scarcities, natural or artificial burning of forests and global warming and other several factors are responsible for the extinction of several local-to-wild species. Consequently, suitable maintenance agendas and actions would be functional instantly to avoid more deterioration in the figures or decrease of the topographical circulation of wild fauna and flora. Advances in technology give conservationists, scientists and the general public the advantage to better understand the animals, their habitats and the threats they can face [8]. Wildlife biodiversity has been continually under threat since the dawn of man. The expansion, removal, modification and use of the land are our goals. The changes often damage natural ecosystems and reduce wildlife biodiversity [9].

6. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had established the Red List since 1964. Then, it has been used as a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. The Red List can be used as more than just a compendium of species, their status, as a barometer of life an effective tool to inform and inspire actions that may lead to the preservation of biodiversity, which is critical, if want all species to survive. The Red List Index (RLI) shows trends in overall extinction risk for wildlife species and is used by governments to track their progress towards targets for reducing biodiversity loss. According to the Red-List of the IUCN, in 2022, there are 41,415 faunal and floral species; in addition, 16,306 of them are vulnerable fauna and flora endangered with extinction. This number was 16,118 in the previous year. That comprises equally vanishing plants and scarce animals. IUCN’s objectives are to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. The Red List has various categories of species: extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, on risk, data deficient and not evaluated (Table 2). The IUCN prepared the Red Data Book to keep a record of all endangered animal, plant and fungal species. Through this book, the IUCN is trying to create awareness about the endangered species [7].

6.1 The red list 2022

The Red List prepared by the IUCN every year is widely identified as the most comprehensive source of information on the risk of extinction of animal, plant and fungal species around the world. The world most critically endangered (CR) wildlife species in 2022 has been given in Table 3 according to the IUCN Red List and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) of the United Kingdom [10].

Table 2.

The categories of species of the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) [7].

Table 3.

The world most critically endangered (CR) wildlife species in 2022 according to the IUCN Red List and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) [10].

7. Protection of wildlife biodiversity

There are many ways to protect wildlife biodiversity. Even though the biodiversity of many habitats has become threatened, there are many things to help reduce this danger. These are some of the steps that have been taken to conserve biodiversity worldwide [11].

7.1 Government legislation

Governmental authorities can take actions to regulate the illegal activities that are taken place by smugglers and thieves in the territories inside the countries. Regulation that guards natural habitats via criminalization expansion, reaping of natural resources or additional humanoid mistreatment consumes an enormous power on upholding usual diversity of fauna and flora. Moreover, rules defending explicit biodiversity as in the US Act of Endangered Species (ESA) supports defend biota that have previously been stuck. Caring environments earlier is the best policy to save wildlife. Government can apply the best laws and regulations for wildlife biodiversity conservation. It is efficaciously and strictly executed by related authorities of governments of all the countries [11].

7.2 Nature preserves

Natural preserves are a system of regulation of the government and are frequently recognized as national parks. The regions and organisms are protected by them. As the fauna and flora have been grown by related authorities of governments in the particular places, where general public can be allowed for entrance for amazements with fee. Here, they have the great opportunities to touch or see them very closely. These are outstanding activities for health. The government guards the natural habitat, and the general public can observe the bionetwork. The object mark is that, over time, this assists the society to do supplementary admiration for the natural world and raise compression on administration and management to keep additional areas as natural reserved. Presently, 12% of global territories are reserved and preserved as national parks [12].

7.3 Reduction of invasive species

If a species is not found in an area, it introduces purposely or accidently, it is called as an invasive species. It causes sometimes economic or sometimes environmental destruction. It may be harmful for animals, plants and humans. To minimize it, it is essential to thoroughly check planes, ships and cargo before they are offloaded in a new country. Moreover, it is necessary to consult ecologists, zoologists or botanists of the region for related knowledge before introducing any new species of plants or animals to a particular area [12].

7.4 Restoration of habitat

If an area is destroyed by different human activities, it should be tried to rearrange its natural or original conditions. It means transporting once again the fauna and flora of that area, which were originally occurring here. It has been shown to be a brilliant practise of recurring the plants and animals of a particular area. An example of that is the restoration of wolves, Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 into National Park Yellowstone. After C. lupus come back to the area, they use more elk and coyote as food; it means that the prey species of the coyote are augmented, and river bank areas (riparian) are crushed by elk expand. Those renewal projects can be accepted by NGOs, local organizations and governments [12].

