The reality is that there probably won't be any wild tigers when my children grow up. They will be in zoos, pacing back and forth in their tiny cage-prisons, and slowly losing their ability to hunt as they're fed slabs of meat everyday. Their ancestors, like the ones I saw in Ranthambore National Park, will have all been diminished by human selfishness, lack of foresight and greed. Many of the tigers are poached by local villagers who are tempted with enormous sums by the Chinese who like to eat Tiger penis, they think of it as an aphrodisiac. Right. They are also being encroached upon by the endlessly expanding human population and their endlessly expanding sets of domestic animals which need places to graze. Too many, too much, too big, too thoughtless. After having used every tiny bit of earth that exists for human habitat, and killing every other creature that lives around us (expect for rats and cockroaches and pigeons who live among us), eventually there won't be enough room for all the people, either. What a future I have to look forward to.
With this in mind, it is especially moving to see what is the last of a dying breed. To witness this majestic being tramp slowly through its dying home is just astonishing. I am seeing the last of what was lost of this earth, and watching it walk towards certain destruction is both awe-inspiring and immensely difficult to confront.
1 comment:
Ash....I've been trying to contact you for a few days. Get in touch, especially if you haven't received my emails. Need pictures for Shangri-La and Phi Phi Island hotel is a go. But it may be a month before the money shows up, so if that doesn't work, don't book it.
Aunt Terri
Post a Comment