Sunday, January 24, 2010
A Natural Beauty
The Ivory- Billed Woodpecker is more than just a bird. It represents life, a chance for a second chance for a beautiful species. It represents the underdog coming out on top, like a flower finding the ability to grow through a crack in the sidewalk. The evidence that has been established in regards to this particular bird are not exactly up to par. Two ordinary men in a boat swear they see it and get a video that looks like a simple blur through trees. The beauty of this bird is that it may roam free where humans are afraid to tread, they are fearless. While we were going through all the recorded "evidence" in class and continuing to read about this particular bird it comes to my attention that this bird thrives or use to thrive are in the depths of forest. This bird lives in the shadows, so in all honesty we really have no idea how many there are. Scientists, or maybe even most people would disagree with that statement but I say let them. What irritates me in a way that we are spending countless millions are trying to tract a bird that purposely wants to be left alone. If we as humans have already caused the destruction of such a species via deforestation, etc. should we not at least leave the possible rebirth of this species alone and let nature take its course?
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This comment has understanding, but lacks the logic. I believe that a bird of this nature does inherently want to be left alone. At the same time we have to think about the times we live in. Deforestation everywhere, scarce recourses, and that’s just naming a few. The ivory-billed woodpecker is, in a word, beautiful, but what we are trying to do is figure out if it still exists and to preserve this majestic creature. Think about it this way, if someone were to come into your house eat all your food, break all your possessions, and take whatever they pleased and left you stranded to pick up the pieces, wouldn’t you want them to fix it? We are playing God in a sense, but we just want to “fix what we broke”. Nature cannot take its course with inhibiters, and we are the primary one.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, I understand your question and doubts.
ReplyDeleteI am also not sure how we as humans should behave in this case or similar ones. On the one hand, I sometimes doubt if we are allowed to intervene in nature again. We say it is our very best intention - but sometimes this leads to the worst case.
On the other hand, my first intention always is: we have to recoup as much as possible. Men destroyed the woodpecker's habitat, so men have to 'rebuild' it, or give a chance that it can grow/develop again.
I cannot help myself, but whenever I think about this dilemma (if it is one at all), I finally get the impression that doing nothing is as if we abdicate our responsibility.
I see your point that nature should be allowed to take its course naturally, but the thing is, we’ve already messed everything up and changed the naturally occurring course. It’s time we cleaned up after ourselves. The one thing about the ivory-billed woodpecker I keep thinking about is the way it is described as the “Lord God” Bird, with its “charisma” and “magical personality” the Rosen article describes. It seems like a smart kind of bird, you know, and the species has obviously been taking care of itself if it hasn’t become completely extinct after all these years. I think the reason why environmentalists are trying so hard to resurrect the species entirely is because we naturally feel guilty after seeing all of the repercussions of our actions----i.e., lumbering---and watching this really beautiful species disappear.
ReplyDeleteI understand your point that we should leave the species alone because we have already done so much damage, but I also think it is our responsibility to fix what we have destroyed. This bird does not do well in camptivity, so we must be causious of how we try to help it. It is a new chance to help bring diversity and "specialists" back to the environment.
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