What we have to remember which sometimes we choose to forget is that as human beings we are the most successful predator that has ever lived on the face of the earth, and with great success comes even greater responsibility. As apex predators on top of the food chain we have made the earth our domain at the expense of everything else, including all animal species. It is an animal’s birthright to dominate, and populate its territory. Some animal species are more successful than others, and any competition is effectively squeezed out and forced to look further afield for new hunting and feeding grounds. As human beings, with a unique ability to reason, we emerged from the African continent looking for more territory to satisfy our curiosity. We quickly spread our seed to the four corners of the earth where today there is not one part of our planet that is not adversely affected by our presence. A book that had a profound effect on me was The Population Bomb written by Stanford University Professor Paul R. Ehrlich and his wife Anne. It was alarmist in that it prematurely predicted mass starvation due to over population. Despite their untimely predictions, the Ehrlichs were on the right track. Our world dominance as an animal species has effectively eradicated every living thing that has stood in our way. In a very short space of time, we have become a monumental success and the envy of all other life forms on the planet. If our success has taught us one thing it is our ability to not only adapt to our environment but to modify it to make our lives easier, and more pleasurable. The preservation of animal species in the wild is solely our responsibility. We cannot rely on wild animals adapting to our ever encroaching environment, so as the dominant life force on this planet we have to fiercely protect their natural habitat simply because we are in the best position to do so.
Jens Ward
Words ④ Wildlife