Thursday, April 22, 2010

Down by the River


Yesterday, I witnessed a gruesome murder.  

My sweet baby, Miss Lucy, and I were down by the river when an ominous shadow bled into our path.

But it was the sound that caught my attention.

The shrill was deafening. 

At first, I thought it was rough, kinky sex, so I stayed out of it. 

After all, who am I to judge.  It's the law of nature and I'm certainly no expert in fowl behavior. 

As much as I tried NOT to watch, I glared at a gang of geese dive-bombing in and out of troubled waters. The lead warrior straddled his opponent, forcing him under the current and against a jetty of rocks that intermittently jut out from crests of frantic waves. 



His unworthy adversary temporarily escapes but is quickly recaptured, this time in a bed of quick sinking marsh.  

Looming above, the wild thug prods and plucks at his victim’s neck - repeatedly, until the only sound is the rush of a murky current. 

Sadly, this goose is cooked. 

What would cause one goose to kill another?   There were no goslings waddling about - it’s way too soon in the season for that.  

Knowing they mate for life makes it even more disturbing. 

Is killing, if not a matter of survival, ever justified?  In animals?  In humans?

There is a lot to learn from the animal kingdom, but today…I’ve got nothing but unanswered questions.  


Green Monkey Tales © 2010 Shannon E. Kennedy
photo's courtesy of Google Image




My sincerest thanks to those of you who read and comment.  

8 comments:

  1. Wow... that's quite a story. The circle of life is sure fascinating, just not something I want to see up close and personal.

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  2. Holy Moley-- that IS something. Plus, I like the way you wrote it too!

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  3. We tend to think of nature as being a bit idyllic - and of course it isn't. Or at least not always. Thanks for this beautiful but heart-wrnching post.

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  4. What great pictures! Love them both!
    Micki

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  5. Hey, I'm on constant hummingbird baby alert here. Danger abounds and some other birds are just waiting for the babies to hatch so they can have snack-time.

    Nature...I don't get it.

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  6. THAT is disturbing BB :( save the hummingbirds!!! what if you put a fake owl near the nest or a fake cat????

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  7. wow thats intense. Perhaps they were fighting over potential mates? I once read a book called The Red Queen talking about how everything animals and humans do is out of a drive to get their genes into into the next generation. For a while it depressed me, until I realized it was totally and wholly untrue.

    Thanks you so much for your comment. Holly shares the same sentiments, seeing as she lost a brother (without a choice) when she was young. I would love for to quote my blog *smiles with pride*

    Thanks!

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  8. Wow! I've never seen something like this. Why did they do that? I don't get it. I didn't know they were mates for life either. So, what is his/her mate going to do? I am kind of sad about this now.

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Thank You For Encouraging My Joy of Writing
greenmonkeytales@live.com

Shannon E. Kennedy

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Photo by Joan Harrison