7.5 Seed banks and captive breeding

Great varieties of plant species seeds are stored in the seed’s banks. If some species of plants are extinct in the countryside, the seed’s banks are furnished these seeds to recover the plant species. When plants are grown by saved seeds, it means that extinct plant species are restored back into its habitation. This is a very serious issue. Therefore, for many years, seed’s banks have been gathering the seeds of more and more plant species. However, there are many seed’s banks that have great storage of seeds. Some seed’s banks store more than 2 billion seeds. As far as animals are concerned, they are imprisoned during upbringing; in the form of safekeeping, the animals are mostly kept in zoos and farms. This topic seems to be very serious and rather debateable, as it needs to keep animals in capitative form that are frequently nearby extermination. On the other hand, positively, it furnishes the chance to augment the colonies of the animals; hence, they can be re-established into the barren [12].

7.6 Research

To understand the behavior of species, interacting with them in their environment is critical for caring them. As individuals have to supplementary comprehend their communication. To preserve biodiversity, and to aid sheltered the creatures, it is necessary to search novel and supplementary conventional procedures to continue the biodiversity. One case is the usage of biota access strip in developed zones. Research shows that different animals melodramatically increase their populations. It reduces the number of animals that originated into straight joining with people and offers a great range for wandering creatures to transfer extensive reserves [12].

7.7 Reduce climate change

The climate change has disastrous consequences for all living things on earth. Huge amounts of fossil fuels are being used, which directly causes climate change. There is a need to move away from fossil fuels towards alternative energy sources and natural or sustainable products. Reducing the effects of climate change requires a worldwide effort [13].

7.8 Procurement of sustainable products

Today, many products are labeled with ecolabels that state as environmentally sociable. Some of the greatest protruding ecolabels are Rainforest Alliance Certified, Energy Star and USDA Organic. The utilization of ordinary reserves is one of the main motives for biodiversity loss; therefore, it is the duty of the community to consume products that are produced by the maximum justifiable and conceivable means. Moreover, when these goods are consumed, they increase demand for environmentally conscious products pushing producers to produce them more [13].

7.9 Sustainable living

It's enough that it can be chosen to do it on a daily basis. Whether it's driving a motorcycle to work or buying eco-labelled products. Its assistances to decrease the amount of possessions have been used. That is possibly the greatest significant method of protecting biodiversity so that everybody can organize the subject frequently through once minor routine fluctuations. If the whole world selects to live sustainably, then a variety of habitats will improve their biodiversity [13].

7.10 Education

There are many green environmental topics, education is one of the secrets to victory. To provide education to public, the essentiality of biodiversity conservation increases civic consciousness of the problems. As community responsiveness increases, the society develops additional elaborateness and ultimately affects their representatives of government, dynamic for extra ecofriendly fortification. The legislation of government takes decision for the development of protecting the natural environments, which is one of the greatest real behaviors of protecting biodiversity [13].

7.11 Role of science and technology

The role of science and technology is indispensable in conserving biodiversity. As the society develops, it continually uses more resources, which sustains natural biodiversity, but development also leads to improved science and technology. Currently, science and technology are two utmost vital gears in conservation biology. The utilization of science and knowledge, precisely ecology, is important to recognize the relations in the biomass. By considering, these scientists-connections are bright to locate the vital-species in bio-ecosystems. These data are utilized to control protection vitalities. They are correspondingly utilized to know contamination and their dropping properties in the interior of an ecosystem. The biomagnification of pollutants in a food chain is the source of enormous complications for topmost predators. That is an always acclimatizing arena of knowledge, and these two illustrations are just ways to utilize the information to expos. Bioinformatic and technology are fetching extraordinary imperative in bio-conservation. Powerful scientific technologies, like biodegradable packaging, recycling, or renewable energies, help decrease the influence on the atmosphere. In addition, scientific technologies like duplication and replication give experts the capacity to transport again the species that are previously considered vanished. However, biodiversity in natural ecosystems is of the greatest importance. It furnishes and delivers the capitals and amenities that are trusted on each new day. The expansion and suburbanization of persons carry a selfless hazard for natural biodiversity. If no steps are taken for minimizing these variations, there will be catastrophic outlays. There are countless works that can be done by science, politics, and also in the daily lives can provide aids and solutions to these problems. As per humans-being wants to comprehend the jeopardies related by individuals’ uncontrollable existence and effort tough to solve, what is previously spoiled and avoid forthcoming damage. The time has come for all of us to bond and preserve biodiversity [14].

