April 29, 2007

  • Call of Nature

    Taiwan – and this is undeniable –
    has a problem with stray dogs. Officially, there are only 10,000
    strays across this island. Only...ha! The government here tries –
    like governments all across the world – to manipulate the figures
    to a more acceptable number, but the truth is there for all to see.
    Go in to the mountains, and there are dogs limping, hit by cars who
    either do not see them or – and I have seen this happen – by
    people who just use them for target practice.

    Dogs are an expendable commodity here,
    puppies being cute when they are young, and with Taiwan being heavy
    in to the "cute culture", when the puppy has lost its
    cuteness, it's taken in to the mountains and abandoned. And it is a
    sad fact that you will sometimes see dead dogs on the roads – lumps
    of fur just lying there, motionless. It is something that can not
    fail to move anyone who likes animals.

    Not just in the mountains, but also
    more and more in the towns and cities, you see stray dogs. We had
    some close to my home a year or so ago, but now they seem to be
    elsewhere.

    The other evening, as I was approaching
    my home on the Suzuki, I saw another one. It was a few hundred metres
    from my home. As I passed, I thought that perhaps its' death was
    quicker than many other stray dogs. Many others lie in pain, limping
    around with a broken front leg, or flea ridden, or hungry, or always
    giving birth to puppies, or any combination of the above.

    But as one animal dies, other life is
    brought to the world, and as I approached the security gate to where I park the bike, I could hear the unmistakable call of a male frog, happy because of the light sprinkling of rain that evening. As I revved up I could see something in my headlights, so I stopped. BOING jumped what I assume was a female frog, suitably impressed by the male's calling, and jumped off to get some froggy love.

    When I got home, the kitty was
    exceedingly cuddly – more than usual. With spring time now firmly
    here, the window was open. I wondered if Kahukura had heard the dog's
    death. Perhaps she knew what had happened – perhaps she had heard
    the dogs whines of pain, or heard it's last breath. Maybe she
    understands how good her life is – even though she is stuck in my
    apartment the whole time. Does she know that she is safe inside? I
    have a feeling she does.


    Swallows are right now busy building nests,
    and out flying all over the place to get food for their babies. Kitty
    loves it – watching them from inside, getting all excited as the
    swallows glide by, chasing mosquitos and insects close to the river.

    Riding the mountain bike up Da Tun Shan
    last weekend I was lucky enough to see eagles gliding on the
    thermals, butterflies, spiders and lizards. It's not very often that
    you get to see the lizards on that road, but I saw two during the
    climb, both of them beautiful golden brown with a black streak on the
    back. I also got to see a bird I had never seen before – an amazing
    shade of green that was simply stunning.

    I got to the top – 1080 metres above
    sea level – the same place where I met Joanne's room-mate last
    year, and watched as the warbling birds played in the reeds swaying
    in the breeze. The sounds of the birds and of nature undisturbed by
    human life are something to treasure, and it is very rare that you
    get such undiluted sounds, but for just a few moments nature was the
    winner.

    Having taken the mountain bike up
    Guanyin Shan several times as well recently, I have enjoyed the
    relatively fresh air, despite the new freeway being built along my
    route, and therefore a very large amount of diesel-spewing trucks
    joining me en route. Because this new freeway is going through the
    mountain, they only go up 1 or 2 km, and the rest of the way is mine,
    nature's, and – of course – all those people's who go up the
    mountain to sing – at various levels of (in)competence – in the
    local karaoke bar (or KTV). And on the 8 km climb there are many of
    those.

    But being a part of the nature, seeing
    the flowers, the birds reminds me that despite the poor treatment of
    some animals, nature is still fully in control. With global warming
    and climate change being buzzwords of the noughties, I find it
    strange that people want to ignore what 99.9% of the population knows
    – that the world is changing. Even back at school – in 1986 – I
    was writing about acid rain for my German A' level.

    Now I am no expert, but the truth is
    simple – what the governments in Europe are proposing for carbon
    emission reduction is too little, too late. With China building the
    equivalent of 1 new coal-burning power station every week for the
    next 7 years, carbon emissions will rise, not fall. Our climate, out
    planet is in trouble, and ALL of nature will suffer very soon. If not
    in this generation, then in one of the next two or three.

    And when we have done enough damage to
    planet Earth, we too will be wiped out, along with the eagles,
    lizards and even those stray dogs.