Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Wildebeest
Hello,
Welcome to the migratory larder.
In the vast Serengeti plains in Tanzania, there is one animal
which has always been the target of studies by researchers.
It is the wildebeest. The wildebeest, or gnu, is an antelope
which looks like a cow, but very much slender. It exists in such
a great number that it is impossible to count them, maybe
1.5 million. Its number is also increasing and decreasing all the
time, due to births and deaths. They are so numerous that they
have to migrate all the time, covering almost 2000 miles a year,
for fresh grass. The wildebeest, being herbivorous, is such an
easy prey to most predators that it is meaningful to refer to them
as a migratory larder. And it is this migration that makes it the
greatest wildlife spectacle, for researchers and tourists alike.
In their migration they give births, hundreds of thousands of
calves within several weeks. This is another great wonder of
nature, the seasonal births. Then they have to cross the rivers,
which takes days. And then, in the fording, many would be
drown due to the congestion and stampeding, becoming food
for birds, fishes or other creatures, or else the crocodiles would
get them. When they graze, they have the lions, the hyenas,
and the cheetahs picking them off when they strayed from the
main herd.
And this is where it appears strange why they should be such
easy prey. They have horns, big bodies and powerful legs, so
why could they not defend themselves. They move together,
graze together, yet when predators prowl nearby, not one cares
about another, other than to stick itself closer to the main herd
for safety. Even when one of them is being attacked, the others
remain nonchalant, that is their attitude. One could imagine that
all they need to save one another was to just get together and
trample any predator, and none of them would be lost.
But then this is the way of nature, otherwise the moving larder
serves no useful purpose, is there?
On the other hand, the buffalo is a different breed of prey. Once,
on TV, a documentary featured an extraordinary escape for one
of its kind. A buffalo was attacked and held on to by a lioness,
a sure gone case to ensue. But then several buffaloes came to
its rescue. This was really unbelievable and amazing, but they
did. They surrounded the lioness and tried to gore it with their
horns. The lioness would not release its grip, but the buffaloes
would not desist their attack. This went on for some time, until
the lioness realized that it was useless for it to wage this war.
If it ever get gored seriously, it would also die due to the injury.
It released its prey and backed off. And that buffalo lived to tell
its own tale.
The buffaloes knew about unity is strength.
The wildebeests did not;
they are like people under certain situations.
Wildebeests, anyone?
Ronald
Welcome to the migratory larder.
In the vast Serengeti plains in Tanzania, there is one animal
which has always been the target of studies by researchers.
It is the wildebeest. The wildebeest, or gnu, is an antelope
which looks like a cow, but very much slender. It exists in such
a great number that it is impossible to count them, maybe
1.5 million. Its number is also increasing and decreasing all the
time, due to births and deaths. They are so numerous that they
have to migrate all the time, covering almost 2000 miles a year,
for fresh grass. The wildebeest, being herbivorous, is such an
easy prey to most predators that it is meaningful to refer to them
as a migratory larder. And it is this migration that makes it the
greatest wildlife spectacle, for researchers and tourists alike.
In their migration they give births, hundreds of thousands of
calves within several weeks. This is another great wonder of
nature, the seasonal births. Then they have to cross the rivers,
which takes days. And then, in the fording, many would be
drown due to the congestion and stampeding, becoming food
for birds, fishes or other creatures, or else the crocodiles would
get them. When they graze, they have the lions, the hyenas,
and the cheetahs picking them off when they strayed from the
main herd.
And this is where it appears strange why they should be such
easy prey. They have horns, big bodies and powerful legs, so
why could they not defend themselves. They move together,
graze together, yet when predators prowl nearby, not one cares
about another, other than to stick itself closer to the main herd
for safety. Even when one of them is being attacked, the others
remain nonchalant, that is their attitude. One could imagine that
all they need to save one another was to just get together and
trample any predator, and none of them would be lost.
But then this is the way of nature, otherwise the moving larder
serves no useful purpose, is there?
On the other hand, the buffalo is a different breed of prey. Once,
on TV, a documentary featured an extraordinary escape for one
of its kind. A buffalo was attacked and held on to by a lioness,
a sure gone case to ensue. But then several buffaloes came to
its rescue. This was really unbelievable and amazing, but they
did. They surrounded the lioness and tried to gore it with their
horns. The lioness would not release its grip, but the buffaloes
would not desist their attack. This went on for some time, until
the lioness realized that it was useless for it to wage this war.
If it ever get gored seriously, it would also die due to the injury.
It released its prey and backed off. And that buffalo lived to tell
its own tale.
The buffaloes knew about unity is strength.
The wildebeests did not;
they are like people under certain situations.
Wildebeests, anyone?
Ronald
# posted by chunmu @ 5:53 PM 
