"FISH GOT TO SWIM; BIRDS GOT TO FLY"

(JULY 22, 2010) Earlier in the week I saw a couple of fishermen who had caught 7-8 catfish, one being about three feet long. The fish were laid out on the ground, completely out of their environment, and still gasping for breath. A lady who was standing there said, "I hate to see animals, any animals, suffer." I agreed.

This morning I saw a number of birds and insects in trees, much to the CHAGRIN of Sadie, knowing that they got there by flying. The trees and the river are natural habitats for birds; only the water is for fish.

Humans, too, are often taken out of their natural habitat and placed in situations that make them uncomfortable or ill. Such is the case with what has happened in the Gulf of Mexico where not only 1000s of birds and fishes have died or gotten injured by this mistake, but many workers are getting ill from the fumes of the cleanup. Fish got to swim; Birds got to fly; Humans got to be more careful so they can.

I've often thought of the wildlife on the Gulf as I see the wildlife each day as I walk on the Riverwalk. The environment is fragile. One morning a walker stopped and as we chatted, he commented that a number of years ago the Dan River was a dead river. There was little life on it, few birds, and not a sign of the great blue heron. As the city and industry worked to clean up the river, wildlife gradually came back. The small song birds, and then the fish became more plentiful, and then the water birds like ducks and geese, and then, finally, the great blue heron was seen on a regular basis. Now there are a variety of birds on the river including the heron, cormorants, osprey, coots, mergansers, and even a bald eagle can be seen flying overhead.

When the environment is disrupted by anything that throws out the balance of nature, whether it is industry waste or over population of animals, the wild life and all of nature suffers.

Man is not always the culprit. Man is often the savior of endangered species. Many animals that might have become extinct through the natural changes of the environment are now plentiful because some humans worked to protect them from natural destruction. Had it not been too late and someone would have noticed, perhaps the dodo bird would still be around and even the "mythical?" unicorn may be seen in the field along the river.

But all of this is based upon two simple ideas: Fish got to swim and birds got to fly. Without these two factors, the rivers and skies will be dead again.

It was another good morning on the Riverwalk.