Marisela Montes
April 10, 2011
BIO-100l Biology Concepts – Lab
Steven Lenk

Why Are Big Fierce Animals Rare? Paul Colinvaux an ecologist and zoologist was best known for many perceptions of energy and the food chain; however, the most important and challenging question he ever presented was, “Why Are Big Fierce Animals Rare? Colinvaux’s argued that big fierce animals were rare because of the lack of energy available to them after each step of the food chain. He felt that because meat eaters were the last on the food chain they were the animals mostly affected by the loss of energy which takes place through the stages of the food chain. Colinvaux’s argument does provide an accurate response to his own question, lack of energy available to big fierce animals can be a reason for their rare existence. Nonetheless another explanation could be blamed on the humans. All around the world, hunting is seen as a sport or hobby. The killing of animals mainly to obtain trophy status is actually done as a form of entertainment. In the United States alone, the government has gone as far as setting rules and regulations for hunters such as the designation of seasons, assignment of license to hunt and allotted tags for each and every hunter. It is quite unfortunate that we live in a society which accepts the killing of innocent, defensive animals as a form of hobby. For example, "Bait and Shoot" is one of the widespread abuses of wildlife in sport hunting, where animals are lured into the hunters' sites with food and then mercilessly slaughtered. (C.A.S.H Campaigns) In my opinion hunters either choose or simply do not comprehend the end result of their actions. The cycle of life exists for a reason, animals were created for this earth to help nurture the land, provide food and reproduce to continue the circle of life. On the other hand, the