[Animals] Are animals really taking revenge on us and climate change?

[FNX Magokiler]

If 2020 was the year nature "healed," 2023 was the year, supposedly, of nature's revenge, with killer whales sinking yachts, tayassuidae destroying golf courses, and a feisty sea otter stealing surfboards. . According to the po[CENSORED]r story, the animals are fed up and (finally) rebel against human domination.

Of course, it is not like that. These bugs do normal animal things, but they bother humans. Peccaries, small wild boar-like creatures native to the southwestern United States, destroyed a golf course in Sedona, Arizona, because they were searching for worms. Orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar played with rudders for fun. And otter 841, the adult female that repeatedly bothered canoeists and surfers in Santa Cruz, California, may have associated people with food.

When humans view these acts as intentional, we are also engaging in behavior typical of our species: telling stories that, while not literally accurate, capture a broader truth. For example, as climate change makes life on Earth increasingly difficult and unpredictable, it may appear that nature is "fighting back."

As a result, the long-held belief that humans reign over nature and that our needs take precedence over those of all other animals appears to be changing, says Geoffrey Whitehall, a professor of political science at Acadia University in Canada.

"We tend to reserve the initiative for humans," says Whitehall; "But it is clear that animals have different interests than ours, and when we recognize that.

 

 

When we start to believe that other animals matter, many interesting conversations open up."

One of the most delicate is the wealth disparity. "Many people see the wealthy elite as responsible for many of the situations we face environmentally," says Monika Wieland Shields, director of the Orca Behavior Institute in Friday Harbor, United States. "Imagining an orca uprising treats our feelings with humor. It keeps us from feeling completely hopeless."

The problem with this type of humor, however, is that it alleviates our anxiety without making us reflect on our own contribution to these problems, says Whitehall. Whether we're talking about wildlife or our fellow human beings, the oppressed don't need us to cheer them on from the sidelines. They need us to get in the game, for example by reducing our carbon footprint, using fewer resources and enacting wildlife protection laws.

"Animals are acting strangely and we have to do it too, which would require changing our way of life and even acting against our immediate interests," says Whitehall; "being able to play golf in a desert is something I would be willing to give up."

Acts of resistance
Picaris are an unattractive icon for any type of conservation campaign. Known in English as javelinas [javalinas] for their spear-shaped fangs, these odorous creatures weigh an average of 15 kilos and travel in intimidating groups. "People, especially in Texas, talk about them like they're giant rats," says Adam Johnson, an anthropologist at the University of North Carolina in the United States who studies human-animal conflict.

 

https://www.nationalgeographic.es/animales