A Nature program asserts, “Small creatures have the biggest adventures.” I watch a small pangolin looking for ants – 80,000 a day to stay alive. On the ground, dead wood provides a treasure trove. Its 16 inch tongue scoops them up. A Cobra slinks out of the wood. Its sting can kill instantly. But the pangolin slowly ambles away. Nature and evolution have equipped it with a body armor that is impenetrable.
Featured next, “Golden Lion Tamarins,” mammals who mate for life are no larger than a milk bottle. Their strong back legs propel them through the air from tree to tree, looking for food. The camera follows a family of newly born twins on their mother’s back. They need mother’s milk soon or they will die. In this dry season, food is scarce and mother needs some soon, to produce milk. During a cold rain storm they find shelter in a hollow tree. The next day, traveling at 25 mph, she finally locates figs, and later, concentrated protein of grasshoppers and frogs. The babies begin to thrive.
We don’t have such exotic creatures on our farm, but hundreds of birds, who each day fly in to compete for tasty morsels of nuts, seeds, and suet, keeping them alive during these frigid winter months. We watch them establish a “pecking” order, try to name each species, and photograph their colorful plumage. We love connecting to all of God’s creatures and commit to sustaining wild life.
I’m Connie Seraphine, and that is my Perspective.
