Snow Leopard, watercolor on ivorine, ©Rebecca Latham
I went to a lecture recently themed around conservation. After the session, one young woman asked the speaker “but why do you bother saving this species?” If they are so threatened, if it will cost large sums of time, effort, and currency, why bother? Why care? It’s a losing battle.
She wasn’t stating this regarding her own convictions. She was dedicated to supporting wildlife and environmental causes in need. However, she receives this stance (apparently regularly) against her support for saving species.
The question remains. Why do we?
One argument, because humanity has unfortunately aided in their decline to this point. We push them out of their habitat, clearing land they call home. Sometimes they have special needs and can’t just adapt. ..or hunting or pet trade has diminished their population. Are we responsible? Then shouldn’t we be obligated to fix it?
A second point.. as the common idiom states, “Variety is the spice of life”. Do we really want to lose that variety? Forever?
We live in an elaborate web. All species are connected in some way, with each other, and our environment. If one loose thread is pulled, one species falls off the map, etc., things begin to unravel in other places. It has happened already, and sadly, we only see the impact in hindsight. We do not yet fully understand the workings of this vast ecosystem we live in. Are we really prepared to start willingly pulling threads?
Personally, I am the type that slams on the brakes on the highway for the hen mallard and her seven ducklings crossing the road at midday. (yes, true story) ..because, rare or not, they have just as much right to be here as we do.
Do you support conservation? Why do you ‘bother’?
First off, amazing leopard painting. Really nice. And you bring up a great question in your post. Why bother? I personally think it is our responsibility as a member of the Earth to bother. We’re all inhabitants of this vast ecosystem in which we live in, and we all have a part to play. As you said, they (animals/nature) have just as much right to be here as we do. And technically they were here first. A lot of the reasons for declines in animal populations is due to human actions, so it is mostly our fault. How would we like it if some species came and destroyed our habitats and way of life? I really like your web metaphor and the unraveling. In ecology, most species, especially keystone ones, are very important to an ecosystem, and if one falls it could really hinder the whole system. Sometimes another species is able to take its place, sometimes not. But that’s a threat we would rather not want to find out the outcome of, and that’s why I believe we need to bother with conservation.
Yeah, rebecca, I do support conservation and bother about it as well for the reason that all living beings have the right to live till the life lasts in this whole ecosystem. Any human intervention is against nature. When we can not create nature & its manifestations, its a responsibility on all the humans to preserve mother nature and its wonderful habitat.
Love your painting, of course Rebecca. This is a thought provoking post. I’ll throw my 2 cents into the mix – I truly believe no species can exist on this earth without impacting it in some way, and this is okay, because in the end, mother nature always wins. Truly, no species escapes extinction if we look to infinite years from now, including humans. So the reason I am in favor of conservation, is each species has a finite time on this planet. Why NOT strive to prolong it? Having said this, I believe we have a right to be selective on which species are conserved. Obviously, the extinction of dinosaurs – ALL their species, was a good thing, right? I mean, humans would not dominate the planet had they continued to exist. I will go right out there and say that the earth will do just fine without killer bees. And regional extinction is sometimes okay too, I believe. In the southeast, we are plagued by stink bugs every spring – ugly brown bugs that smell like cilantro – not a good thing in huge quantities. The came over in a shipping crate from Asia. If we obliterate them here on the east coast, I will be much happier. It’s probably a good thing we can’t play God and eliminate the species we deem worthy of extinction. BUT, I am in favor of conservation for endangered wildlife.
Debra, Chandler, Michael – Thanks for stopping by and voicing your thoughts. I have been pleased to see so many that are in support of cconservation for species in need with feedback on social media. Hopefully, ‘why bother’ is indeed the minority.