...primarily DDT. All 275 knon nesting sites in the eastern U. S. ere deserted by 1964. To our good fortune, hoever, they ere saved from extinction. There are no more than 1,200 pairs in North America, a four-fold increase in the last 20 years.Unfortunately, e still have not roused ourselves to face the real enemy. DDT and other persistent pesticides continue to be manufactured and exported to the Third orld, and the chemicals currently used in estern countries may be almost as deadly. Many contend e must change agricultural practices on a global scale only then ill e be heeding the message of hope the falcon brings.Bald EagleIn 1994, Americas efforts to save endangered species reached a milestone ith the announcement by the U. S. Fish and ildlife Service that the bald eagle had recovered sufficiently to change its status from endangered to threatened in most of the nation. Bald eagle numbers in the loer 48 states climbed from 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to more than 4,400 pairs in 1994. In addition, 5,000 to 6,000 juvenile bald eagles live in the loer 48. Federal protection and tremendous public support led to this recovery -- through stricter la enforcement, protection of important habitat, reintroduction, a strong public education program and banning of DDT, a pesticide that interfered ith normal eggshell production.The first successful bald eagle nesting since 1930 as reported in Arkansas in 1982. In 1995, 18 pairs of Arkansas eagles successfully fledged young from the nest. An eagle hacking program started by the Game and Fish Commission in 1982 contributed to this resurgence. Young eagles from Minnesota and isconsin are brought to the state, raised in hacking facilities and released in hopes they ill return to raise their young in Arkansas. Arkansas ranks in the top 10 states in the number of inter bald eagle sightings. Over 1,000 bald eagles are counted each inter, nearly triple the 368 recorded in 1979.Gray BatThe gray bats range is concentrated in the cave regions of Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama, ith occasional colonies and individuals in adjacent states. The population is estimated at more than 1.5 million hoever, about 95 percent hibernate in only eight caves -- to in Tennessee, three in Missouri, and one each in Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas. This makes the population extremely vulnerable.Gray bat numbers decreased significantly during recent decades -- 61 percent in Arkansas, 89 percent in Kentucky, 81 percent in Missouri and 76 percent in Tennessee and Alabama. The population is no on the upsing, though, as a result of improved breeding success due to better protection measures such as cave gates, fences and informational signs near caves.One Arkansas hibernation cave houses about 250,000 gray bats, over 15 percent of the total population. About 150,000 gray bats occupy Arkansas caves in summer.People ho disturb hibernation and maternity colonies present one of the greatest threats. Maternity colonies ont tolerate any disturbance, especially hen flightless neborn young are present. Thousands of baby bats may be dropped to their deaths or abandoned by panicked parents. If aroused during hibernation, bats increase use of stored fat reserves, and if the disturbance is intense or frequent enough, starvation may result before insects are available in spring.Other factors in the species decline include vandalism, cave commercialization, pesticide poisoning, natural calamities such as flooding and cave-ins, loss of caves due to inundation by man-made impoundments and possibly a reduction of insect prey over streams that have been degraded by excessive pollution and siltationIndiana BatThese small bron bats are knon for their remarkable hibernation clusters. Each bat hangs by its feet from the cave ceiling, and as many as 480 have been counted in a single square foot.Indiana bats range throughout much of the eastern U. S. They number less than 400,000. More than 85 percent hibernate at only seven locations --to caves and a mine in Missouri, to caves in Indiana and to caves in Kentucky.A marked decline has been reported in Arkansas populations. Indianas no longer visit 10 caves here they previously hibernated. A Neton County cave that once contained 7,000 hibernating Indiana bats no shelters less than 200.Currently, only eight Arkansas caves house more than 30 Indianas during their inter hibernation period October to April. The present Arkansas population less than 3,000 is half the 1981 size.The total U. S. population dropped more than 34 percent since 1983. The decline is attributed to commercialization of roosting caves, killing by vandals, disturbances caused by increased numbers of spelunkers and bat banding programs, use of bats as laboratory experimental animals and possible insecticide poisoning. Some inter hibernacula are unstable as a result of blocking or impeding airflo into the caves and thereby changing the caves climate.One Arkansas hibernation cave as fenced by the National Park Service to protect Indiana and gray bats. Four additional hibernation caves in the Ozark National Forest and one on Buffalo National River lands are closed to the public and posted ith signs to protect bat colonies. Protecting these caves may result in an increase in bat populations at these caves, but experts say its unlikely Indiana bats ill recolonize abandoned caves.Only male Indiana bats have been found in Arkansas during summer. Females migrate northard to maternity roosts north of the Ozarks.Ozark Big-Eared BatThis bat is aptly named, for its ears are of comic-book proportions. Theyre usually curled hen the animal rests, like miniature rams horns. Lump-nosed bat is another common name, a reference to a conspicuous protuberance beteen the nostril and eye.About 1,700 Ozark big-eareds remain. Approximately 1,400 inhabit a fe caves in eastern Oklahoma. The rest live in to Arkansas caves -- a hibernation cave and a nearby maternity cave in the Ozarks. A Missouri population is no considered extinct.Human disturbance and anton killing at caves are the primary reasons for their endangered status. Predation at cave entrances by feral house cats, raccoons, screech ols, bobcats and snakes may also be a factor in their decline. Intensive efforts to protect Ozark big-eared bats in Oklahoma led the Fish and ildlife Service to establish the Oklahoma Bat Cave National ildlife Refuge. The Arkansas hibernation cave is oned and protected by the Natural Heritage Commission, and the oner of the maternity cave has entered into an agreement to protect that site.Pallid SturgeonLittle is knon about the pallid sturgeon. This bottom-feeding fish reaches 68 pounds but is rarely observed and infrequently taken on hook-and-line. Even historical records are sketchy, for the species as not formally distinguished from the more-common shovelnose sturgeon until 1905.Pallid sturgeons are rare throughout their range, hich includes the Missouri River and the Mississippi River belo St....
Download