Wildlife Depletion in the Roman Empire

Hunting has long been relied on for obtaining food and the Romans were no different. Families often hunted deer, boar, and goats for food as well as a means of support. Small scale commercial hunters also supplied markets in towns. In addition to food, animals were also hunted for other purposes such as using their skin for clothing, uniforms, and costumes. During this time there was also a large demand for fish that came from all parts of the Mediterranean. The demand was so high that a commercial fishing industry emerged to keep up with the need. Another common use for animals was during warfare. Elephants were often captured, trained, and used in battle which resulted in a strain on the wild elephant population. 

Eventually, Romans became interested in using animals for entertainment. Animals that were rare and exotic were commonly used for exhibitions and some animals were even taught tricks (bears and lions). The first mock hunt was held in Rome in 186 B.C. Augustus held a mock hunt where about 3500 animals were killed. Mock hunts were popular among Romans so emperors who wanted to gain popularity held many mock hunts. In the first 100 days after the Colosseum opened, they celebrated with many events where 9000 animals were killed in total. This obviously created a large demand for animals and supported a whole industry for the hunting and transportation of exotic animals. For the most part, people didn't really object to the killing of animals because watching gladiators get killed in the Colosseum was a common occurrence as well. These practices exhausted the hunting grounds of North Africa and the Romans were well aware of it. There are still irreversible effects from the Romans such as extinction and impoverished ecosystems. 

I was very excited to visit one of Rome’s most iconic landmarks because the Colosseum is one of the things that comes to mind when I think of the city. While it is definitely amazing to see in person in its current state, it would have been even better to see its original form when it was the center of Roman entertainment. The Colosseum used to include many large elevators that were used specifically for transporting large animals to the arena floor. Around 50,000 people could fit in the Coloseum to watch the bloody battles take place. Spectators even carved pictures of the action into the stone of the building. It is hard for us to understand watching thousands of innocent exotic animals die but in Roman times there was no better form of entertainment.