Why black panthers’ lives matter
Anthropocene is a word that defines the world we are currently living in. It is a scientific noun which means the up-andcoming mass extinction by the hands of human beings. To my surprise, Word documents on computers still give it a red underline as if it’s mythical language.
The importance of understanding anthropocene is for the sake of our survival, because our ignorance will be the means of our own demise if we fail to understand the magnitude of destruction every time an animal dies as a result of our “way of life”.
Comments from some netizens — such as “It’s just one panther, what’s the big deal? We slaughter thousands of pigs and chickens” — really bothered me. Every living organism on this planet has a purpose, it sustains the life of every other being in some way and creates a balance.
Other than that, I’d like to imagine that one day when I have children I would want them to see a real black panther or panthers, not from a book.
As a millennial, I am already bombarded with numerous counts of “you can’t find these any more” comments from my grandmother.
A captivating short video called “How Wolves Change Rivers” featuring the impact of the grey wolf extinction in the Yellowstone National Park and Idaho is a great summary of how important one species can be to the survival of an entire ecosystem. Grey wolves used to roam in the park’s Lamar Valley until they became extinct 70 years ago from excessive hunting. Without the grey wolves, which controlled the elk population, the landscape changed dramatically as the latter fed on grass and trees to the point of desertification. Rivers ran dry and the scenic shades of green faded into distant memories.
As there was no vegetation, when heavy rain came around there was nothing to hold that water. Hence, the area became a wasteland with the majority of other species disappearing.
It wasn’t until scientists got hold of some grey wolves from Canada and reintroduced them to Lamar Valley that nature began to flourish again after a few years.
Biodiversity is very important wherever you are, with every single type of animal representing a jigsaw piece which completes the picture of life.
If you live in Bangkok, you might have noticed and wondered why there are more and more mosquitoes flying around and the reason is because you don’t see dragonflies any more. Five to 10 years ago, I would always see them flying around harmlessly. Dragonflies eat mosquito larvae while they’re being nurtured in the water, and also mosquitoes when they roam in the open. I still don’t know why they’re gone. But it is likely that their disappearance is part of the reason for the increase in the mosquito population, and that is daunting.
Considering the story of the grey wolves, one should now realise that the hunting scandal involving the CEO of a large construction company is a bigger deal than expected. A deal bigger than any contract the company itself has ever signed.
Unfortunately for Thailand, enforcing stricter laws and creating a protected area similar to that which Lamar Valley enjoys has been somewhat less successful here, as we have seen. It’s like our laws were written on a roll of toilet paper, only a drop of water away from making the ink blurry. Once the entire roll was scrolled out, we used it to wipe away the mess it was intended to prevent and we started all over.
The earlier extinction of the grey wolves caused incalculable destruction to the natural habitat, but here we are also taking the liberty of damaging the ecosystem ourselves. The numerous counts of illegal logging, for instance, have caused a domino-effect leading to the extinction of many species and worsening the flooding nationwide.
The guilty are often exonerated due to our culture of impunity when it comes to the rich and powerful. Yet, I admire the rangers at the Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary who dared confront the hunters and their act gives me some hope.
The sanctuary where the black panther was poached was created with a purpose. Environmentalists recognise the fragility of ecosystems in our forests, and we need such sanctuaries to be habitats devoid of humans so that the remainder of our wildlife can remain wild in its nature.
It is nothing short of disturbing to see certain powerful government officials, who are assigned to protect our forests and wild animals, derelict in their duty.
This all comes back to our anthropocene demise, or the tragedy of the commons from the perspective of economists. We are all part of one single system, and perhaps an overemphasis in society on individuality makes us overlook the values of “the collective” in a gamut of perspectives.
We must all live with the fact that a black panther was unjustly taken from the world, and all the work it was supposed to do for this earth is a cost that the living must incur.
The sanctuary where the black panther was poached was created with a purpose.