Thursday, September 18, 2014

There Isn't Always A Happy Ending

Survival is a struggle for animals in the wild. Cameras give us a view into the daily lives of animals that was unheard of years ago. Over the course of a lifetime, a wild animal will "replace itself" many times over. Which really only works to ensure the survival of the species since so many offspring don't live long enough to reproduce. If they all did, we'd be up to our eyeballs in bunnies and snakes and eagles and every other critter on the earth. So, we watch the struggle unfold. We applaud the successes and mourn the losses. In either case, it's a privilege to watch.
There are a lot of people that don't "get it." They will laugh with you when you recount the story of the fish that got away. Or the head-stand that a baby bird does when doing a poop shoot. They will seem pleased when you tell them that a bird successfully fledged from a nest. But as soon as you appear sad when something goes wrong, they look at you as if you should just shrug it off. How can 'outsiders' so easily accept laughter and happiness, then discount sadness. So, I find it is easier to go around acting like everything is ok than it is to try to explain to people what is wrong.

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