The Top Predator: Humankind

Before I continue with my adventures, I have to take a moment to spill these depressing feelings on a page.
Warning: there are graphic descriptions in the following passage. If you are sensitive to abuse and more, please read at your own risk.

It began with a video a friend shared on Facebook. It was about the animal fur trade in China.  It started by showing the depressing living situation of many stolen wild animals such as the beautiful Arctic fox. They forcefully removed the fox from its tiny, cramped cage, and onto a table to electrify it to death. Unfortunately, too often animals don't die from the shock, they only go into shock. These people then pull off the skin, whole. Imagine the pain that a still-alive animal experiences.
I witnessed a skinned, but still-alive raccoon  piled on top of many other skinless bodies, lift its head up and try to look around. Absolutely horrendous shot that I will never be able to get the image out of my head.
Next, they showed domestic cats and dogs being shipped into China (some with collars still on - like they were just someone's pet!). The cages were stuffed with many dogs or cats per tiny metal cage. The people threw the crates around, surely breaking bones.  These pets are skinned in the same manner, then bodies tossed into a growing pile, again with bodies still moving. Depressing.

The look in the cats and dogs eyes is what got me, and I couldn't stop the flow of tears after. Now, I can't get the images out of my head. The video urged everyone to stop the fur trade by boycott.  I encourage everyone to never buy real fur or anything with fur trim or accessory. Fur fashion is a terrible trend that hurts thousands, if not millions, of animals, just for vanity. It's understandable that animals are here on Earth for our use, and in history, we used them to cover ourselves and keep warm.  It's also understandable that many people would never mean to kill an animal, but the few who would - do. And they are the one's who are inhumanely destroying lives of animals. There are many homeless cats and dogs in the world, but this is no way for them to die.
All the time, I hear "what is this world coming to?" and all I can think is Humankind.
In my two classes here in Costa Rica, Tropical Ecology and Land Vertebrates of Costa Rica, I am learning everyday of species of animals and plants that are declining in numbers, all stemming from the destructive lifestyle of humanity.
--> Rain forests, dry forests, swamps, and many other ecosystems are being destroyed by logging, pollution, agriculture, over-exploitation, and much more.
--> Mangroves are being overtaken by shrimp farms, upsetting the balance of the mangroves, which act as carbon-absorbers - taking in the climbing amount of carbon in the atmosphere and depositing it back in the soil and ocean to begin the process again. Tigers, who have resorted to mangroves after their home forest habitats diminished in size.  They are trapped here, as well, because the mangroves are diminishing, too.
These are just a few examples.
I hate to be a Debbie-downer or to come off as a "tree-hugger", but the more aware I become of these issues, the more I want to help change.  I realize that many people out there who might be thinking "We should be worrying about the poverty and starvation of humans around the world.".  There are enough people in this world to put their efforts into one or the other. Both aspects need help. All problems on this earth need help in some way. The question is, whether or not you will do something or not at all.
The Waorani indigenous people of Ecuador still to this day, hold generations of traditional hunting of wild animals and gardening of a few plants on rotation.  If you are interested in learning about the amazing journey of the Waorani people, you can read the article on the following link. Obviously, this isn't an option for the incredible amount of people today, but it is interesting to see the progression of Western culture on the indigenous people.  But that is a whole other topic.

http://www.lastrefuge.co.uk/data/articles/waorani/waorani_articles_main.html

I cannot believe how destructive one species can be. Sure, the balance of ecosystems on earth are always changing, but humankind has become the Ultimate Predator, and, therefore, is rapidly disrupting the balance of the entire earth as a whole. In nature, there is a top of the food chain, yes, but it is necessary to keep even that species in check.

As one who believes there is a God, I see everyday humans natural inclination towards greed and vanity. We are the only race capable of making moral decisions on the level that we do, and I believe it is important to make the right choices and to stand for something that is greater than yourself. This world wasn't made to reproduce terrible characteristics such as greed and vanity, and yet everyday people make decisions that ultimately affect everyone around and future generations to come.

Here is the video I watched of the animal fur trade in China. Warning: Very graphic content.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE56fAD3HyE

Thanks for reading this article, and I hope I have moved you to do something different, whether it only be buying organic vegetables or donating to World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, or other organizations whose goals are to better our impact on Earth.

~"All good things are wild and free."~