7.12 Modern sensors by combining machines

Inexpensive and accessible sensors are accelerating data acquisition in animal ecology. These technologies hold great potential for large-scale ecological understanding. It is argued that zoologists and bio-ecologists can take advantage of bulky datasets created by current devices by the combination of mechanism and learning tactics by field information. Combining appliances and learning into environmental systems could enhance involvements for ecological and zoological models and supervise united hybrid modeling apparatuses. This method will involve nearby inter-penalizing teamwork to certify the excellence of original styles and provide training to the novel generation of data scientists in bio-ecology and protection and management [15].

7.13 Camera traps

7.14 Traditional methods

For pursuing biodiversity, different traditional procedures have been used, such as photographic camera tricks, in which a numerical photographic camera is attached to an infrared sensor to take pictures and videotapes of moving fauna passing the sensor, or in flying, investigations can be work concentrated and expensive. The mechanics and numeric technologies emphasized by the investigations could help decrease the time duration and income obligatory to perceive flora and fauna, although augmenting the efficiency of preservation labours [16].

7.15 Artificial intelligence (AI)

It is progressively utilized to analyze great quantities of protection statistics, such as photographic camera traps, satellite teleimages and drone imageries or audio and video footages, which greatly expand wildlife documentation and intensive care. The non-profit software ‘Wild-Me’ formed a mist or fog-built platform ‘Wild-book’, which utilizes computer vision and deep learning algorithms to take lots of crowd-source wildlife pictures to recognize types of fauna and separate animals constructed on their exclusive designs, together with streaks, points, buttons or additional significant corporeal structures like scratches or wounds. Photographs are collected in the fog-built platform by experts and additional assistants or are obtained from societal mass media, and after passing the time periods, the material-related individual species will be cultivated as additional people, scientists, researchers and contributors form the image directory. The accumulated facts benefit to notify management activities, although the community can track their preferred or desired animals in the fog-built platform (Figure 3) [17].

Figure 3.

Scene labelling applied to a Northern Kenya landscape (Photo credit: Wild Me) [17].

7.16 Use of artificial intelligence (AI) to combat wildlife trafficking

Artificial intelligence (AI) can correspondingly support improvement unwanted or stealing activities. The programming software PAWS (Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security) can take in previous poaching or thieving histories and the topographical figures of the endangered zone to forecast robbers’ forthcoming performance, and project plundering menace atlases and best perambulation directions for guardians. All through the first calendar month of its arena tests in Cambodia in the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS), the part recognized as utmost appropriate for the re-establishment of leopard, Panthera pardus orientalis (Schlegel, 1857) in the Southeast-Asia, PAWS has facilitated guardians double the figure of traps noticed and detached throughout their rounds. Strategies for the upcoming comprise concerning the computer software to inaccessible detection utensils, such as the drones or satellites, to decrease the requirement for human beings to cross the threshold the statistics and increase the opportunity of PAWS to envisage further methods of conservational corruption as well as unlawful cataloging or angling [18].

7.17 Wildbook

The Wildbook was on-going off to recover the chasing of whale sharks, Rhincodon typus (Smith, 1828), which was formerly completed by connecting flexible labels to the fauna that it had not never ever appeared on the surface of sea. The display place has since grown up interested in a massive record of innumerable dissimilar species, together with sea green turtles, Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758); manta rays, Cephalopterus manta (Bancroft, 1829); oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus (Poey, 1861); blue whales, Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758); Indus river dolphins, Platanista minor (Owen, 1853); big cats, Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1758); giraffes, Giraffa camelopardalis Brisson, 1762; and zebras, Equus zebra Linnaeus, 1758 [17].

