“Waiting for Our Evening Snacks”

 

“Waiting for Our Evening Snacks”

We have a lot to learn from waterfowl, particularly on how to be civil and yet be competitive, though not a cut-throat type of competition. A few days ago, I was at the Geethapuram Check Dam across River Cauvery in Srirangam, one hour before dusk; and, what I saw took my breath away. A line of long-legged waterfowl (கொக்கு)−not pelicans−were waiting to “catch” their evening snack, so to say.

There must have been competition among them for space on the crest of the check dam. But there was no ruckus, no fisticuffs (or whatever storks (கொக்குகள்) engage in when they are angry), no visible snarling; I am not saying that the scene was serene and filled with camaraderie; only that they did not show me their anger towards their cohorts that I could decipher.

Quite frequently one stork would take a short flight, go down– or upstream of the check dam and on the way back would locate a vacant space in the line and perch, or just behind, upstream of the check dam. No adjustments in the line to accommodate the returning explorer! No fighting for its original space! They are “waiting for their evening snacks!” Do we see this amongst ourselves, say in a queue, in particular, a temple? No. I have enough experience in this matter.

And, another scene, fish jumping up the small height of the check dam trying to get to its crest. Such behaviour must have been observed by fisher people, and precisely for an opposite reason, for the fish to reach further upstream and lay eggs to multiply! These are called fish ladder (you can see this in the James Bond movie The World is Not Enough, if not in the opening scene but in the following frames). This shows precisely the steps behind the predator-prey dance in evolutionary biology.

The blurred picture that I managed with my camera phone at the check dam explains what I said in the text. Please don’t mind as I could not get nearer to the scene of action. Yet, the photo supports the extensions of the idea of Evolution though Natural Selection. A learning moment, for me.

Raghuram Ekambaram