The question I
frequently run into as soon as some stranger gets to know me is "Why are
you so obsessed with Animals, and Insects and Snakes in Particular!". How
did it all start? The obsession, passion, where do you get that from?
"Snakes and Insects have got to be the most hated of all the animals in
the universe yet you're in love with them"
To start off, with an
answer to that question, I must go back to my childhood day, well who doesn't
love animals? Even when I was a child and didn't really had any ideas regarding
the rules of nature and all, I was fascinated by animals, I've always loved animals.
We humans, as we call our self are the most sophisticated animals in the
kingdom itself, but for me there are far more sophisticated animals in the
wild, as compared to brain to body ratio, I'll give you the fact that we have
huge brain and we definitely have higher level of intelligence, but once you
get into the animal world, you'll know that there are animals, as tiny as ant
and yet their brains works in such a way that you'd be amazed. Animals are the
most under rated survivors of all time, especially snakes. We've seen that most
of the animal, the biggest of the size, from mammoths to most big cats have
become prone to extinction, well these days, it’s all because of poaching but
even back in the days, those animals sophisticated with 4 pairs of limbs and
excellent hunting techniques have fallen under the pressure of the nature’s
harsh law of survivor. But look at snakes, they are small, slithery, without
any limbs, not even a single pair and the most vulnerable to fast moving
predators, but yet, in the race of life, they’ve survived for millions of
years, while the most powerful animals using pure brute force to kill animals,
the snakes lack those ability and still they thrive all over the world, even in
the coldest places. Everyone has Ophiophobia, and most people kill them as soon
as they see it, but most of the snakes are not harmful, they are more useful
than harmful as they feed upon the rodents that transfer diseases. Snakes are
the Evolution’s Greatest Survivors! And the most fascinating animals in the
planet! A tiger or a lion may not have a kill ration of 5 out of 10 times but a
snakes will definitely have 9 kill out of 10 hunting opportunity! They are most
effective killers, and yet without a limb or a proper eye, a snake with such a
small skull and with a peach sized brain’s sophisticated as such and if that
animal, with an ability of snakes and brain of humans were to evolve then they’d
not be stopped by anything! Well I’m just saying it to back my point up that,
of course we are better when it comes to being sophisticated and intelligent,
but considering the fact that snakes have such a small brain, yet their hunting
ability is absolutely classy.
Some might say, Okay!
Snakes are fabulous; some are colorful and are beautiful but insects?
Well, back to the
Evolutionary point, the one that fascinates me about Insects, they are the only
group or phylum which has been able to take all the modes of life; Areal,
Cursorial and Aquatic! They can fly, they can walk run, jump, and they can live
in water! They represent the only flying class in invertebrates. Some have
extremely sophisticated modes of life, and behavior, the colonial form of life
as in bees being the best examples. Spiders, like snakes have very high killing
rate, they anticipate their prey’s move and kill them. Construct highly refined
webs and capture prey, If you think they depend upon chance then, Go to youtube
and look for “Gladiator Spider hunting technique” Trust me you’ll be amazed. A
female mantis eats the males head before copulation, because she knows that she
has free food and the males head takes no part in the copulation and once the
head is removed, the copulation is even better than the head attached. Most
people think Insects and other animals just go on as it is and then find food
by luck or whatever, but have you, everyone reading this, have you ever analyzed
the details of any animal behavior that you’ve seen around you? No! just look
around how they behave, and then you’d want to know why do they behave as such,
and once curiosity conquers your brain, then comes the obsession and once you
start to understand the truth about the behavior and how that behavior is being
acted upon by the laws of nature, then you get passionate about it! And with
passion comes addiction and before you know it, you become a guy who cares
about Insects and animals more than any other thing when he’s out of the house,
or on a trek or anything adventurous! When you do the thing you love, you’ll be
dedicated as a crazy guy, and that’s when you get better!
While you're at it! Check this photos out haha!
And, I might have forgotten about my inspiration factor! Well, along with cartoons, I grew up watching NatGeo and Discovery and became fond of it, and I used to see Sir David Attenborough, Austin Stevens, Steve Irwin, Jeff Crowin up on adventures, and I used to say to my self, I will be like these guys someday, and here I am today, half way through it! I'm already a Zoologist, I just need to get a job in Natgeo now! ;) And, I will become One of them, one of these coming days, hopefully!
