Jogging on a Game Trail

Lions are ruining this man's dream

Out of Sight Out of Mind

Why does life under the ocean come with a set of rules that don’t apply to life on land?  Just because we can’t see the ecosystem that lies below the surface doesn’t mean it isn’t there.  On the contrary, there is more life in the ocean than on land and that dynamic ecosystem is essential to all life, included life on land.

And here we come, earth’s most dominant species, entering this dynamic ocean ecosystem largely for recreational reasons, as though it’s some sort of oversized swimming pool.  Recreation...as in used for entertainment and leisure, not necessity or survival.  Is it OK to kill predators in the ocean to keep people safe during their recreation?  Human life is valuable after all, we don’t want our friends and loves ones being bitten by sharks.Let’s apply a similar scenario except on land this time.


If a group of people decided the serengeti would make the perfect place to play 18 holes of golf, would that make it OK to kill the lions that live there to ensure human safety?  Human life is valuable after all, we don’t want our friends and loves ones being mauled by lions and hyenas.  


Oh, right, we don’t HAVE to golf there.  Just like we don’t HAVE to surf, swim, dive, work or play in waters where it is known that large sharks exist.


So how do we explain something that appears to be a double standard?  Is it because we are less familiar with marine animals than terrestrial animals?  Is it because it’s a fish, not a mammal?  Or is it because lions are limited to certain areas of Africa while sharks can be found in oceans around the globe (making them more inconvenient)?  If the latter, this is simply because we’ve already wiped out most large land predators from areas we have chosen to use for ourselves.  


So are the oceans doomed to the same fate?