Primal Fears

There is nothing more deeply ingrained in animal psyche than the fear of being consumed. In fact, there's now a full science on the Ecology of Fear that shapes how we understand predators and their impact on ecosystems. Whether we recognize it or not, fear shapes nearly everything we do in conservation, too. 

What are we afraid of?

We're afraid of... so many things. Spiders. Snakes. Heights. Missing out. Death. Illness. Losing our loved ones. Those fears drive us in the same way that a fear of getting eaten drives the behavior of ungulates, game fowl, and small mammals-- but have we let it drive us too far and for too long? America has been at War with Wildlife, specifically with predators, and it has been long and deadly. But we're at war with something else too: entropy.

Endless growth is unsustainable

I'm not going to rant about economics and the failures of capitalism (although I could), but rather talk about our perpetual entitlement. The modern world has led us to believe we're entitled to comfort, safety, and security at all times and in all places. If our list of fears teaches us anything, it should be that those sensations are an illusion. You can fence yourself in, but you cannot forever fence the world out. Illness comes no matter how clean you are. There will be spiders in your garage. And no matter how healthy and clean you live, someday you and everyone you love will die. These facts beg the question: what are we gonna do about it? 

Fight or Flight

All too often, we view these as the only options for our interactions with the natural world. Fight entropy or flee from it. But what if there was another way? What if we made peace with the inevitable, accepted the cost of living in a vibrant and dangerous world, and stopped trying to bend everything to our desires? It would come with a cost-- everything does. But it's a price I think I'd be willing to pay, and its not as high a price as you might think. The fear of snakes often tops the list of Top American Fears, but its not inherent. The science is a little hazy, but its generally agreed that Ophidiophobia is not something babies are born with. We probably learn to fear snakes; we definitely learn to hate them. Why? It definitely makes sense to be wary. Venomous snakes like Rattlesnakes and Water Moccasins can cause serious injury and death. But Rat snakes? King snakes? These act as our protectors without even meaning to by consuming things that actively harm us. And the horrifying rattlesnake? They give us the courtesy of a loud and attention-grabbing display before they would even consider a bite. The Florida Cottonmouth? Well, they didn't give it that name for nothing. It will do a threat display to let you know you're too close before it resorts to anything violent. The young cottonmouth pictured with this post gave me the courtesy of a faux-rattle that alerted me to its presence. Most of the creatures that can cause us harm, even in one of the wildest places in the US, do not want to. 

And what about the ones that do?

The Everglades are also home to animals than can (and do) kill and eat humans: Alligators, Crocodiles, Black Bears, and Panthers. While its clear humanity poses a bigger threat to these species than they do to ours, an unlucky encounter with one could absolutely end in tragedy. Why should we want them around? Aside from their beauty, which in this writer's opinion is the sole justification you need, predators help us balance an ecosystem. Their autonomy and strength are the capstone of any ecosystem, and they act as biological engineers in ways we could only dream of replicating. Despite this, we've been wiping out our competition for millennia. Americans don't have a monopoly on this, either. The arrival of the Maori to Australia coincided with the death of much of the Island's Megafauna. Part of how humanity has spread across the world lies in our ability to eliminate the competition. But guess what? We won. The planet is ours. You can find our trash at the deepest point on Earth. Human bodies rest along the route to the Highest Peak on our Planet. We now know why Alexander wept: there is nothing left to conquer. 

Except our own greed

Our continuous need to expand and grow and produce more value for the shareholders is going to be our undoing. Climate change is likely already out of control, but the best way to fight it is still giving the planet back more of itself. Instead of paving over and taming every last inch of our planet, we could try and let nature restore her own balances. We could accept the risk that comes along with living in a dangerous world, all while known that if we pay attention, it will give us a good warning. In fact, if you listen close, it already is.