Page 26 - FWG Issue 4_May_2022

Nature

TO BE BIG IS DANGEROUS

B Y JAMES CLARKE AND MARY BRO ADLEY

We’re in the process of slaying and consuming as the most accessible and accommodating
megafauna to the point of extinction region for tourists interested in seeing the
world’s surviving megafauna. Namibia,
Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe
n the 1990s an American futurologist There, the coastal dunes are five deep and could also benefit.
wrote an essay offering educated no matter how the seas might rise and push
predictions from various US universities inland, they cannot demolish more than the There’s not much megafauna left in the
Iabout what the world might be like first one or two ridges, which is why South world. The Asians have very little. Its
in a century’s time. I cannot recall the Africa’s eastern seaboard would become tigers, its three species of rhino and the
title or author’s name but I recall one of America’s (and the world’s) favourite region Asian elephant barely exist in the wild
the predictions. It was that South Africa’s for beach holidays. and are generally deemed to be ‘critically
southeast coastline would become endangered’. And present-day North
America’s favourite region for beach Last month (April), a co-ordinated effort America never had much megafauna,
holidays. by universities across the world predicted certainly nothing to rival the variety and
that if present trends continued, the world’s drama of Africa’s wildlife.
Even then, 30 years ago, science was megafauna – megafauna meaning the
predicting that sea levels would rise as larger-sized wild animals – will experience The report comes from a global survey
the poles melted. Global warming, unless falls in population and some species would by the Climate Action Network (CAN) set
controlled, would radically alter the world’s be extinct or heading that way before the up last century by many universities and
shorelines. It predicted that, by the time end of the century. institutions. CAN represents an interesting
toddlers of the 1990s were in their dotage, alignment of bodies that share information
the rising seas would have wiped out most Implicit (but unstated) in their findings is on various aspects of environment and
of the world’s favourite beaches – with one that, once again, South Africa by default closely watches strategies affecting
exception, the southeastern Cape. would benefit because we will likely emerge international, regional and national climate

Fourways Gardens • 24 • May 2022