Posted by mike on March 02, 2001 at 19:37:15:
In Reply to: Re: They sure are!!! posted by kelphead on March 02, 2001 at 15:51:24:
Sheep, Cattle and other herbivores are dangerous, if not kept in check by two or four-legged predators (or microbial ones). Witness the wholesale and nearly irreversible damage to the terrestrial vegetation of the Channel Islands, Grasslands, and other terrestrial ecosystems by such things as sheep, goats, deer etc (of course, who's fault ultimately is that). Humans seem to be alone among other species in that we can recognize the problem of overpopulation and resource depletion, while other species blindly procreate into famine (of course, we seem to be procreating our way into famine, with our eyes wide open...go figure).
Another question arises of otters (and sea lions); What eats them? What ate them historically, when they supposedly occurred in great numbers in the past off our local So Cal waters?