STUDY
TOUR BY WILD ANIMALS
TO
HUMAN CIVILIZATION CENTRES
Dr. I. Achyuta Rao
We all visit Zoo-parks and animal/bird sanctuaries as a source of entertainment to our children. Besides, it is a means to enhance our own knowledge of WILD LIFE and NATURE. Further, we visit LIVE FORESTS for the sake of improving our understanding further.
With the passage of time and the progress of evolution, wild animals and birds of a forest decided to go on a study tour of a few typical Human Civilization Centres (HCCs). They meticulously planned their tour and systematically executed the same with the help of some humans. Fish could not participate for obvious reasons.
Before start of the tour, all the tourists were briefed about the details of the tour and the code of conduct to be observed. At the end of the tour they went back to their forest and assembled to discuss various issues concerning human civilization, under the wise chairmanship of the ELEPHANT.
The positive aspects are many, which need considerable space for narration. Let us skip them. Some of the negative aspects are briefly presented below as an eye-opener to the HUMAN RACE.
The MS-Study Tour of HCC by the multi-species was conducted during day time only. Open-air Lodging was provided for the nights only, in the nearest forest earmarked for each HCC. All tourist species had to adjust to these timings. It was agreed that during the Tour, they should not eat/harm each other or other living beings in the HCCs. During the night stay, the tourists could have their own natural food, available in the forest. No special kitchens, Dining Halls or toilets were needed.
The transportation from one lodge to another was in specially designed buses. The seats in the buses were ergonomically designed to suit individual tourists. So, the seats were not interchangeable. Besides, the seats for abnormal body configurations were so located as to avoid toppling of the vehicles about any axis. Small size animals/birds were invariably provided with upper berths. The transportation from the lodge to the HCC and back was by means of special trailers for small groups of tourists of like sizes and weights. In special cases individualised vehicles were provided.
The tourists could use the ultra-modern computerised INSTANT TRANSLATION DEVICES (ITDs) for communication with humans or other animals/birds. For development of the Software required for translations from one sign language to another in the ITDs, cooperation from humans was availed. The tourists could record their observations in their own language; in the memory of PORTABLE RECORD AND REPLAY EQUIPMENTS (PRARE) carried by them.
DISCUSSION ON ISSUES
1) FREEDOM
Chairman ELEPHANT: Man speaks so much about “Freedom for all”. But he does not mean it in actual practice.
LION: He puts wild animals in cages for human entertainment.
EAGLE: He puts various wild birds also in cages.
FLAMINGO: He does not spare even the most beautiful fish!
CRANE and DUCK: He confines them to aquaria, for his drawing room decoration. Or exhibition at beaches.
GORILLA: My God, he takes even fellow human beings as SLAVES on one pretext or other.
CHIMPANJEE: He imprisons under-trial suspects indefinitely, without bringing them to justice.
MONKEY: The third degree methods employed by the police are inhuman.
FOX: The treatment given to the prisoners of war is unmentionable.
CROW: No doubt, Man is wilder than the so-called wild animals.
HIPPO: Rich and powerful countries do not recognise and respect the freedom of the poorer and the weaker countries.
WOLF: They attack them on flimsy grounds and subjugate them to grab their valuable resources.
RHINO: Even within the same country, wealthy and powerful people rule over the poor and the downtrodden.
PEA-COCK: One prime-minister of a country had the audacity to comment “The Poor do not know what they want!” Isn’t it funny?
SWAN: A queen of another country once remarked “If the poor do not have bread to eat, let them HAVE cakes!”
HORSE: Even in the so-called democracies, people do not have the freedom to elect their own leaders in a fair manner.
RABBIT: Money and power dictate their choice.
2) KINDNESS
ELEPHANT (Chairman): Man preaches “Kindness to all Living Beings” but does not demonstrate that in practice.
BUFFALO: While taking us buffalos and birds to slaughter houses, we are treated as inanimate objects, insensitive to pain and suffering.
