For those of you who don’t know this about me, I have had a lifelong fascination with wildlife. When I was a kid, whenever a nature documentary was airing, I would make every effort to catch it, and if I managed to do so, you could find me glued to the screen. Steve Irwin, and the Kratt Brothers were big influences on me. I also always wanted to succeed Sir Attenborough the next voice in nature. I checked out every animal book in the library, and read some of them several times over.
… among many things, I learned A LOT about Penguins.
This love affair shows no sign of ceasing (not that I want it to), and has permeated many other aspects of my life. I was my team’s “animal guy” in Ethics Bowl competitions. What I learn about the natural world informs my perspective about how to effectively be human. My studies in Philosophy frequently had animal related themes and topics. I see connections between our relationship to the natural world, and our relationships with each other, particularly as we struggle to resolve the pressing, and rather distressing, issues of our time (Sexism, Climate Change, Racism, Homophobia, etc..) I aspire to pursue a PhD in Philosophy, and you can imagine what my intended research arena would be.
I was recently invited to the Asheboro Zoo by a rather generous friend of mine, Michael, and his family. To my surprise, I found out that this is the world’s largest natural habitat styled zoo, and hosts many conservation efforts, which is a bit refreshing. As you would expect, the zoo is massive, and I was lucky that Michael knew the facility as it is fairly easy to get lost. I also appreciate that I wasn’t able to see every animal I was hoping to see. That at least suggested that the creatures have plenty of space to leave our line of sight.
The animals I did see all went about their day. Boars rooting for food, birds chirping what I can only imagine are hymns of valor, and giraffes trying to mask their arrogance while literally looking down on all of us (I joke, but really… think about it). Watching them is a pacifying experience. The crowds seem to quiet down around me as my lens happens upon an Oryx catching a bit of shade to escape the heat. Should my photography turn primarily to wildlife, I would be quite pleased indeed.
Giraffe doing Giraffe things, Asheboro 2019
I feel it is important to constantly evaluate our position on this Earth. We have but one planet, but when it comes to the protection of our global environment, the use of we here is recklessly anthropocentric. There’s a lot that we can learn from the creatures of this world, as we too are as animal as they. I understand that we must act better, if we are to survive the damage for which we as humans are collectively responsible. However, we must not do so to the extent that we ignore how unique and significant our species is. Such ignorance will carry unintended, yet catastrophic consequences.
I’m working on finding the balance between how I navigate this world as a human being, and as a natural being. I have strong views on butterflies, and pandas, and I’m currently feuding with 3 local dogs. I’m only human after all. Yet, I’ll can not leave this life without doing my part to make the world better and safer for all of them, and I urge you all to do the same. I’m hoping that my work will serve to influence future generations into being better overall citizens of their shared bio-community. In the mean time, I will continue to photograph the natural world at every opportunity. I will continue to engage in the discourse on the topic. And, lastly, I will work to understand both my humanity, and my animality.