Seagull Sushi -- In Nature, Death Sustains Life

For some to live, others must die...

We live in is a cold cruel world, truly at times only the strong survive.  

After jogging at Druid Hill Park yesterday, on the way out I came across this scene just yards from the road. A shock to my senses.  As a one time rural inhabitant, now converted city dweller, I'm no longer used to coming face to face with the harsh realities that make up the circle of life in nature.

Amid the pile of white fluffy down feathers, there was remnants of a bloody carcass being quickly consumed by the hawk.  Residing at the top of the food chain, and being a highly developed predator, I imagine the seagull was taken out with the quickness and precision of a contract hit.  The innocent, but unintelligent seagull was probably bobbing around on the ground, without a clue, as sudden death came from above. The whole thing, from attack to death probably took place in seconds.

Many Seagulls Never See The Sea

Seagulls were once denizens of large bodies of water, now they're typically found in landfills and suburban strip mall parking lots.  Clearly in it's evolution, these proud walking, loud yapping, eat anything scavengers are ill equipped to defend themselves against predators.  In my estimation, they're probably poor at sensing imminent danger too.  Such is the lot of  many wild animals choosing to live and subsist via co-existence with humans, depending on our refuse and waste for food.

It occurred to me, that one of the primary differentiation between humanity and all that dwell in the animal kingdom, is our highly developed sense of reason and intelligence.  You see, in the animal kingdom, killing is often necessary in order to eat the next meal.  For the most part, animals have not learned to employ sustainable agriculture and other food production methods, but we humans have, yet we still kill.

Humans The Main Murderers Among Earth Creatures

The question remains, why then do we kill the way we d?.  Not just killing animals, but each other too.  In nature, most highly intelligent species rarely ever kill their own.  Sure there's skirmishes and occasional sparring to establish dominance and pecking order, but homicidal tendencies is something you just don't see among beasts.

In modern urban cities like Baltimore, where the killing takes place at such a high rate, and on such a regular basis, one wonders whether man has truly evolved, or in some instances, could possibly be on steady slide of devolvement, or at the very least, arrested development.

Human beings have certainly learned, on an intellectual level at least, how to peacefully live and co-exist without killing each other, putting it into practice is another matter.  Has there not been enough killing in our history for us to have all learned in the end it leads us no where?  While animals act out of instinct and habit, mankind is supposed to be inspired by intellect and intelligence.

Instead what we see on a daily basis is human beings representing more of a predator to each other than any else.

CONCRETE JUNGLE