We're predators, and our relationship to other predators and other animals is complicated, I think by a mix of our instincts and theirs. Property is a legal fiction we use to make society run certain ways, and I don't believe I own anything, really. It'll outlast me like I was never here. But I do hold a loose territory, much like a fish does. If the local bobcat wanders through, I tip my hat to him. He doesn't bother me. We had black bears come in 2 years ago and decide a playground would be fun to hang around in, and that was a problem. Physically, they were our equal, and we don't like equals since they can kill us. One was transported to deeper in the woods, and the other, since he'd "trespassed" outside the park, was shot by a cop having fun.
I grew up stalking the rats, cats and squirrels of an urban back alley world, then lived a short time in an area where all non pet life had been killed off. Now I'm up to my chin in "prettier" beasts, with deer everywhere, coyotes passing through, etc. I never really kicked in my hunter instincts the way I might have living in Wyoming. If I needed to hunt and fish like some of my ancestors in Labrador did, I might be good at it. They were, or I wouldn't exist. I never get the urge to buy a rifle and pop the deer in the backyard, but I have zero need to do that. I don't name them either.
My then 4 year old daughter got hunted by 2 jaguars once. We were behind the scenes at a zoo, in the winter quarters, so it was safe. There was a very long plexiglass wall in the back of their enclosure - something the public doesn't see, and the two big cats noticed my daughter straggling behind our group. She never saw them. The cat creep started. I dropped back and casually circled, and they froze. I moved up and they tried to move in. I acted like a quiet, wary big beast, as I'm 6"3 210 pounds, and they responded like I was a bit too much to take on. It lasted for a couple of exchanges, and really made me think. We're used to being cushioned from the reality other animals want to eat our kids, and maybe us.
I'm not going to be like the Belgian immigrant neighbour who tried to cuddle a cute skunk, but I do try to co-exist as much as I can. There's steel grating on the fishroom window screens.
I grew up stalking the rats, cats and squirrels of an urban back alley world, then lived a short time in an area where all non pet life had been killed off. Now I'm up to my chin in "prettier" beasts, with deer everywhere, coyotes passing through, etc. I never really kicked in my hunter instincts the way I might have living in Wyoming. If I needed to hunt and fish like some of my ancestors in Labrador did, I might be good at it. They were, or I wouldn't exist. I never get the urge to buy a rifle and pop the deer in the backyard, but I have zero need to do that. I don't name them either.
My then 4 year old daughter got hunted by 2 jaguars once. We were behind the scenes at a zoo, in the winter quarters, so it was safe. There was a very long plexiglass wall in the back of their enclosure - something the public doesn't see, and the two big cats noticed my daughter straggling behind our group. She never saw them. The cat creep started. I dropped back and casually circled, and they froze. I moved up and they tried to move in. I acted like a quiet, wary big beast, as I'm 6"3 210 pounds, and they responded like I was a bit too much to take on. It lasted for a couple of exchanges, and really made me think. We're used to being cushioned from the reality other animals want to eat our kids, and maybe us.
I'm not going to be like the Belgian immigrant neighbour who tried to cuddle a cute skunk, but I do try to co-exist as much as I can. There's steel grating on the fishroom window screens.