Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Thursday, March 24, 2011
March Madness Mascots in Danger of Disappearing?

23 teams in the NCAA tournament are represented by endangered animals
Contact: Taylor Jones 303-573-4898 x1159

Denver,CO-March 16. March Madness is under way, and 23 of the teams that made thetournament are represented by animal mascots that may be in danger ofextinction in the wild. WildEarth Guardians urges March Madness announcers andfans to reflect on the diversity in nature that helps to provide symbolic valueand variety to the sportsworld.

“Theseanimals are not only important to ecosystems and biodiversity; they are importantfor their symbolic value,” said Taylor Jones, Endangered Species Advocate for WildEarthGuardians. “They all embody virtues that our NCAA teams draw on for strengthand fighting spirit. If these animals are lost to extinction, then all theteams and their fans will lose.”

Fourteams—Clemson, Princeton, Memphis, and Missouri—are represented by the tiger. Though thispowerful mammal inspires many, three of nine tiger subspecies have gone extinctin the past 70 years. There may be as few as 3,200 tigers remaining in thewild, and wildlife experts fear that wild tigers may become extinct in aslittle as 12 years.

Fourteams—Villanova, Kentucky, Arizona, and KSU—call themselves the Wildcats, giving them achoice of several species imperiled in the US: ocelots and jaguarundis, bothlisted as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and Canada lynx,listed under the ESA in portions of the US. The fighting spirit of wildcats maylead these teams to victory, but can it protect the cats themselves?

Threeteams have chosen the multi-talented and multi-named mountain lion: the BYU Cougars, the Pittsburgh Panthers, and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Theendangered Florida panther is a mountain lion subspecies that has dwindled toapproximately 100 animals, and mountain lions across the US must contend withhunting pressure and habitat loss.

TheMichigan Wolverines may hope to tap into the enduranceand tenacity of their mascot, currently a candidate awaiting listing under theESA. This secretive mammal lives at high altitudes and depends on deepsnowpack, and is threatened by global warming and habitat loss.

Cincinnatigoes global with the bearcat as a mascot. The bearcat, also known as the binturong,is a burly omnivore native to Asia and considered vulnerable by theInternational Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Ifthe Florida Gators lose, they can hope to make as successful a comeback astheir namesakes. The American alligator’s population crashed and it wasconsidered endangered even before the Endangered Species Act was instituted in1973. The population has increased thanks to protection under the Act, but alligatorsare still protected in the states where they occur.

Thestrength of the grizzly bear, while fueling the OaklandGrizzlies, is waning in the lower 48. Grizzly bear populations in the lower 48 arelisted as threatened under the ESA. They have shrunk from an estimated 500,000 wildgrizzlies in the 1800s to between 1,200 and 1,400 wild individuals. Other bearsaround the world, representing the N. Colorado Bears,Belmont Bruins, and UCLA Bruins, are also facing difficulties. The giant panda is listed as endangeredby the IUCN, while the sun bear, Asiatic black bear, sloth bear, Andean bear, andpolar bear are all listed as vulnerable.

Bisononce had the widest range of any North American herbivore, but now occupy lessthan 1 percent of their historic range. The BucknellBison can only hope they fare better than their namesake in next year’stournament. The TempleOwls werecheered on by the Northern spotted owl and the Mexican spotted owl, both listedas threatened under the ESA. Representinginvertebrates are the Richmond Spiders. In the US, thereare 4 endangered spiders and 11 spiders considered species of concern by theFish and Wildlife Service. The VCU Rams willdo well if they have the agility and fearlessness of their mountain relatives,the bighorn sheep. Bighorn sheep are a species of concern and two subspeciesare listed as endangered.

WildEarth Guardians works to protect endangered speciesthrough public education, administrative action, federal and state litigation,economic incentives, and legislative advocacy. Animals enrich our lives in manyways, symbolic and otherwise. Our work to save endangered species will ensurethat future sports teams have as diverse a choice of mascots as the NCAA teamsenjoy today.