"the persistent and often irrational desire to be surrounded only by those species of which one approves, and to exclude any animals, plants and other life forms that one finds offensive."According to the article Noble Eagles, Nasty Pigeons, Biased Humans from the New York Times, biobigotry is
"...the dislike we direct toward creatures that live outdoors and generally mind their own business, but that behave in ways we find rude, irritating, selfish or contemptible."Squirrels, starlings, sparrows, weeds...
We spend so much time cursing the 'evil' plants and animals, when forgetting that we were the ones that created the environment that they find so attractive. We degrade the habitats for the plants and animals we do like.
Rabbits and deer are problems because we yank and spray every offensive weed that they would actually prefer to eat over our ornamental plants. The species that are pests are either exotic with no natural enemy, or have adapted to human altered habitats.
More to Come...
I will be exploring this subject in depth after I read the newest book in my collection- “Bringing Nature Home-How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens” by Doug Tallamy, chairman of the department of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware.
Tallamy was interviewed in this New York Times article 'To Feed the Birds, First Feed the Bugs' on what he and his wife are doing for wild things on their own 10 acres.
Curious Cardinal © 2008 Rachel Logterman
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