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URBANISATIONA� has seenA� mankind claiming much of the habitat on this earth to himself, relegating animals to the peripheries. Areas that were home to wild animals only a few decades ago, are now kilometres of concrete that we behold in awe. We rarely stop to pause and consider how much we have robbed the wild animals of their habitat. As if that is not enough, when our gradual encroachment threatens their very survival, we recede into our cocoon of false innocence, and label the poor creatures a�?a�?problem animalsa��a��.
Elsewhere in this edition we carry a story in which residents of Cowdray Park sought to lynch and possibly kill a monkey that was seen perched on a fellow residenta��s house in broad daylight. It is not shocking that such animals turn up, especially in suburbs that are on the periphery of the city, as it is quite possible that they would have strayed from the bush.
What we would, however, like to urge is for residents to spare the lives of the poor animals that cannot comprehend our boundaries that we have set between ourselves and them. It is quite important for residents to heed the call of their leaders to call experts to deal with stray animals since some of the animals could be dangerous to them. For people, who are not used to animals moving around in a suburb, it is quite a shock.
However, if the same were to happen in Victoria Falls, and you stop and ask fellow residents to assist you chase the animals, they would certainly think something is not right with you since there are so many wild animals there, and whose benefit they appreciate. In the Cowdray Park environs, the council used to run a thriving nature reserve and it should not surprise us that there are animals around.
In fact, we should be thankful that our children can still view these animals, for free. In some countries, they killed all their animals and they only see such animals in zoos. It is against that background that we need to educate the public to value our heritage and protect especially our animals that have died painful deaths in the suburbs as people associate them with witchcraft and all sort of things.
We have become so accustomed to crows all around us, we also have owls in areas will tall trees and many hares around the suburbs, giving rise to small time poachers. This is an acknowledgement of the presence of wild animals around us.
Our plea is that whenever we come across wild animals in built-up areas, what should be uppermost in our minds would be to save their lives and return them safely to the wild.A� The responsibility goes beyond just the Parks authorities and the public should also help one another understand the plight of our animals and how they belong to us all.
Tourists travel thousands of kilometres to come here and view our wild animals, spending thousands of dollars that benefit our economy.A� When we make it a habit to harass and kill our animals, we slowly but surely decimate a valuable asset.
Online Reporter