the Animals of War
Besides guns, butter & bodies, the military is shipping over numerous enlisted animals to Iraq. Dolphins are locating mines (under a 40 year old training program), dogs are sniffing out arms, pigeons wait to detect (and die) bio/chem weapons. While some are protesting, I’m torn over the amazing abilities of the animals, and the rapport with their trainers.
Animals have a long history in war. Horses of course, even so recently in Afghanistan. Hannibal’s Elephants.
The Bald Eagle has made quite a wartime memetic rebound among the folks whose blood runs red, white, _and_ blue. The Bald Eagle is a scavenger, mostly feeding on carrion, seldom live prey. When scavenging dead fish, they will sometimes plunge into the water and may have to use its wings to swim out.
I’ve been reading Diane Fossey’s Gorillas in the Mists. When two gorilla groups interact, mostly attempts by the silverbacks to steal females from the other, often it only takes a demonstration, say a chest beat and bluff charge, to end the conflict. Sometimes it turns violent, yet most of the time gorillas are intensely peaceful. I couldn’t help thinking of the US administration, before the war, strutting out, hoping the Iraqis would simply realize they couldn’t win. Guess the gorillas are a bit smarter about this sort of thing.
War has not been kind to the gorillas. Refugess have been forced into the National Parks, placing pressure on the gorilla habitat. The research facilities and park management have been disrupted by the conflict. Diane Fossey repeatedly writes that the best way to conserve the gorillas is through enforcement of laws — nearly impossible in the total law breakdown of war.
Surprisingly, war is sometimes, rarely, good for the environment. The Korean DMZ, with practically no human presence, is a refuge for many rare plants and animals, including rare Asiatic Black Bear and perhaps Siberian Tigers. Maybe this one conflict should continue, to save this wildlife, since peace would open the dmz to waves of development.
