Or, in secular terms, do not all animal species have their own histories on this planet? We came along rather late on the scene. Most insects and animals have existed in generations millions of years older than our earliest ones. I’m not sure we ought to assume authority over them. We apparently don’t do so well even with ourselves. We’re destroying life and habitats at an alarming rate, because we don’t know any better. So far as I’ve seen, animals do much better than we do with their environs. If harmony within your ecosystem is any gauge of the success of a species, on that basis I would conclude that we’re messing up quite early in our existence on Earth, and rather dramatically.

I think we could stand to learn a lot, by example, from the animals. These stories are ones where I learned a lot. Or deepened the mystery -- same thing.

I am telling these stories with a minimum of exaggeration, and with sincere attention to facts and details. Allowing for the intrinsic limitations of words to completely express truths, these accounts are absolutely true.

~ Your host, Adam Burke