There is a road that cuts through the rolling hills of Virginia’s piedmont that I travel several times each year. I generally take this road at the end of a trip up and down interstate highways when I have gone off to visit family. The road is relaxing after the hubbub of the interstates, and the area that it goes through is enjoyable. It has vistas of rolling hills both as pasture and as woodland. It goes through villages that have not overgrown to the point that they need more than one stop light. It passes farm ponds and mountain streams. But you have to look out for the wildlife. A deer may burst from the woods. A fox may be seen crossing an open area. And the squirrels will challenge you as they dash back and forth across the road. But that’s about all you will see. These are the animals that have learned to abide close to the houses and farms we have built. But I very seldom see a bob-cat or a bear – or a hippopotamus. What?
Sure enough in my last passage along this road I looked up into a manicured area that led to someone’s house, and there next to the stream was a hippopotamus. It large shiny shape was unmistakable. Its massive jaw jutted outwards from its rotundity as it seemed to be moving from the water up the slight hill towards the house.
I had to turn around. I had to take a second look. I could not believe that there was a real hippo wandering these Virginia woods, or that someone had a life size hippo lawn ornament. After making a safe and legal U-turn I drove past the lawn again. And then again as I returned to my original direction. As I had surmised it was a lawn ornament. But what a lawn ornament, it was a full size bronze hippopotamus walking up that manicured lawn.
To me this was a recognition by the land owner of the changing relationship between us – all of humanity – and the creatures with whom we share this planet Earth. It’s not just with the Hippopotamus. It’s how our relationship is changing with all species, each of which has a place in the order and manner of life on earth. This changing relationship is not focused on species that are threatened or endangered or on a species that has moved out of its historical range and is now in our back yard. It’s our relationship with all of them; the hippopotamus, the elephant, the white-tailed deer, the northern bob-white quail, the mountain blue bird, the indigo snake, the desert gecko, the snow leopard. Its about how we and all the animals will coexist in the future.
Rules of location and use have been shattered in the last century. Wild populations have been destroyed and other species have moved in and replaced them. Or a species may explode in numbers when a natural predator is removed. Frogs die; Insects swarm.
But our relationship is shifting from a cohabiter of Earth to that of being the one species that must become the steward of all. We are the ones who have the capacity and the means to provide or withhold. We can enhance or destroy. We all must be aware of our role in the Earthly environment and the effect that we do have on local and on distant species.
Be aware. As frogs die, crops may be destroyed and disease may be spread.
I will look for this single Hippopotamus Virginicus when I drive down that road in the future. For me and for all of us it should be a reminder that we are caretakers, not owners.
The picture is based on a photograph at www.naturephoto-cz.com.