Wildlife (not wild life)— Management vs Elimination. You may have noticed that we (humanity) are invaders; wildlife (including insects, etc.) was here first. We invaded their territory and mostly they are not happy about it. Oh, dogs seem pretty happy about it, and cats, well, it depends. However we all are learning to get along—-some better than others. In recent centuries, humanity has taken over a great deal of hature’s habitats; our roadways, cities, agriculture, timber, and development—increasingly encroach on all habitats.
We are accustomed to seeing squirrels, pigeons, all manner of birds, and such in cities and suburbs. Here in Atlanta we see deer, turkeys, beavers, racoons, and coyotes, (those fox-like animals that you used to see only in wild west movies) they are quite common here. As a result, specialized pest control industries have grown up— for deer, rodents, bats, bees, and bears. I repeat, they all were here first.
This contest between humanity and other living things is from the beginning. When God created everything (whether you hold to the story of six days, or to the story of 6 K Billion years)—the story is the same; we are late-comers. moving into their habitats; new neighbors or invaders? Since the dawn of creation, all living things have had to learn, over and over again, how to live peacefully. It ain’t easy. It is necessary.
The Department of Wildlife Damage Management at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, acknowledges our dilemma: People value wildlife for a wide range of reasons. Protection, enhancement, consumption, preservation and aesthetics all have their proponents. Regardless of one’s primary philosophy, there tends to be general agreement that management of damage is necessary when too many of a particular species create negative economic impacts, or health and safety concerns.
These days I’m dealing with that matter of Wildlife—Damage Management vs Elimination—on a much smaller scale; At last, we got a handle on rats that invaded from outside. What a convoluted process! But successful—and $$$. What I now face is a front lawn, thoroughly ploughed by a colony of Moles (That’s the Pest Control guy’s pronouncement!) This task can be manageable. He said.
But I digress; in in my humble opinion, pest control is on lower scale of management. The truth is, we all need each other. We really do. And we need to live in harmony in marvelous symbiotic relationship with all Creation. The Prophet Isaiah describes what has come to be called “The Peaceable Kingdom.” It sounds as idyllic as much as it seems impossible. Yet the Scripture says otherwise; Nothing is impossible for God. Think of things once called “Impossible: Human beings flying, voices transmitted across the earth, human beings walking on the moon, —in reality we live with, and often because of, a world filled with the “impossibles.”
My message is as much to me as to everyone; work on recognizing and appreciating the symbiotic relationship my little plot of earth has with all we who share this green (so far) planet. The Rev. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, noted musician, scientist, and missionary to Africa, held dear “Reverence for life;” —to the point of not killing an ant. Some people don’t go that far. But it gives pause for reflection on the reality of All Creatures Great and Small;—The Lord God loves them all!
All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
‘Twas God that made them all
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2023