DR GROUND HORNBILL TALKS STRATEGY AT SUNSET DAM. The Moon thanked the Sun for a job well done and the Sun sunk below the horizon for a well deserved rest. And Darkness began the cover up job; she had already finished making the Suns megabed out of massive quilted dark clouds; and the Sun sank to a blissful leg-kicking-under-covers sleep. His cooling body giving out a mist of steam that will make Tomorrows morning fog. Then the Moon gave a shrill subsonic whistle that ran across the solar system and the Stars came out and kept watch. At Lower Sabie Rest Camp the gates clung shut but Chui, the naughty leopard, had already crossed them earlier and was hiding in the shadows in the eastern side of the camp, enjoying his past time of observing human beings unhindered. But in contrast Sunset Dam was a hub of activity with animals trying to secure a good place because tonight Dr Ground Hornbill was going to sing a story. Dr. Ground Hornbill was a paragon of deportment and rhetorical excellence. He had made sure that he had a good supply of Tamboti tree bark which he chewed in reasonable quantities and that not only gave him fresh breath but acted as a protection against microbial infection in his mouth. Everyone knew that he worked as a government snake catcher especially of those overgrown recalcitrant reptiles that abused their stay in the park by becoming a nuisance at large. Dr. Ground Hornbill adjusted his red cravat, blew some fresh breath on his monocle, then wiped it with a clean grass handkerchief and cleared his throat and waited for the animals to sit down. He chuckled to himself and felt tonights story growing inside his mind from a little glowing coal to a raging inferno of eloquence and factual presentation. He felt good and wanted; and his hand slipped into his left coat pocket where his Powerpoint notes were kept. He touched them and felt intellectually electrified. He couldnt have heard the introduction by the dour sonorous voice of the presiding officer, Alfie the Wildebeest. Honourable listeners, distinguished admirers, and Fauna and Flora at large in our vast 20 000 square kilometre enclave, Good evening. He wanted to cut through the chase and get to the real issues at the heart of the matter. I will be brief and to the point. Today I am going to give YOU, the animals, the FIVE POINT PLAN affecting your very existence and future in this, our last enclave. How it affects you, what you should do to make it work for you and what are the unintended consequences of it to your continued existence in your families, tribes and tribal alliances. There is nothing spectacular about the number FIVE. From hoary antiquity human beings were able to deal with the complex problems of enumeration by using their five fingers and multiples of five as represented by the fingers in their hands and toes in their feet. So five is a human nicety deeply embedded in their psyche and spirit. So that takes care of five. Firstly, many of our fellows are dying out and disappearing. That is absolutely not good. What is the root cause of this? Ill tell you what it means. In one wordit is about SPACE or LAND. Any encroachment by men into our space shrinks our living space. Secondly, theres a visible increase in the number of people coming to SEE us. This causes problems for us. Provocation, ignorance, negative interference, and unrestricted access to our sacred ancestral spaces. This leads to confrontation, murder, adverse behavioural changes to those of us who embrace human help or gifts. Our third biggest problem is that our interests are not part of the decision- making. Human beings do not have one singular interest about us and our home or enclave. Communities living along our enclave have different if not conflicting interests as compared to those managing our enclave from the inside. The fourth issue is about the total maintenance of the integrity of everything and everyone in our enclave. There is increasing collapse of security. Due to the activities of the invaders of our enclave. Poachers, agent provocateurs tourists who openly defy rules, invasive plant species and ineffective management erode the integrity of our enclave. This leads to insecurity and increasing destabilisation of our home. Lastly we are not sure if the support we need is forthcoming and making significant improvements. I will stop here There was fine perspiration on Dr Ground Hornbills brow. A hand went up: You are all aware that some of us are not educated. Doctor can you put this into plain animal English? asked the Giraffe. Well I will do so. said Dr. Ground Hornbill. 1. The presence of human beings in our home or land or enclave, is not an innocent neutral thing. It leads to changes that will affect us negatively probably leading to our dying out especially the weaker amongst us. 2. Tourism is good but there is a negative price to it and it is us who pay for it. Human beings can always go back to their homes, but for us it will be the end of us. 3. Our interests are not taken into account into decisons taken on our behalf. We feel they are always secondary to human interests. 4. The security situation is deteriorating. For plants, trees and animals. Animals feel threatened and absolutely left at the mercy of marauding poachers. 5. The corporate culture and support still lags behind. It must be pro US, animals, and and go a long way to uphold our interests. I will stop here. Dr. Ground Hornbill resd hus notes. Mr. Hippo raised his hand: What can be done to change this state of affairs? For the better? We need to increase our human-animal interaction. The elephant said. We must find new and innovative ways to change human attitudes here and all over the world. said the Rhino. We must limit human invasion of our enclave. said the Fish Eagle. I think the security situation is dire right now. It must be declared a national emergency. said the crocodile. I think conservation must be taught in all schools as a compulsory subject. said the zebra. Wouldnt it be nice if hunting of animals for whatever reason is stopped altogether? asked the impala. Well, seeing that you are such a clever bunch of animals and have all the solutions, I think my job is now done. I have one last point to make: an independent panel of reviewers should be formed and must evaluate, at least quarterly, progress made by Sanparks on its five pronged interventions. And report to parliament for action. I do not suggest that they are not doing their job but such is the gravity and importance of the problem. GOOD NIGHT. For the first time at sunset dam there were no cheers and shouts of joy.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 04:49:17 +0000
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