Humans are not the only greedy creatures

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A few times I’ve seen/read environmental activists claiming that humans are the only species that use up natural resources with no thought for other species. Now I’m not against environmentalists at all – in fact I would consider myself to be one – but I do take issue with this point of view. Yes humans do use up many resources with no thought of other species’ needs, but I don’t believe that’s because humans are innately more selfish than other species, it’s just that we have the opportunity. Anyone who’s ever had their edible garden or crops raided by birds, deer, rabbits or even locusts will know that they don’t just take a share and leave the rest for everyone else – oh no – just like humans, they will consume the lot if given the chance! I’ve made this mistake before, thinking ‘I don’t mind if the birds take some of the fruit’, only to find that the whole lot has disappeared in the twinkling of an eye. We have a fruit cage with various fruit-bearing bushes and canes inside – strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, red and black currants, loganberries and jostaberries. The sides are permanent but the net over the top is removed over winter. I had the job of replacing the net on my to-do list for weeks already but normally it’s a two-person job (and my partner is also eight inches taller than me so that helps a lot) so we hadn’t managed to get to it yet. And the fruit had been ripening and seemed to be being left unmolested. I’ve already gathered lots of redcurrants, raspberries and gooseberries and not noticed any big losses. But then today when I was nearby checking the vegetables, I saw a blackbird inside the cage eating the still-ripening jostaberries. He gobbled up a couple as I watched. I waved my arms and shouted but he just hopped to a different branch and gobbled up a couple more. I opened the door and went inside, but he just hopped to the next bush and pecked up another couple, while looking at me as if to say ‘tasty berries these’. Until I was a couple of feet away he was still hopping from branch to branch gulping them down as fast as he could. Finally he flew off, but only into a nearby apple tree. I could see that I would have to do something urgently. Unless I was willing to spend my whole afternoon being a ‘living scarecrow’ in the fruit cage he was going to come straight back for seconds and the lot would be gone in no time. Of course my partner was in a work meeting, again… but I really couldn’t wait. I fetched the net and a step to stand on and managed to get the whole thing covered and the edges fastened down all round. It was quite a struggle but it’s surprising what you can do if you’re determined enough. And I have to say I think I did a neater job then usual! And in case you’re worried about the blackbirds, I do have another couple of jostaberry bushes elsewhere in the garden just for them, as well as several other berry-bearing shrubs which they like. So I’ve left plenty for them – but I don’t think they planned to leave any for me! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2023.