A Ravaged Mother

By John Klyce

Theres an old Memphis legend that says Davy Crockett once washed onto our

Mississippi shores after his raft started to sink.

Of course, the 1820s Memphis Crockett likely stumbled upon would have painted a much

different picture than the one we see today. Then a densely wooded area and haven for wildlife,

the mid-south played host to a multitude of creatures. Cougars prowled through the forest, black

bears shimmied up trees and red wolves meandered down to the rivers edge for a drink while

hawks soared through the sky.

It was a majestic scene, and one that could emulate the national parks of today. But

somewhere down the line, things changed. Industrialization and titans of capita took over, and

mother-nature was ravaged for our pleasure.

Passenger pigeons, an American bird which once made up 25 to 40 percent of the

American bird population, was hunted to extinction by 1914. The bison of the prairie were

massacred for sport, and the thylacine, a timid, striped carnivorous marsupial of Australia, was

wiped out by ranchers.

And if were not careful, the same thing is going to happen to living species, only on a

grander scale.

Its confounding that we havent yet learned from our past mistakes. Because while the

worlds black bear population has remained stable, cougar numbers have plummeted, and the

animal has been on the verge of extinction multiple times. According to the World Wild Life
fund, constant hunting and habitat encroachment consistently threatens the animals throughout

their range.

In Indonesia, deforestation for the sake of palm oil has pushed orangutans to survivals

brink, with the population going from 230,000 a century ago to just over 60,000 today, according

to the WWF.

Of course, these are just examples of the hundreds of species that could be wiped from

the face of the planet.

If were not careful, we could lose many more, as black rhinos, mountain gorillas, and

Amur leopards are critically endangered, while sea lions, snow leopards, chimpanzees and

African elephants are in trouble as well.

Yet elephants continue to be slaughtered for their tusks, and the forests in which gorillas

reside continue to be destroyed.

Perhaps if we stopped and truly admired the environments splendor our actions might

change. And I mean not just on family trips to the mountains and beach, but in our everyday

lives.

For even in a world where towers rise faster than trees and children prefer to catch

Pokmon on their phones than observe actual animals outside, the beauty of nature lives on.

Have you ever caught a glimpse of the soft brown eyes of a squirrel before it scurries up a

tree, or listened to the pitter patter of a blue jays feet as it scampers across the ground?

What about spiders? When you see a web do you instantly take a broom to it, or do you

take a moment to acknowledge what is an intricate and impressive work?

 Then theres the nest of a bird. Have you ever taken time to just breathe it in? A carefully

crafted and beautiful roost that is now the home for new life?

I ask you this question: How can we not appreciate this? How can we not appreciate our

surroundings?

Perhaps we do, but not in the manner that we should. For while we might admire the

beauty of nature, we dont seem committed enough to conserve it. We like the idea of red wolves

on the river banks, but were just content without them there. And while we take pity on the

orangutans of Indonesia, were not ready to give up the Ritz crackers and Kit Kat bars that

require palm oil.

Its a sad truth, and hopefully one that will change soon. But until then, mother-nature,

and her animals, will continue to be abused.

On a recent Thursday afternoon I took my lunch to the banks of the Mississippi, where

Davy Crockett would have landed all those years ago. Standing on the rivers edge, I thought

about what it must have been like when he arrived- a wilderness, unfettered by todays industrial

engine.

But one can only imagine. After a good, long look at the river, I turned around, picked up

an empty bud light can that had been thrown to the ground, and headed to my car, where the

chaos of the city awaited.