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I don't do this work to make friends, I gave up worrying what people think a long time ago. As time goes by you discover who your real friends are, who you can truly trust. I do this work because I am deeply concerned about wildlife and our relationship to it. It just so happens that in my case it's about big cats and the realization that in the Search for the Mountain Tiger I in fact discovered the leopard. More on how that worked at a later date but yeah, a mysterious kill of a large animal, it must have been a tiger?...no, it was a leopard...
There is no doubt we have a strong spiritual connection to big cats, they move us to many emotions, including fear for those who live among them. But at the same time if I don't hear words like reverence and totem ever again it won't be too soon. Many faiths, cultural beliefs and individualistic rantings expound tolerance but the reality is far from that. We need to cut through the bullshit and understand that the leopard is persecuted, we are in an uneasy relationship with the most adaptable and widespread of the big cats. Moreover, there is more and more evidence being gained that the leopard is becoming the most important of these cats with regard to being ecosystem engineers, the fragmentation of tiger habitat to form "wilderness zoos" has seen to that.
The leopard lives from sea level to upwards of 4500m in altitude. It has shown itself to live among us taking dogs and livestock as we take its forests and natural prey.
And the years now have taught me just how persecuted this animal is. So many perceptions, so many inaccuracies... and a lot of dishonesty. It doesn't take long to understand who really cares as against those who are involved for personal gain, even within conservation circles. The value of leopard skins creeps up as that market force known as "supply and demand" takes hold. The beauty of the leopard, its mystique, our love and our fear drive these forces. Retaliatory killings when livestock is taken are the result of an overall lack of care from those who could ease this situation. Our perceptions are killing the leopard. Our spiritual connection which should be simple and with an easy meaningfulness has manufactured a whole belief system which is, and I'll use the word again... bullshit.
Because if it was based on respect we wouldn't be persecuting this animal the way we are.
I'm in leopard habitat and there are moments when I'm in the jungle I get an incredible sense of the presence of these great cats. It's not just the visible signs they give although they are vital as we utilize science for understanding. It's more of a sense of their belonging, their place in our world. It's such a strong feeling I refuse to shallow it by applying faith based thinking. It's a simple feeling of nature. It's a simple feeling of it being right.
So much to do in the weeks before monsoon. We're at a critical juncture in our relationship with wildlife. My personal connection to this particular animal, and yes, living with one did reinforce that, drives me to understand more and with better knowledge implement measures to improve our relationship with the leopard. It's never going to be an easy relationship but it can be a lot better than it is.
But we have to cut the bullshit...
