Photo only to illustrate story .... hence I have not included Tech details.
Would you / Have you interfered with Natures grand plan?? This little guy strayed from his nest - not a good idea as Mum then seemed to disown him.
Here you see mum/dad chasing him off - now basically a outcast.
But not content with that numerous other adults continued to chase and attack the little guy - eventually his lifeless body laid on the outskirts of the colony and life went back to normal for the colony.
Why was he killed? Maybe he was a weak soul - Maybe it was just natures selection process.
Question is ... Would you interfere? Would you try and help the little guy?? or would you just say this is how it is supposed to be and leave it at that.
Hey Mr. Peters...I guess this is the million dollar question...I have the old "Mother Goose Complex"...I will engage and save the little guy/girl...let mother nature do her selection another time...:eek::D:) Some people will say that I'm wrong but that's me...:cool:
I would probably let nature take its course. I would not know what to do to save the chick short of taking it home and then it would probably die anyway due to my lack of expertize:(!
First of all, how would I know the other birds were going to kill the chick. Could look as if they were only shoving it around? I think by the time I realized what was going on it would be too late.
Fish & Game regulations are quite strict about handling wild birds, however, we do have an authorized organization here in Green Valley where you can take injured wildlife where they nurse it back to health then return them to the wild.
It's only natural to be sympathetic to the irony of nature, and the moment, I hate hosing out my bird bath every morning because the Raven's wash & eat their prey there, however, that's the food chain that we have no control over. Sure, I get p'd at times, turn the bird bath upside down, and deprive dozen's of birds of a drink.
I would not interfere in interactions such as discipline and low grade disputes, I will interfere in sever fighting and to save a life, that's just me?
Difficult decision Lance, I would probably help it but I should really learn from a past experience...
I helped save 6 Swan cygnets from certain death, the cob (father) had been attacked and had been forced to fly off, the pen (mother) was also attacked and put in a position that meant she was unable to defend the cygnets. The attacking Swans (who were intruders on this patch and looking for a territory) then attacked the cygnets and tossed two into the air before I helped drive off the attackers. A official wildlife rescuer who just happened to be around, caught the pen and cygnets and reunited them upstream in a vacant territory with the chased off cob. The intruders then became the holders of the territory originally held by the swan family and the swan family were in an adjacent vacant territory.
A few days later I actually saw the cob kill a duckling who came too close to his cygnets - so what I had done in effect was to help save the cygnets but then caused the death of at least 1 duckling who would have probably survived if the cygnets were not saved and the family moved into the vacant territory :(
Just one other thought Lance for anyone who thinks they should never intervene... suppose the chick was from a species that was on the verge of extinction, would that make a difference and why ???
I normally avoid philosophical discussions on the Internet, but I can't help myself on this one, so here goes. I wouldn't go anywhere near interfering with this behavior or any other natural behavior I witness. I wouldn't even allow myself one second of caring about the little chick. I would like to understand why in order to be able to explain it but not ever to stop it. As a marine biologist, I learned very quickly that often we can only guess at why something such as this is happneing, and that introduces so much subjectivity that we need to fight that urge every possible chance we get. Questionning nature and trying to control it is arguably a human necessity (and one we screw up constantly); therefore, our penchant for doing so should be tempered with great care and objectivity. Second guessing the natural decisions and actions of a parent animal is just plain wrong. No, one should bury that urge to interfere in one's inner-most deepest and darkest cavern so as to never uncover it, again. But I'm really a nice guy, I swear.
As polarizing as this question is, there is no correct answer. Individual case basis variables rendered the argument "circumstantial" at best. Fun to banter, but that's all you will get out of this subject matter.
Philosophical Question
