Note: This is a repost from my old Philippine Wildlife website
Postscript
A young man seeking god asked an old man, “Please tell me, how can I see god?” the old man replied, “I don’t think I can help you with that. You see I have a different problem.” The old man then looked at the young man’s eyes and said, “I cannot not see god.”
— anonymous
Why wildlife? Admittedly we have a ton of environmental problems. There is pollution – air, water, ground, noise and light – and there is overpopulation. We have toxic and non-biodegradable wastes, deforestation, ozone depletion, global warming, drought and others that are very real and others not so. And these problems have dire and direct effects on humanity.
But somehow, the facts and reports that the earth will have a 5% temperature increase a hundred years from now, or that the world water level will rise another 2%, or that Filipinos now number 76.4 million, or that our water supply is being contaminated with heavy metals, or that we are running out of forests to absorb the carbons in the air do not touch base easily. Many can’t comprehend the enormity of the problems because the problems maybe too enormous to comprehend. Many are complacent and will remain complacent until these problems are truly felt.
So why wildlife? Do you know the feeling that death only becomes important to you, or that you only think about death when it creeps very near you, when you find it in the vicinity? It is human nature, I guess, to feel and understand the loss when it affects us, only when it affects us; when the loss is something we have been attached to, when the loss is someone we love, we like or we know. We only twitch in our seat when there is a link between us and the life lost. Many of us will only awaken from the comfort of our slumber and to the reality of death when it stares deeply into our eyes.
And next to human life, we seem to value animal life next. Somehow, we find animals easy to like and easier to love. We are interested by their movements, entertained by their antics, amused by their ways, and endeared by their nature. We find it easy to establish a connection with them, both domestic and wild. Domestic animals we have called our best friends and we have always had a connection with them. Wildlife on the other hand we have always admired. The older generation grew up with wildlife and they are full of stories about them. The present generation is struggling to find them and struggling even more to retain them. The future generation might never experience them that is why all efforts are geared towards their participation in conservation.
The experience of wildlife is both unique and unforgettable. Seeing wildlife in the wild or in captivity or even in photographs, video or film, or reading about them or hearing about them establishes a human bond – a correlation of sorts that even borders on kinship. It brings back certain perspectives on our webbed life and it pulls us down to baser things. And once we have established this connection, their death and disappearance will be felt, will be understood, will be recognized. Once we have formed a link, we become open to their plight, and there is an allowance for feelings of sympathy and empathy on their endangered predicament. And this predicament more often than not we have brought upon them. We have introduced them to unnatural despair and to untimely death. But death they say is never timely. More true when it is in our hands.
I’m not preaching here but understanding and appreciating wildlife brings us an inch closer to seeing life (whatever life means) as a bigger picture. Stepping closer to the fabrics and threads somehow carries us farther from the quilt thereby seeing it more broadly.
Why wildlife? Because wildlife is like magic: it makes a profound impression on the young and the wonder sticks to you as you grow. You can never let it go, you can never shake it off. At the same time life in the wild is an indicator. They tell us how things are and how things might be for us. Their demise might be a clue to ours, too, in the not so distant future.
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Why Wildlife?
Note: This is a repost from my old Philippine Wildlife website
Postscript
A young man seeking god asked an old man, “Please tell me, how can I see god?” the old man replied, “I don’t think I can help you with that. You see I have a different problem.” The old man then looked at the young man’s eyes and said, “I cannot not see god.”
— anonymous
Why wildlife? Admittedly we have a ton of environmental problems. There is pollution – air, water, ground, noise and light – and there is overpopulation. We have toxic and non-biodegradable wastes, deforestation, ozone depletion, global warming, drought and others that are very real and others not so. And these problems have dire and direct effects on humanity.
But somehow, the facts and reports that the earth will have a 5% temperature increase a hundred years from now, or that the world water level will rise another 2%, or that Filipinos now number 76.4 million, or that our water supply is being contaminated with heavy metals, or that we are running out of forests to absorb the carbons in the air do not touch base easily. Many can’t comprehend the enormity of the problems because the problems maybe too enormous to comprehend. Many are complacent and will remain complacent until these problems are truly felt.
So why wildlife? Do you know the feeling that death only becomes important to you, or that you only think about death when it creeps very near you, when you find it in the vicinity? It is human nature, I guess, to feel and understand the loss when it affects us, only when it affects us; when the loss is something we have been attached to, when the loss is someone we love, we like or we know. We only twitch in our seat when there is a link between us and the life lost. Many of us will only awaken from the comfort of our slumber and to the reality of death when it stares deeply into our eyes.
And next to human life, we seem to value animal life next. Somehow, we find animals easy to like and easier to love. We are interested by their movements, entertained by their antics, amused by their ways, and endeared by their nature. We find it easy to establish a connection with them, both domestic and wild. Domestic animals we have called our best friends and we have always had a connection with them. Wildlife on the other hand we have always admired. The older generation grew up with wildlife and they are full of stories about them. The present generation is struggling to find them and struggling even more to retain them. The future generation might never experience them that is why all efforts are geared towards their participation in conservation.
The experience of wildlife is both unique and unforgettable. Seeing wildlife in the wild or in captivity or even in photographs, video or film, or reading about them or hearing about them establishes a human bond – a correlation of sorts that even borders on kinship. It brings back certain perspectives on our webbed life and it pulls us down to baser things. And once we have established this connection, their death and disappearance will be felt, will be understood, will be recognized. Once we have formed a link, we become open to their plight, and there is an allowance for feelings of sympathy and empathy on their endangered predicament. And this predicament more often than not we have brought upon them. We have introduced them to unnatural despair and to untimely death. But death they say is never timely. More true when it is in our hands.
I’m not preaching here but understanding and appreciating wildlife brings us an inch closer to seeing life (whatever life means) as a bigger picture. Stepping closer to the fabrics and threads somehow carries us farther from the quilt thereby seeing it more broadly.
Why wildlife? Because wildlife is like magic: it makes a profound impression on the young and the wonder sticks to you as you grow. You can never let it go, you can never shake it off. At the same time life in the wild is an indicator. They tell us how things are and how things might be for us. Their demise might be a clue to ours, too, in the not so distant future.
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