I have just finished reading this excellent book by Mike Tomkies and can thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in Scotland, the Highland flora & fauna and preservation of wilderness. I don't intend this to be a book review so you'll have to find a copy yourself and read it! I found that his thoughts from the last couple of paragraphs struck a chord, and here they are:
"In Nature's teeming world the animals and birds are working hard to fulfil their destinies. The feeling came strongly upon me that we, who evolved from original creation to become the dominant species, with unique gifts of intelligence, foresight and the ability to love spiritually beyond ourselves, have an inherent and inescapable duty to act as repsonsible custodians of the whole inspiring natural world. We are the late-comers, it can only be ours on trust.
If we let it down then we also let down its creator; and if even if we don't believe in God, conservation of the natural world and its ability to inspire our finer thoughts - for only thought can change the world - is without any doubt whatever a necessary ethic for our own survival. The kingdoms of the wild evolved in creation not for mere man to plunder, to satisfy greed under the guide of progress, and to finally destroy, but both to enjoy and enhance. If we fail to learn from the last wild places we may yet create a hell on earth before we too pass along the road to extinction, the fate of all dominant species before us. Spiritual unease has long been mainfest. The lessons will not wait for ever to be learned."
Whilst we may have differing philosophies, I think the sentiment contained in these words is one most people will agree with.
If you want to read the book, then I suggest checking out Amazon.
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