Rhinos and Things

http://www.rhinoconservation.org/2012/05/04/almost-all-of-the-worlds-javan-rhinos-documented-in-one-video/

This page has a really beautiful video. Also, a very sad one.

Coincidentally, it's the same video.

So basically, someone's managed to compile footage of about 3/4 of the world'd Javan rhino population. Pretty cool, right?

Yes. And no.

Yes, because these are animals that are almost never seen - even park rangers are lucky if they lay their eyes upon one of these elusive creatures.

No, because the video only has 30 rhinos in it. There were more people than that in my school's last graduating class (our entire school has less than 500 people). If you do the math, that leaves only about 10-15 rhinos off the tape. Sad? Most definitely. And the truth is, that's probably how it's going to stay.

The rhino world has had a rather tumultuous year. While they've enjoyed the successful birth of Andantu, a Sumatran Rhino, they've also had to deal with some of the worst poaching rates in the last few decades.

Barely half way through the year, and the number of dead rhinos in South Africa alone was NINETEEN TIMES the number from 2007.

Slacking off? I think yes. If you can have one year where only 13 rhinos are killed, then isn't there pressure to keep the numbers down? I would think so.

To digress, Nepal has actually felt this pressure internationally. And it's done a wonderfully beautiful job. Even if they can't quite fix that Royal family of theirs, they can boast that not a single one of their rhinos was killed last year. How AMAZING is that? I applaud them, admire them. Finally, someone is doing something right. Perhaps South Africa can take a hint or two from them.

But, back on track. Javan rhinos.

We really need to keep up with 'em. We're like, this close (imagine me holding two fingers together) to losing them like we've already lost so many other species. In fact, we've already lost one of the subspecies. Brilliant, right? The Vietnamese subspecies of the Javan rhino (I've always wondered about the logistics of that, giving that I know my geography....) was officially declared extinct some time late last year. Scientists were even so fortunate as to find the remains of the poor dear, who'd, naturally, been killed for her horn.

Which brings me to the last of my rather disorganized and drifting points. Why is the demand increasing? We've got a bazillion different conservation agencies working around the clock to educate people, to patrol, to curb the trade. However, the statistics don't show it - not one bit. We've got all sorts of big numbers showing growing interest (and more murder), and they're only getting bigger.

And while some speculator might think this is absolutely brilliant for the stock market, I might have to disagree. Get your heads out of the dark recesses of the holes you've buried them into and smell the burning corpses/confiscated rhino horn. IT'S NOT RIGHT. It's not medicine; it's not gonna increase your libido and it certainly isn't going to cure cancer.

Go donate your money to a cancer research institute. Don't spend it killing those who can't save themselves.

The Imporant Things In Life

I was listening to an interview with this famous Thai philosopher, and he mentioned that people tend to overlook what they really need most in favor of material things that get them nowhere.  He said poor people can be happy if they choose to be happy with what little they have – he said most people that toil away in cities are never satisfied with what their lives come to.

This guy basically gave up everything to go live a life of nothingess in fields and on farms. And he said he was happier because he could really breathe. Away from material things he could be free, supporting himself like others by catching fish in the river and eating rice he grew himself. He asked people to think about all the people who lived like this who were displaced into urban areas to make way for dams and other good-for-growth type projects.

But I think the most interesting thing he said was that people have to not only learn to breathe and find inner peace and happiness (not Kung Fu Panda style, mind you), but learn when to say no. Sometimes it's good to say no to economic growth and stay where you are, in head of better things. There's more to life than fancy cars and big houses, and capitalism only wants you if you're planning to consume consumer consume. So why do that when you can be just as happy with what you already have?

I mean, think about what you really need. Food and water, you can go a week without. A home is superfluous. You need air! If we continue to pollute the world and run it into the ground, though we may have all the SUVs and crap in the world, will we be able to even live?

Tigers vs. People

How is it that, no matter the circumstances, the animals are always the ones who are at fault? Humans are always the victims. When a tiger kills a human, much more effort is taken to catch that tiger and kill it, compared to the lame attempts to capture poachers and animal abusers, with even more lenient sentences. Tigers are not the only carnivores that suffer from this kind of treatment.

For every shark that kills a human, a human kills around 250,000 sharks. Fair, huh? Even the most common of sharks are at risk because their fins are ‘good to eat’. Just like tiger…er…parts…are good for libido. And bear bile cures heart disease. You can’t believe everything people believed hundreds of years ago, whether it’s to preserve culture or not. Some of it is just plain bogus! And I mean, who in their right minds wants to put that sort of stuff in their mouths anyway?

Still, I think people look past basic facts to make themselves feel better. Don’t get me wrong, I feel sorry for the villagers who’ve lost family members…oh wait, sorry, the people the tigers killed were illegal deforesters. It seems fair enough that the tigers want these people out, you would want someone out of your house if they just knocked down the door one day and started removing your couch and dresser and raided the kitchen. And kept doing it!

People are angry at starving tigers, who, without any other source of food, attack livestock and people. Well it’s not the tigers’ fault humans have not only destroyed their habitat, but depleted their food source. Have some sense, it’s a food chain, can’t be that hard to understand. Here, I’ll illustrate a really bare-as-bones version.

Alright, so what’s really happening is that the humans come, kill the plants, and then kill the quiet cute herbivores. What’s left for the tigers to eat?

That’s right kids. Nothing.

AND YOU WONDER WHY THEY’RE KILLING PEOPLE?