I watched a guy in a boat ram a pelican yesterday. I watched him do it on purpose.
The pelican had been asleep and floating in calm waters just out from a boat ramp on Indian River. The bird was 25-feet out from the dock, providing a wide berth for the guy in his 17-foot bass boat. The boat driver was idling towards the boat ramp slowly and actually had to swerve out to strike the pelican with the bow of his boat.
The pelican was startled into an awkward, tumbling flight as the boat bumped it. The bird did not appear injured and the boat driver started to laugh uproariously. I was standing on a dock across the water from him. All I could do was glare impotently.
I can’t help but believe that a man who would go out of his way to purposefully do something like that must also be fairly insecure or have a mental problem.
In my younger days, I would likely have walked over and started a confrontation. But age, wisdom and a little discretion have taught me that guys like that are actually reinforced in their adolescent behavior by the attention and challenge they receive if publically called out for their asinine actions.
Instead I watched him as he tied up his boat, went and backed up his trailer. I watched how he took care to fasten down open compartments and tie loose lines. He meticulously secured his boat to the trailer before slowly and carefully driving away. The boat driver who probably would have laughed himself silly even if he’d injured or killed the pelican took great care to protect his possession.
Fiberglass, plastic, aluminum and steel mean more than life to him.
This is what connects yesterday’s atrocity to the plight of all of the sea turtles in the world. Human beings have this disconnect that somehow allows for rationalizing and prioritizing leisure activities over the survival of an animal or an entire species for that matter.
I used to think people just didn’t know how many THOUSANDS of ENDANGERED sea turtles were injured or killed in the waters around the United States due SOLEY to intended/unintended actions involving recreational boating and fishing. Now, I’m starting to see a different picture. I can see that there are people out there who simply don’t care…or
worse.
Hubris and indifference will be the end of us. It’s not for nothing that we are the only animals in the history of our planet to be 100-percent responsible for cause an Extinction Level Event and still don't give enough of a crap about it to set things right before the damage cannot be undone.
I can debate our right to harm ourselves…but there is no justification for damning other species in the wake of our “progress” and desire for conveniences.
Still, I maintain hope.
That man in the boat yesterday…he’s what reinforces my belief that every volunteer and staffer at the turtle center are the deepest, truest heroes among all of us.
The pelican had been asleep and floating in calm waters just out from a boat ramp on Indian River. The bird was 25-feet out from the dock, providing a wide berth for the guy in his 17-foot bass boat. The boat driver was idling towards the boat ramp slowly and actually had to swerve out to strike the pelican with the bow of his boat.
The pelican was startled into an awkward, tumbling flight as the boat bumped it. The bird did not appear injured and the boat driver started to laugh uproariously. I was standing on a dock across the water from him. All I could do was glare impotently.
I can’t help but believe that a man who would go out of his way to purposefully do something like that must also be fairly insecure or have a mental problem.
In my younger days, I would likely have walked over and started a confrontation. But age, wisdom and a little discretion have taught me that guys like that are actually reinforced in their adolescent behavior by the attention and challenge they receive if publically called out for their asinine actions.
Instead I watched him as he tied up his boat, went and backed up his trailer. I watched how he took care to fasten down open compartments and tie loose lines. He meticulously secured his boat to the trailer before slowly and carefully driving away. The boat driver who probably would have laughed himself silly even if he’d injured or killed the pelican took great care to protect his possession.
Fiberglass, plastic, aluminum and steel mean more than life to him.
This is what connects yesterday’s atrocity to the plight of all of the sea turtles in the world. Human beings have this disconnect that somehow allows for rationalizing and prioritizing leisure activities over the survival of an animal or an entire species for that matter.
I used to think people just didn’t know how many THOUSANDS of ENDANGERED sea turtles were injured or killed in the waters around the United States due SOLEY to intended/unintended actions involving recreational boating and fishing. Now, I’m starting to see a different picture. I can see that there are people out there who simply don’t care…or
worse.
Hubris and indifference will be the end of us. It’s not for nothing that we are the only animals in the history of our planet to be 100-percent responsible for cause an Extinction Level Event and still don't give enough of a crap about it to set things right before the damage cannot be undone.
I can debate our right to harm ourselves…but there is no justification for damning other species in the wake of our “progress” and desire for conveniences.
Still, I maintain hope.
That man in the boat yesterday…he’s what reinforces my belief that every volunteer and staffer at the turtle center are the deepest, truest heroes among all of us.
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