Predator

Predator

    When you hear the word one usually thinks of a shark or a lion, something fearsome and basically not to be messed with, something wild and out searching for something to eat, something that might kill you without warning...prey (or if you're being hunted, pray).  And while definitions generally list such descriptions (says one dictionary: one that preys, destroys, or devours; an animal that lives by predation), there are also these synonyms listed in The Free Dictionary: marauder, piranha, vulture, aggressor, assailant, assaulter...A person or group that robs, victimizes, or exploits others for gain.  Rarely seen, a predator in the wild relies on surprise, an attack that has to be as close as possible or one which simply exhausts and overcomes the victim; so it is a bit surprising when the top predator now uses high powered rifles and scopes and helicopters, attacking from places far out of sight and safely hidden, giving the victim basically no chance to defend itself, a brave coward but a coward nonetheless.  And now, this scared predator is getting help...from the government.

    Our state alone killed nearly 40,000 coyotes last year (the majority of it taxpayer funded which included hiring helicopters and snipers to seek out the far-flung animals); the grizzly bear will soon be available for hunting in Yellowstone (the grizzly bears in the area went from a population of 100,000 to a current estimated population of 750, but the  decision has been made that they are once again plentiful enough to cause a threat to ranchers), and now comes today's decision to also capture the remaining red wolf population of North Carolina (apparently the LBGTQ controversy wasn't enough for the state) --at taxpayer expense-- despite 80% of the residents opposing such capture (this decision was made by the Fish & Wildlife Service and will thus be federally funded).  Add to all of this, the decision to wipe out the entire herd of wolves by Washington state when a rancher decided to let his cattle graze over the herds' den and the wolves defended and killed some of the rancher's cows (he refused monetary reparation and insisted that the wolves be killed)...all of the hunt was state funded and again used both snipers and helicopters at taxpayers expense (and again, nearly 80% of the population of the state was against the hunt).

Photo: Change.org...worth visiting if you're wanting to try and change the world

 
    So what's going on?  Since when are state and federal governments entering the picture and going against the will of the general population?  Apparently, the power of the cattle and ranching industry is still enough to shed such influence over legislatures (a disclaimer here as I do feed beef to my dogs, thus adding my own mark to the problem).  The urge to protect and defend this industry can be witnessed by our demand for beef (the pace continues as over 100,000 cattle are slaughtered each day in the U.S. just to fill our grocery shelves and restaurants).  But trophy hunting I simply do not comprehend, especially when any accident such as the hunter's car breaking down and the hunter getting hurt results in an all-out additional hunt involving hundreds if not thousands of other hunters out to find the "killer" (breaking news, the animal has already found the "killer").  Now before any hunters out there jump back in response, let me say that yes I do understand the financial contribution of the hunting industry, the $1 billion plus that hunting brings in ammo and gun and clothing sales (this can be countered by the tourism industry which brings in even more), and the cultural history of teaching your children to hunt (I don't get that part either), or the difficult decisions made by wildlife management people who are forced to respond to such legislative edicts (for many of those wildlife people, the wholesale killing of such animals is apparently equally sad and gut-wrenching).  But perhaps what I have the most difficulty comprehending is the need for some hunters to artificially feel becoming the top "predator."

    This was the question recently raised by Dr. David Suzuki as he asked: Predation is an important natural function.  But as the human population has grown, we've taken over management of ecosystems once based on mutually beneficial relationships that maintained natural balances.  How are we, a "super predator" as the Raincoast Conservation Foundation dubs us, aligning with or verging from natural predation processes that shaped the world?...If we are to emulate natural predators, we must look at the types of prey killed.  Non-human predators usually take down the injured, old or young.  This leaves the strongest genetic material to be passed on.  Human predators often target the largest males (trophy hunting) or entire packs (predator control).  In the wild, non-human predators rarely kill top predators.  A Science report concluded humans kill large predators at nine times the rate at which carnivores typically kill each other...Ultimately, natural predator-prey relationships are symbiotic.  Predators not only keep prey populations in check and maintain natural cycles, they can even heal degraded ecosystems.  Wolves reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995 restored the natural biodiversity that had diminished in their absence.  To avoid predation, elk spent less time in valley bottoms, which allowed plants and trees to regenerate, in turn attracting birds, bears and beavers.  Vegetation stabilized riverbanks, beavers altered waterways and soon turtles, amphibians and river otters returned...When judged by this dynamic of upholding natural balances, humans are failing terribly as predators.

    We have entered a new age of man (human) changing the world, a term coined by chemist Paul Crutzen as the Antropocene or the Age of Man (and reported in the recent National Geographic).  Scientist E.O. Wilson reports that already man has about 100 times the biomass size of any large animal, and our efforts to dominate even further are continuing.  But what might we be losing?  Another study in the magazine focused on great white sharks, only the results served only to add to their mystery; in captivity they will starve to death or bang incessantly against the glass walls, some will hug coastlines while others will head for deeper waters offshore, pups that are born will immediately swim away from their mother lest they be eaten, and mating rituals appear to happen deep in the Pacific and at great depths.  But even those statistics are guesses for the great whites are among the last true predators so aloof that they basically remain a mystery.  One thing that we do seem to know is that they appear to know enough to avoid this age of man; says the magazine: ...the chances of a surfer being bitten by a great white shark are one in 17 million; for swimmers, it's even rarer -- one attack in every 738 million beach visits, according to a recent Stanford University study.

    Our quest to become the top predator might have come true for some, as long as the odds are tilted in their favor.  But underneath it all we might want to ask why?  What does it prove, if anything, this taking of life?  One could ask the same of a hitman or a murderer (a question asked by the fictional killer, Jason Bourne).  And how large would the animal have to be before we even question our motives?  A fly or mosquito, a squirrel or cat, a lion or cow...bacteria?  Dominating the world comes with a lot of responsibility, as does our choice to become the top predator and create a new eopch.  We might just want to step back a bit and study the consequences before we proceed.  In the end and before yet another age begins, we might want "predator" to mean something other than what the synonyms described above, something other than us.