Why don't people eliminate all cuckoos?
As you all know, cuckoos are birds whose entire existence depends on other birds. They lay eggs into other birds’ nests and let the other birds do all the work for them. Even worse, their chicks kill all the chicks in the nest and force their “parents” to raise only them. And that’s not all, some species of cuckoos even form gangs and will threaten other birds to do the work for them, Mafia style, so there is no fighting back either.
As far as I can see, cuckoos are dangerous parasitic species. They threaten the survival of other birds and can potentially drive some species of birds into extinction. But I’m baffled that no one seems to do anything about it. Googling the question in the title brought up nothing. With such a dangerous species with aggressively invasive lifestyle like this, I would expect people to treat them as pests and curb their population. But that doesn’t seem to be what I’m seeing. Why aren’t people concerned about cuckoos?
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9 Answers
Some cuckoos engage in this form of parasitism, though not all do, and many other species of birds and other animals do as well. There are often efforts to get rid of invasive species, but cuckoos aren’t invasive by definition just because they engage in this behavior.
Not that I will ardently defend all species; I’m just answering the question of why we don’t just eliminate a parasitic by default. I mean, personally I’d like it if all yellowjackets were done away with: nasty, aggressive, poor pollinators, don’t do nothin’ for nobody. ;)
Wow. Makes me now realize why probably Bond villain Blofeld mentions the word “cuckoo” when speaking with James. Seems after his parents both died, Blofeld’s father raised James and he became the favorite?
I would agree if you would expand your definition of ‘cuckoos’ to include human primates.
It’s best to let it be. Let nature run it’s course.
We all have other issues.
Thanks everyone. I think @smudges and @Demosthenes give me the answer I need. That helps me understand more about the inner working of conservation work.
Man cannot create cuckoos so what right has he to destroy them.
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