7.18 BearID project

The BearID Project (BIDP) is developing a facial recognition software that can be applied to camera trap imagery to identify and monitor brown bears, Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758, and updated consequent protection actions has been taken. This stands particularly imperative as camera traps are presently incapable to reliably identify specific bears due to the absence of exceptional usual patterns for many species. Therefore, the team members of zoologists and software engineers have established an AI system using particular pictures of U. arctos from British Columbia, Canada and Katmai National Park, Alaska, USA, which intelligently identified 132 distinct bears with an accuracy of 84%. The project be located already working with indigenous-nations in Canada to implement the new tool within bear research and monitoring programs. The ultimate goal is to expand the scope of the facial recognition software to eventually apply to other threatened species (Figure 4) [18].

Figure 4.

The BearID Project (BIDP) is developing a facial recognition software (Photo credit: Melanie Clapham) [18].

7.19 Use of environmental DNA (eDNA) for biodiversity

The eDNA, temporarily, allows preservationists to gather biodiversity statistics by utilizing DNA from samples of environment, like H₂O, earth dirt, ice or also air. Altogether vital creatures put off traces of their DNA in their atmospheres over their feces, skin or hair, together with many others things. A solitary sample may be containing the genetic code of tens or even hundreds of animal species and can be furnished a thorough photograph of a whole ecosystem. Up-to-date learning has exposed that eDNA can be offered an additional well-organized and cost-effective method for the extensive supervising of global environmental biodiversity. In this case, eDNA specimen noticed 25% additional globally mammal species as linked to camera traps, with partial expenses. Similarly, eDNA can inspect the influence of environmental alteration, distinguish imperceptible intimidations, such as viruses or bacteria, and evaluate the complete strength of a bio-ecosystem, which can be utilized for better safety for the environment. The Nature Metrics team, for example, the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI) team has joined to use eDNA to measure freshwater biodiversity. Ecosystems of lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams receive critical information about an ancient alternated area to update restoration and rehabilitation efforts [19].

7.20 Connectivity for better conservation outcomes

The Arribada and the FieldKit are the ingenuities’ goals to utilize the technology reachable by evolving small-price, exposed foundation instrumental systems. Whereas, the Smart Parks and Sensing Clues (SPSC) emphasis by means of networked-sensors to enhance endangered-part by supervising and administration. All national parks do not have elementary internet or cellphone services as national telecommunication networks do not characteristically spread to these threatened zones. To deliver little-porosity, extended-series connectivity, Smart Parks (SP) organizes a great variety of sensors, comprising gate sensors, alarm systems and animals, automobiles and public trackers, which can track unconventionally on solar porosity, spend small amount of energy and are linked to a protected cloistered net-system located in the national parks. The sensor network pathways and widespread variety of statistics and information are gifted to perceive humanoid intromissions. They can sustenance anti-poaching exertions or animal escapes from the endangered range into the public. They can support pre-empt conflicts of wildlife and human. The data are made available in or near real time in a b-application and can help inform operational decisions related to park management. Smart-Parks-Technology (SPT) has been deployed in protected areas around the world and has helped contribute to the conservation of many endangered species, including African forest elephant, Elephas africana Blumenbach, 1797; Javan rhinoceros, Rhinoceros sondaicus Desmarest, 1822; and Sumatran orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus Lacépède, 1799 [19].

7.21 Protection of wildlife gaming

Even though it was not enclosed by the WILD LABS investigation, games and sports can also assist as treasured devices to trigger spectators by life-threatening preservation problems, particularly between a fresher and a more tech-savvy peer group. The Internet of Elephants, for instance, advances a variety of sportif and numerical involvements founded on technical information to involve public who may not have, then, attracted attention in the conservation of wildlife. Its products include Wild Everse (WE), an increased authenticity transportable sport, where companies drive on preservation assignments in the forest and study, how to make apes protected, and Unseen Empire, which has twisted one of the main photographical camera trap lessons into a gaming knowledge. Players-evaluation actual-photographic-camera trick metaphors to recognize various wildlife species, and in the course of study extra around the shocking impression of deforestation, poaching and other anthropological-activities on threatened-iota, as well as the indefinable apprehensive P. pardus [20].