Wolves, Ignorance, and the Oh-Holy Dollar

While sitting in the library I thumbed through the magazine, Alaska. It seemed like a good idea at the time - after all - I lived in this wondrous place as a child. I flipped the pages to the "letters" section and read with horror ". . . let the wolves die. . . . I go to visit Alaska to see moose and caribou not cowardly wolves." I blinked in horror. The author, a resident of Tennessee, went on to explain how "those conservationists" have had the audacity to reintroduce wolves and, heaven forbid, rattlers, to the Tennessee landscape. It's against the law to shoot them I'm informed by the author, but by golly the tax paying citizens of Tennessee get to reimburse ranchers and farmers for the livestock killed by these horrible creatures. I then read that wolves are, apparently, entitled to lamb chops and steaks and that the author is just sure that those conservationists live in 7-story condos [rules out NYC] where there aren't rattlers or wolves!

Not only was this letter appalling, it was frightening in its depth of ignorance. First - it is fact that the more habitat humans destroy or claim, the less there is to sustain other forms of life. This reduction often leads to the disappearance or even extinction of wildlife species. Second - we live in the time period of greatest extinction rates. We destroy hundreds of acres of rainforest daily, raze forests for logging and building, drain swamps and lakes, and dump pollutants in the air, water, and soil in the form of car exhaust, pesticides, herbicides, and manufacturing waste - all in the name of humanity and "progress." Yes, humans do impact life on Earth, and have been doing so since we hit the savannah on two legs. We are living beings who happen to reside on this planet. As such, we are highly successful - being able to adapt to different environs and over-power or kill other living creatures for our survival. From the earliest days of pastoralism in Africa at the Dahkleh Oasis in Egypt, wild beasts were kept away from watering holes and wild herbivores kept away from lush grasses so that the pastoralists' livestock would be safe and fed. This practice lead to the disappearance and extinction of several species. In the American West, great herds of buffalo were slaughtered in the name of Indian annhilation - in affect, whites chose to starve the competition. The added bonus for the reduction of buffalo was that locomotives could travel unhindered across the vast plains.

Humans are part of Earth's ecosystem; however, if people are supposedly "advanced, superior," and are to have "dominion" over plants and animals - perhaps we should recognize our responsibility and stop acting like spoiled children who feel they are entitled to whatever they want all in the name of the oh-holy dollar. I had the great fortune to see the Grand Canyon as my grandfather saw it; watched moose nibble bark off a tree in winter; watched bears eat wild berries, saw eagles soar on invisible air currents, and heard the eerie - yet majestic - call of wolves. God bless capitalism, egotism, corporations, and the church of Wal-Mart. Death to wolves! Amen.

Live harmoniously with nature. Appreciate Her beauty.