If you had to be an animal for a week, which one would you be and why?
The monsoon season has brought relief from the summer heat, leading to a tranquil atmosphere filled with rain’s soothing sounds and charming natural beauty. Through reflections on human and animal characteristics, the content explores the unique abilities of the human brain and the inherent innocence of animals. The ongoing tension between Human greed and Nature plays a crucial role in shaping our environment today. While humans often exhibit greedy and destructive behaviours, animals live harmoniously within ecosystems, taking only what they need for survival. The discussion emphasises the interdependence of organisms within both forest and marine ecosystems, highlighting the consequences of human exploitation of nature, leading to environmental disasters. Ultimately, it calls for humans to recognise their limitations and responsibility towards nature.
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- The monsoon season brings relief and highlights the tranquility of nature, contrasting with human greed and destruction.
- Humans possess complex brains that differentiate them from animals, yet this complexity leads to negative emotions and exploitation of nature.
- Ecosystems like forests and marine environments illustrate interdependence, where each organism plays a crucial role in maintaining balance.
- Human activities disrupt ecosystems and lead to disasters, showcasing the need for responsible interaction with nature.
- It’s essential for humans to recognize their limitations and acknowledge their responsibility towards the environment.
Monsoon
Monsoon had started. After a long wait, apprehensions about El Niño and its adverse effects, the monsoon became active in the whole country. It gave much respite from the hot and sultry summer and brought a sigh of relief to everyone’s faces.
Start of the day
The day started as usual with blazing sun, heat and humidity. As the sun reached its pinnacle, patches of clouds started appearing in the sky, and the wind became cool. With the initial few drops falling from the sky, the ambience filled with petrichor. Moments later, the drizzle turned to rain. Sitting in a comfortable chair on the veranda, he was staring at the falling raindrops and listening to the music of falling drops, which appeared like the chiming of a bell anklet. The rain stopped after a few minutes, leaving the sky overcast. The cool, moist easterly winds and clouds made the day cool and romantic.
Conflict of Human greed with Nature
Framed by the door frame, the Plumeria tree looked beautiful, laced with glittering water droplets on the edges of its broad leaves. A tiny bird, Prinia, was making calls while perched on a branch of the tree. The cute bird had a unique innocence on its face. It was repeatedly calling in a shrill voice, loud enough to be heard a few meters away. The bird was seemingly in a jovial mood. He was lovingly watching the bird and imagined himself flying like a bird. Birds have a free life, and they can fly anywhere. It is true for every animal, like arboreal, terrestrial, aquatic or flying. They enjoy freedom as humans do, but humans have certain peculiarities that are lacking in animals. The conflict between human greed and Nature is progressively increasing, causing many problems.
Human brain: greed
The main and most important of all is the well-developed and highly complex brain. The brain clearly draws a line separating humans from other animals. The human brain is the body’s headquarters. All received information is processed, and instructions are given for a reaction in response to an action. The brain is the seat of all types of emotions and the epicentre of all activities.
Animal brain
An animal, on the other hand, has either a less developed brain or is seriously lacking some major qualities like emotions and speech. They can’t think and act like a human being. Animals are innocent, and emotional pangs do not affect them. Their behaviour is instantaneous, and emotions (if any) don’t last long. Because of their natural innocence, animals do not “wish” for more, nor do they hoard anything.
Human supremacy
People often use phrases to assert human supremacy, equating a state of lawlessness and anarchy with “chaotic jungle life” or ferocity and heartlessness with “animal instinct”. Contrarily, the jungle is a place of profound order where every organism lives in its own way without trespassing on others’ realm. The jungle system is organic and follows a natural path that leads to a vast food-web and Energy cycle. An ecosystem is an organic association of various organisms which are interdependent. (Hindu Blog)
Ecosystems
To illustrate the point, a brief discussion about an ecosystem would be helpful. An ecosystem is a complex unit where organisms interact with each other and their surroundings. As said above, it’s an organic association of various organisms. Ecosystems vary in type depending on the surroundings and the organisms that share them. It can be terrestrial or aquatic, which is further subdivided into different categories. Nonetheless, for the purpose of discussion, two major types of ecosystems will be taken up. These are forest and marine ecosystems.
