29 9 / 2011
“In essence, there is a balance of nature. Taking animals out as trophies in areas like that is taking something that does not need to be taken. There, trophy hunters are interlopers — nature takers. Aldo Leopold, who helped to develop the idea of ecology in the first half of the 20th century, coined the term land ethic. It’s the idea that we should all have a respect for the land and its occupants as a community of interdependent components. It’s much like the classic Native American outlook concerning the land. Leopold’s ecological awakening took a long time coming and he himself advocated and participated in killing predators. His famous story of extinguishing the fierce green fire in the eyes of a female wolf that he shot while she frolicked with her pups in a New Mexico stream has become a classic in wildlife literature. For that wolf and her pups, his land ethic came too late.” (via Mountain Lion Foundation)
