Charles Waterton and preservation

Such a fragile world we live in; so fragile that what was once thriving can disappear forever. Let us take for example the Dodo Bird. Though it is often thought of with a chuckle; for its name sounds rather silly…its existence was once quite real. A rather large bird of about 3 feet tall, it lived comfortably near Madagascar on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It was first documented by the Dutch when they inhabited the island as a penal colony in the 15th century. As history recalls, it had no natural predators and as such was fearless of humans. Being that they were flightless, they were also easy prey… as one can see where this is leading …. seafarers who used the island as a stop-over point came ashore hungry and along with the animals brought to the island, the poor birds had little chance and have been extinct since the last one in 1681.

We know that the world revolves around progress in many forms; and as we take this into account there is a positive mindset … humans need to be respectful of the world and its creatures. But in spite of this positive attitude…unfortunately, the number of species around the world that are threatened or endangered continues to climb; just as some species have been delisted for a variety of reasons … This month the Grey Wolf was removed from endangered status … however this delisting has become a contested debate for many environmental groups that maintain a continued need for its protection.

The bald eagle is a true success story for recovery… flourishing in numbers, whereby after having been nearly eradicated, in 2009 it was delisted from the Federal Endangered list and does not need protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Sometimes an animal goes off and on a list; such as the Grizzly bear. By 1975 most had disappeared from the lower 48 states mainly due to habitat destruction, roads and reduction of large wildland areas. But thanks to Endangered Species Act protections, the Yellowstone grizzly bear population increased from around 224 bears in 1975 to 582 in 2010. Henceforth, it was delisted in 2007. But then a “grizzly” turn- of- events took place due to more habitat loss and global warming, relisting the poor animal in 2010, and then declared recovered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011.

And then there are some species that no longer exist in the wild; such as the Catarina pupfish of Mexico and the Hawaiian crow, also known as the Aumaka….which perhaps actually makes them extinct. It is no wonder that the sight or sound of an animal in the wild makes us sigh with awe; from the flutter of a yellow tail butterfly, the hovering of a dragon fly over water, to that “once in a while” lucky glimpse of a wading heron; who else but Mother Nature and her family could offer us such life…

So today I bring back Charles Waterton, English naturalist and explorer whose words dating back to 1824 are significant and profound. I invite you to find a few moments and as you are reading be heartened by his insight that still hold so true today. From his book Wanderings in South America, allow me to make room for Mr. Waterton as we interrupt his thoughts about Philadelphia.

“…The extensive squares of this city are ornamented with well-grown and luxuriant trees. Its unremitting attention to literature might cause it to be styled the Athens of the United States. Here learning and science have taken up their abode. The literary and philosophical associations, the enthusiasm of individuals, the activity of the press and the cheapness of the publications ought to raise the name of Philadelphia to an elevated situation in the temple of knowledge.

From the press of this city came Wilson’s famous Ornithology. By observing the birds in their native haunts he has been enabled to purge their history of numberless absurdities which inexperienced theorists had introduced into it. It is a pleasing and a brilliant work. We have no description of birds in any European publication that can come up to this. By perusing Wilson’s Ornithology attentively before I left England I knew where to look for the birds, and immediately recognised them in their native land.

Since his time I fear that the white-headed eagles have been much thinned. I was perpetually looking out for them, but saw very few. One or two came now and then and soared in lofty flight over the Falls of Niagara. The Americans are proud of this bird in effigy, and their hearts rejoice when its banner is unfurled. Could they not then be persuaded to protect the white-headed eagle, and allow it to glide in safety over its own native forests? Were I an American I should think I had committed a kind of sacrilege in killing the white-headed eagle. The ibis was held sacred by the Egyptians; the Hollanders protect the stork; the vulture sits unmolested on the top of the houses in the city of Angostura; and Robin Redbreast, for his charity, is cherished by the English:
No burial these pretty babes
Of any man receives,
Till Robin-red-breast painfully.
Did cover them with leaves…”

Esteemed thinker: Charles Waterton

Oh, the horrors of a ‘mistaken identity’; we have all had an embarrassing moment when you confuse one person for another and depending upon who it is can result in a very awkward moment. Generally a quick apology can be enough to satisfy most, yet if your error is met during a business meeting, one would think you had committed the crime of the century. And then there are those times when an error in identification can become more than a social faux-pas and resulting in an injurious consequence. Let us take the example of misidentifying a suspect erroneously; such as what transpired in the classic film “12 Angry Men”… and then there was the time the poor grey cat was blamed for breaking into the neighbors screened porch, only to discover after the feline was driven away in the back of a van to an undisclosed location… it was actually a band of roving raccoons that had committed the dastardly deed!

Which brings us to a most important discovery that fringes on the tale of a “mistaken identity”… on August 15, 2013 researchers announced the discovery of the first new mammal found in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. It is a rust colored furry olinguito, which translates from Spanish to “little olingo.’ According to Kristofer Helgen, the Smithsonian’s curator of mammals, he and his team first saw the animal in the Andes back in 2006 and have been constructing its family history ever since. But behold… “It’s been kind of hiding in plain sight for a long time….” The olinguito once lived in the National Zoo in Washington for a year; it had been mistaken for a sister species, the olingo. Alas, another case of mistaken identity! In retrospect the scientists stated that they wondered how the animals could have been confused; the olinguitos are smaller, have shorter tails, a rounder face, tinier ears and darker bushier fur than the captivated olingo.

And so, we all can see that even under the scrutiny of science… mistaken identity occurrences can happen ( and probably more often than one would like to admit) …which brings us to today’s blog where I shall introduce you to a more obscure name in the 21st century… the esteemed thinker: Charles Waterton, (1782-1865) English born naturalist and explorer. His adventurous expeditions brought back profound contributions; especially concerning fauna and bird life from South America. One of his more notable additions to science was the introduction into Europe of curare, now an invaluable drug in surgical operations. Considered an eccentric during his lifetime, he turned his family estate into an extensive nature reserve, long before such a concept was ever heard of. From his autobiography, Wanderings of South America, I give you some most interesting observations by nature’s champion, Mr. Waterton …

“…Here I had a fine opportunity once more of examining the three-toed sloth. He was in the house with me for a day or two. Had I taken a description of him as he lay sprawling on the floor I should have misled the world and injured natural history. On the ground he appeared really a bungled composition, and faulty at all points; awkwardness and misery were depicted on his countenance; and when I made him advance he sighed as though in pain…
After fully satisfying myself that it only leads the world into error to describe the sloth while he is on the ground or in any place except in a tree, I carried the one I had in my possession to his native haunts. As soon as he came in contact with the branch of a tree all went right with him. I could see as he climbed up into his own country that he was on the right road to happiness; and felt persuaded more than ever that the world has hitherto erred in its conjectures concerning the sloth, on account of naturalists not having given a description of him when he was in the only position in which he ought to have been described, namely, clinging to the branch of a tree…”