Observe and learn
I must say it always puzzled me. The point of view of many animal rescue activists, who firmly believe that without their help, animals cannot survive. Animals raised in captivity, they say, will die in the wild. They cannot hunt, cannot find food on their own, they will die, die, they say. Well, I don’t believe them.
Yes, it is true. If we spoil the animals and feed them food from a spoon, don’t give them a chance for proper exercise, they will be lazy and unfit for the wild nature. But thank god, they will always have their instincts! That is, of course, if we leave the genetic engineers out of the picture. Animals know how to hunt, how to find food and how to survive. It is in their genes. Even the most domesticated animals show wild instincts. Dogs dig and sniff around. That’s how they find food in the wild. They also bite. Oh yeah, that’s a known and highly punishable skill in our artificial environment. But it helps them fight against predators and survive amongst others.
Another good example is cats. Playing cat and mouse game is actually rehearsing hunting skills. I’m glad someone here woke up from having a dream where all animals are toys in the house and said no more declawing cats. Yes, it hurts when they scratch you. It is supposed to. Cats must hunt. Or else, they get fat and lazy. Take a look at my cat. Flown all the way from Ukraine, she is probably the most domesticated cat I’ve ever met. She eats dry cat food only, never leaves the house and keeps a very safe distance from an open door to assure she can always run inside if things get spooky.
But any time when given a chance, she hunts. A bug, a bird, even a squirrel. She is not very good at it – because she is fat and lazy. But if she had to hunt for food, like her ancestors, she would learn how. There is no doubt in my mind.
The most amazing part of the “animals cannot survive without us” claim, is the one referring to birds. Really, they think that birds cannot fly far enough, but then they clip their wings. They say they cannot survive in this area, but catch them in tropics and bring them thousands of miles away. They say they would never find food. Oh common now. They are birds! It is their job to fly around and find food. Must I say, again, it is in their genes?
In fact there is a flock of parrots living free in the Bay Area. I saw one flying over my head in Mountain View two years ago. It was bigger than usual, typically living in tropics, bright yellow color with a long tail. It screamed something that sounded like my name and flew towards the east bay. There is another pair living in the palm tree near Google’s campus. Now who can say they’ve got a bad life? Worse than the cage?I feel bad for all those animals locked in the zoo and big fish tanks. Their habitat is the world, they know no boarders, they define freedom. But yet we put them in the cage and, sadly, convince ourselves that we are giving them a better life. Animals are not made for cages.
I do understand the real issue here. It is not that animals cannot survive without us. They are far better off without us. It is us, who constantly ruin their natural balance by invading their space with large development projects, which leave no place for them.
The solution seems simple enough. Include wild nature areas around each and every development, making sure wild life is respected. Yes, there are already some. What I see in those places is “no pets” signs. The claim, again, “they disturb” the wild nature. Dogs, for example, they say, leave a smell of the predators, scaring away some precious birds. Hey, they are supposed to disturb. That’s how nature works. See what I mean? None of this nonsense. If there is no one to disturb, no predators, they will get fat and lazy, just like my cat.
We need space for animals. Wild or not. All of them. Let them interact. If a dog chases after a jack rabbit, it is good for both of them. Both get exercise and learn some survival skills. Nature has a way of restoring its balance. If we only let it.
First published on Russianbay.TV by Oksana Koval
Interestingly enough, the San Francisco Chronicle just ran an article about how we are getting detached from nature, particularly children.
“Nature is increasingly an abstraction you watch on a nature channel.”
Richard Louv, the author of the book “Last Child in the Woods.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/22/MN15SJ64U.DTL&hw=Richard+louv&sn=001&sc=1000