COCK: We are put to untold torture for hours together before death.
OX: Anasthesia and pain killers are not given for the strange logic that “they are any how going to die” Will they treat their kin like this?
DONKEY: Even a fellow human being is not treated kindly unless some personal benefit is expected of him.
OWL: Even old parents are not looked after kindly by their own children, now a days.
RAT: Environmental education is essential to appreciate the requirements of animal welfare.
COW: The unkindest cut of all is the merciless treatment meted out to the FEMALE of the human species.
HEN: Extermination of Female foetus is the ultimate blow to human civilisation.
VULTURE: Bride burning, acid throwing, kidnapping, rape, FGM are other aspects of human culture.
LEOPARD: Human Ethics is to be taught from the beginning.
HYENA: Our so called Wild animals and birds kill their prey for food only. What is wild about that?
SNAKE: But man kills other living beings for fun or sport or money.
FROG: Animal Experiments carried out by humans are IN HUMAN! We are the worst affected.
BABOON: Torturing or killing mute animals and birds for the benefit of improving human health is ridiculous and ludicrous.
DEER: Some animals like us are killed for getting the hide, horns, ivory etc.,
PEA-COCK: And birds for their multi-coloured plumage are used to decorate man’s abode.
3) HABITAT
ELEPHANT (Chairman): The natural habitats of wild animals and birds are destroyed to accommodate unchecked increase in human population.
KITE: Why not build fly-overs over natural habitats? What are their engineers doing?
4) ECO-BALANCE
ELEPHANT(Chairman): Animals have a single breeding season. Man has no such restriction. It is shameful.
CROCODILE: Uncontrolled dominance of only one species definitely leads to collapse of the eco-system ultimately.
PELICAN: Let there be fair competition between man and other species for survival!
COBRA: Selfishness of man is destroying the NATURAL BALANCE. It soon destroys him also.
PARROT: Environmental Education is the need of the hour for human survival. Why don’t they introduce it in school curriculum.
BEAR: Deforestation causes loss of natural abodes to wild life. It diminishes the rainfall in the neighbourhood, adversely affecting all lives. It is common sense.
5) CORRUPTION
ELEPHANT (Chairman): Corruption has pervaded all the three organs of the State viz., Executive, Legislature, Judiciary.
WOODPECKER: Even with the progress of civilization, corruption is not leaving the human world.
CAT: There are some cases where courts of justice themselves are rendering injustice to the innocent litigants.
RAT: All are “not equal” in the eyes of law! Our jungle law is better.
DOVE: While political criminals go scot-free, the small fry are punished for no fault of theirs.
FLAMINGO: “Justice delayed is Justice denied” remains an empty slogan. No effort is made to correct the situation.
ASS: Some body said “Law is an ass”. It is an insult to us.
LIZARD: There are strikes and corruption cases in hospitals also, where removal of human suffering is the motto.
7) DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIES:
ELEPHANT (Chairman): Man spends a huge amount of resources, effort and time for research in frontier areas.
HEN: Development should be alround. Unless basic needs of men and other living beings are met, there is no point in going for research on galaxies, universe etc.
GOAT: Priorities need a re-look.
SPARROW: He is now creating a situation of chaos and destruction
APE: Terrorism, Kidnapping, strikes and violent agitations, murders etc., are found amongst humans only. Wild animals and birds do not resort to such meaningless activities.
DEER: They are socially harmful also.
OWL: Man rears pet animals and birds, whom he kills later as food on festive occasions. Wild animals and birds do not store live food (prey) for future use.
PELICAN: Man uses WMDs which destroy not only the enemy but also all the living beings.
SWALLOW: including vegetation around the site.
CROW: Where is man taking this LIVE EARTH by his destructive actions?
CROCODILE: Man should lay greater stress on study of Evolution rather than galaxies and Universe!
CONCLUSION: THIS article functions as a negative feedback to the “most intelligent species” for timely correction, before it leads to the definite collapse of the Bio-sphere.