I was born broken. Perhaps it was some random mutation deep within my genome that when expressed, exposed the flaw. Or my genetics are just fine and the fault lies in how I was raised. My mom is flawed in the same way: We Care!
A new report on Biodiversity just came out today. Globally, wildlife populations have fallen by an average of 69% in just under 50 years. Four years ago, that number was 60%. The number for Latin America is a 94% decline and for Africa is a 66% decline. I was two in 1970. This has happened during my life time, and global biodiversity wasn’t intact, even way back then.
If the human population declined 69%, we would lose all the people in Europe, the Americas, Oceana, and China (according to The Guardian). Of course, for now, the human population continues to grow. When I was born, there were about 3.5 billion people on the planet, by mid-November there are nearly 8 billion.
People always say, when the problem gets bad enough, we’ll fix it. New technologies will save us. Economists use discounting to show that it will be cheaper for future generations to fix the problem than for current generations. But here’s a little something that’s bound to piss off the economists out there: our economic models are based on false assumptions. When you begin with false assumptions, you draw faulty conclusions. Thus, the place we find ourselves in today.
When I really got into the Environmental Sciences back in the 1990’s, I felt a sense of hope. We recognized the problems. There were interesting discussions in the literature, and the formation of multinational teams to study and solve the problems. Nations were agreeing to work toward solutions. The progress was slow, but we were moving forward. Sometimes two steps forward and one step back, but moving forward, nonetheless. Now, we’ve fallen flat on our faces on the upward escalator. We’re sliding downward evermore quickly, and risk slipping through that little crack where the escalator meets the floor. I’m pretty sure, if you fall through there, you end up in hell. I’m terrified of that crack, I always take a huge step over it.
When the supreme court is poised to dismantle the regulatory state... When England’s economy is in freefall and the solution is to give tax breaks to the wealthiest and slash red tape... When Bolsonaro, sees thriving amazon forest as money waiting to be harvested… When the U.S. passes its first climate change legislation by giving massive concessions to the fossil fuel industry…, When 8 billion Alaskan Snow Crabs disappear in 3 years and a major fishery is decimated…, it is hard to see how we are moving forward.
They say life is about self-improvement. I’m sure someone famous said that somewhere at some time. I’m working on my own self-improvement. I’m rethinking my life’s work. I could have been an engineer on a nuclear submarine. The navy tried to recruit me out of high school. I could have joined the CIA, like Sydney Bristow. My mom was worried about that. I could have been an investment banker. At least, then I’d have a yacht. But I chose what I chose, and for now I’m just trying to overcome that flaw, genetic or learned, I’m trying to be a better person. I’m trying to learn how not to care.
Roan Antelope are beautiful! Hunting price $6,000.
Sable Antelopes are my favorite :-) You can hunt one of these for less. They're undervalued if you ask me, but nobody asked me.
Bushbuck are shy. It makes them hard to photograph. But, if you want to kill one it will cost you less than $500 for a trophy fee. They may be easier to shoot than photograph. Plus, if you only wound it and it gets away, you're only out $500.
Male Lechwe test their strength just before sundown. If you want to test their strength against a bullet, you might be able to find a bargain at $2000.
Elephants are good mothers, sisters, and aunties. They circle up and stand their ground to protect their young. You can kill one in Zambia for $30,000, but if you kill one in Zimbabwe and want to export its parts, it'll cost you $35,000. The IUCN lists them as Endangered so get yours before they're gone.
I'll let you shoot this for $1.75.
Make me an offer. $3.50 ?
$0.75, and I'll throw in the fruits for free.
No one wants to hunt a Nile monitor.
Or vultures.
In south Africa if you are a skilled tracker, you could hunt a baboon from a blind with a bait set up. I looked it up. I shot this guy without a blind or bait.
You can enjoy scenery like this, while ...
... you kill this.
It will probably be like this when you shoot, but if you're lucky it could be asleep under a tree, like 95% of the lions I've photographed. (Note: Photos of lions asleep under a tree will not be posted here because of their utter lack of interesting content.) If you kill this lion, ...
... we'll taxidermy it like this. "I was alone in the bush. I came around the corner and the lion was just there, licking its lips. I knew it was him or me!"
Depending on how good you are at finding a bargain, killing a lion will cost you between $35,000 and $55,000. You might be able to find a better deal with a Groupon.
Or you could just hunt a female. It will only cost you about $9,900. There's a big hunting tag pay gap in Africa. Get the deal while you can though, there are only a bit over 20,000 lions left in the wild. Rarity will surely push the price up, so take the deals before they are gone.
Because large male lions with big manes are the desired target for hunting, in some areas there are no older males left. The young males with mohawk manes may claim a pride at 4 or 5 years old. Younger than in the past. In Mashatu, the lack of large males has resulted in males born into a pride taking over that pride and breeding with their mothers and aunties. You can think whatever you want about that. (In the interest of full disclosure, there are other contributing factors to lion declines, as well.)
I don't think you can kill a lion cub. I searched it. But, you can buy a live one for around $3000 to take home and keep in your apartment. Maybe if you're lucky you might kill a lioness with cubs and then get a deal on the cubs since they are going to die anyway. Did I mention I'm learning how not to care?
Wonderful photos!