science

Last of the Wild

Last of the Wild is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Last of the Wild rather than just read about it. In short: Last of the Wild is an initiative created in 2002 on behalf of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University to identify the last remaining 'wild' areas on the Earth's land surface, measured by human influence. By mapping and measuring the extent of human ecological footprints, and using an overlaying method to determine the…

Key takeaways

Last of the Wild belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Last of the Wild to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Last of the Wild from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Last of the Wild is an initiative created in 2002 on behalf of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University to identify the last remaining 'wild' areas on the Earth's land surface, measured by human influence. By mapping and measuring the extent of human ecological footprints, and using an overlaying method to determine the Human Influence Index (HII), WCS and CIESIN are able to establish the areas that have been least affected by human activities (places with Human Footprint grid values less than or equal to 10) which has currently determined a Last of the Wild status for 569 places globally. By understanding where the Earth's wildest areas still remain, conservation organisations are able to maximise on the best opportunities for conservation which, as of 2002, lay within 87% of the terrestrial planet. The conservation of areas identified as 'The Last of the Wild' are less likely to be obscured by conflicts and proposals of human infrastructure and as a result may obtain this status for a prolonged period of time.

See also High-Biodiversity Wilderness Areas Biodiversity Hotspots Biosphere Reserves Protected Areas Conservation movement Ecoregions Crisis Ecoregions

References

External links A-Z of Areas of Biodiversity Importance: Last of the Wild Wildlife Conservation Society: The Human Footprint Geoserver: Data on the Human Footprint

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Last of the Wild

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Last of the Wild claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Last of the Wild before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Last of the Wild ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Last of the Wild

In research: Last of the Wild appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Last of the Wild in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Last of the Wild is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Nature conservation organizations based in the United States, Zoo stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Last of the Wild outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Last of the Wild in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Last of the Wild means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Last of the Wild out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Last of the Wild in simple terms?

Why does Last of the Wild matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Last of the Wild?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Last of the Wild.