do you intervene with cruel nature?

[h2odragon1]

trying to save a turtle from a shark most often will result in someone trying to save you from the sharks second choice for a snack

 

[Mr.X]

I think the assumption of this thread is wrong. Nature, unlike some humans, is not cruel, nor can it be. Animals kill to live. Humans should not intervene with the natural food chain. This said however I must admit I have never seen a predator attempt to eat anything I considered cute. I probably would want to intervene. How's that for hedging my bet?

Have you ever seen an Orca toy with a young seal, or sea lion pup? I don't know about you but there seems to be a conscious decision on the part of this apex predator to eat, or just have some amusement.

 

[RumBum]

Should you intervene? my answer is not just no, but NO! Have you people never heard of natural population control???

 

[rockjock3]

I do that as well. I even put spiders outside, instead of killing them. I don't know how I'd react to rescuing wildlife. Very often, I've seen nature documentaries where there's a baby seal gone far from its mother and then you see a polar bear approaching it. I think I'd be tempted to intervene, no matter how foolish it may be. My response to nature should go beyond what I think is cute.

Now that would be a cool special. Baby seal is approached by Polar Bear, stupid human intervenes in nature, Polar Bear eats stupid human. Cool. Tell me when that one is on and I'll record it.

 

[Derek S]

Don't you people have kids? Haven't you ever seen The Lion King?

It's that whole circle of life thing. 'Twas meant to be.

 

[rockjock3]

i would interfere if it were baby sea turtles and the gulls, crabs, etc. were just tearing them up by the hundreds/thousands as they tried to enter the water.

if i found an exposed egg case of a shark, skate or ray, i would relocate it to a better protected area to help ensure the pups have a better chance.

and i try to educate people about sharks and their importance in the ocean's food chain, in the name of awareness and conservation of my brother fish.

You have to remember that cases like this still aren't helping nature. I don't know of any creature that is endangered, protected, etc because of nature overfeeding on itself. They are that way because of interference of one kind or another by man. If you run off the gulls, crabs etc., then you can screw it up just as bad by removing some of there food supply. Now over time the gull, crab, etc populantions can be effected.

By saving eggs that might have been lost you can increase the population of a species in an area faster than its food supply can keep up with.

I stick to the notion that unless you are saving an animal from a man made interference (i.e. from fishing string, abandoned nets, six-pack retainers, etc) you shouldn't interfere with it period. Until sharks start coming on land and pulling the hamburger out of your mouth then you don't need to bother them in their world.

 

[DavidPT40]

I wouldn't intervene unless I had a special attachment to the creature involved. For instance, if I dove the same reef everyday, and knew which fish lived where, I might feel inclined to prevent wandering predators from eating them.

Of course, theres several ways to look at this situation. From a scientific standpoint, people shouldn't get involved. From a psychological one, we should do what makes us feel better. And from a philosophical standpoint, we should do what we think is right.

 

[Supernal]

Now that would be a cool special. Baby seal is approached by Polar Bear, stupid human intervenes in nature, Polar Bear eats stupid human. Cool. Tell me when that one is on and I'll record it.

You mean you wouldn't be tempted to intervene? LOL!

 

[Allison Finch]

I try to be the good naturalist, but..... Once, in PNG, I saw a really nice nudi crawling across a plate coral. One of the polyps had grabbed the back end of the nudi and was swallowing it. I got a good sequence of pictures. However, when the polyp was close to swallowing it down, I pulled it out. I placed it on a far safer spot. Yes, I deprived a worthy coral polyp of it's deserved meal. I just couldn't help it.

 

[Scubaroo]

Don't you people have kids? Haven't you ever seen The Lion King?

It's that whole circle of life thing. 'Twas meant to be.

Funny how after The Lion King, there wasn't a craze for baby lions like there was for clownfish after Finding Nemo...