All Creatures Great and Small
I have two Christmastime stories on my mind right now. Not storybook tales, but real-life ones that occurred over the past three weeks.
The first is about that tiny owl workers found in the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree while putting it up. The adult northern saw-whet owl was sheltering inside the base of a 75-foot-tall spruce tree when it was chopped down in upstate Oneonta, New York, and transported by truck to midtown Manhattan. That the bird, one of the smallest owl species in North America, survived the 200 mile journey and six days without food and water (the tree was cut on November 12 and hoisted at the plaza on November 18) is no small miracle. After a few days at a wildlife rehab center, she was released into a wooded area in upstate New York.
Meanwhile, over in Adelaide, Australia, a family returned to their home after a few hours away on December 2 to find a koala perched on their fake Christmas tree, all tangled up in the lights, trying to chew on its plastic leaves. The juvenile female had likely sneaked in through a door left open for the family dog earlier in the day, and was stuck in the house for about three hours. Like the owl, she too was rescued and released into a tree in a bushy area near where she was found.
News reports about both these incidents play up the cuteness factor of the two animals (they are adorable critters for sure) and abound in Christmas puns. But, Debbie Downer that I am, for me both stories spoke of the enormity of the human footprint on our wild world and of how we’re pushing so many of our nonhuman companions to the margins. It’s not a pleasant thought, perhaps that’s why we tend to avoid it. But as we head into the season of loving and giving, I hope we can also commit to making more space in this world for all the creatures, great and small, that share it with us.
Maureen Nandini Mitra
Editor, Earth Island Journal
Photo of northern saw-whet owl: Andy Witchger
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