Forest ecosystem
Talking about a forest ecosystem, here too, various organisms, including trees and vegetation, are closely related. Trees and plants are primary producers which trap solar energy. The energy passes through different trophic levels and sustains the vast web. The reason to give a sketchy account of how an ecosystem sustain was to underscore the fact that animals are not at fault. Herbivore animals are dependent upon vegetation to feed. Herbivores are food for carnivores, and thus the chain goes on. In a forest ecosystem, the tiger is at the top of the food chain. Thus, protecting tigers is protecting a forest ecosystem.
Marine ecosystem
On the same token, an aquatic ecosystem is interdependent in an aquatic environment. The sea hosts a variety of life forms, including large serpentine algae like Kelp and other seaweeds. Here too, animals and plants depend upon each other for food. While smaller fishes are dependent on phytoplankton and zooplankton, bigger ones consume smaller ones. In the marine food chain, the tiger shark, along with other big animals are at the top.
Interdependence
The indicative food chains show the interdependence of various organisms in a food chain. It also shows that animals take only as much as is needed for their survival, not for hoarding or lust. Humans, who draw pleasure from hunting, ruthless killing, clearing of forests, and destroying habitat, do much more harm to the ecosystem than any other organism.
Eat or be eaten
Strife for life is natural. Every organism is dependent on others for its food requirements. It follows the rule of eat or be eaten. Contrary to humans, animals do not pray for fun. They toil to get their food, but most of the time they fail. Despite being best equipped, they fail to get their food. On the other hand, using their brains, humans made firearms and can “hunt” an animal from a safe distance. It used to be an amusement for humans. Hunting was a gaudy show of “valour” and “courage” and not necessarily for food.
Negative human emotion
Out of several negative emotions that humans have, another one is cupidity and lust. It doesn’t allow healthy competition, but is an effort to grab more by forcefully snatching the legitimate rights of others. It includes everything that humans consume as consumers. Other organisms, except humans, give something in return to Nature, but the human race only tries to get it. They do not give anything in return. For them, every other organism is the means of production, and consumables are products. They proudly declare crossing a benchmark of milk or honey “production”. They take away products produced by other animals for themselves, like milk or honey. Human greed resulted in conflict with Nature and widespread destruction.
Away from human greed Scan Nature
Looking around a forest, it is clear that there are a plethora of life forms thriving on various things, including those that are waste for someone. These organisms range from microscopic bacteria to small insects. A dead tree supports millions of white ants that disintegrate complex cellulose and lignin. Besides, it becomes a shelter for various crawling animals. Nothing is wasted in Nature, not even faecal matter, which is consumed by coprophagous creatures. The ants are savory for animals like Pangolins and black Bears. A tree serves and contributes its share to support the ecosystem, and after its death, it feeds and supports too.
Human greed and Infuriated Nature
Human greed and unilateral consumption and destruction without replenishment cause harm to Nature. It blocks the proper progression of a system. The ecosystem is self-sustaining only until its components support each other and keep on replenishing it. Excessive destruction of forests, grasslands, water bodies and polluting air are the outcome of unabated human greed. It infuriates Nature, which is manifested in catastrophic disasters like cloud bursts, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, and devastating storms.
Cloudburst: human greed and Nature’s fury
Cloudburst is a commonly occurring feature. The torrential downpour breaches natural barriers like ice and moraine structures, causing devastating GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flow), mass destruction and loss of life and property. The devastation is not natural. It is artificial and is triggered by any natural occurrence. Needless to repeat that this is all due to human greed and indiscriminate exploitation of Nature and natural resources. This tilts the natural balance and causes disaster. It is humans who need to learn lessons, not Nature, animals, or other factors. The lethal factor is the desire for more, that too at the cost of Nature and natural balance.
Need of time
Humans need to understand the plight and stop seeing themselves as the Almighty. There are limitations to everything, and humans are not any exception.
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Kamal Kishore Srivastava
A retired government officer turned writer and photographer, Kamal Kishore Srivastava is a regular blogger and essayist who explores life’s deeper meanings through immersive reflections on nature, impermanence, and happiness. On his blog Nature’s Narrative, he blends philosophical storytelling with practical insights. Writing 1,200–1,500 words or more regularly, Kamal is committed to refining his craft, expanding his audience, and building a sustainable space where thought and feeling intersect.
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