Planet Earth moment at the beach By Andrea Chase (05/12/10 14:32:27)
Related animals: Hawk, Mice At the beach this weekend I was struck by awe when I saw the most beautiful hawk hovering, still less in the wind in the sky above me. The Hawk had a 5 foot wingspan, it was quite amazing and awe-inspiring, the ability to be so perfectly still riding the wind. I grew jealous, to be so free and playful in the wind. At first I was worried the Hawk was attempting to scoop down and grab by dog ziggy, it seemed to be staring right at us! Ultimately I realized that the Hawk was searching for something in the cliffs that juxtaposed the beach. No less than a minute later the Hawk dove down like a directed bullet right to the cliff side. Looping back up the Hawk had retrieved a field Mouse from its discreet nesting place on the cliff. The poor Mouse squirmed for the remainder of it's life in the Hawk's clutches. Eventually I could no longer watch the struggle as the Hawk began to get frustrated with the Mouse's tenacity. Although the Hawk won the battle for survival in this case, it was just a reminder to me of how human's have constructed an odd world disengaged from the idea of survival of the fittest. Human's ( at least in the privledged United States) are distinctly living in a socially enacted world removed from the daily struggle for life in terms of fighting off predators. A thought that had never occurred to me until now has now consumed my perception of how easily human's now live and reap the benefits of the earth with no real check and balance. [Write Comment]