If you went to the trouble
of going to the Pictures file on my computer, then selected the Animals folder,
you’d find quite an interesting array of dead animals. I certainly don’t have
an obsession with dead animals, but at least they do keep still long enough to
be photographed. Roadkill is one thing, and not an attraction that causes me to
stop the car and inspect the remains, unless I’m the one who’s done the killing
and there’s a slim chance that glancing blow from the wheel might have simply
stunned said suicidal creature.
What does fascinate me though,
is discovering a bird or animal freshly deceased before the blowflies have
descended, with no obvious explanation for its demise. On the tenth anniversary
of my husband’s death I visited his grave to brighten it with some of his
favourite native plants. The Memorial Garden is fenced to keep most wildlife
out, though what should greet me but a dead wallaby lying at his graveside, as
if he wandered in during the night, figured it was a good place to take a nap
and simply drifted into the hereafter. There wasn’t a mark on him, so I figured
he’d succumbed to a virus affecting the wallaby population at the time. Part of
me likes to imagine for a second that he was aware of his surroundings and
chose that spot, in the company of those gone before, to breathe his last. I know
that’s not the case, but the scene was a rather poignant moment for me, and a
gift on that particular day. Perfect resting place
here I lay me down to sleep
never to awake
Another strange discovery on one of my walks was the severed tail of a possum. No possum in sight, either dead or even alive whimpering in the bushes, though I imagine something dreadful happened for I don’t think possums are in the habit of leaving their tails behind voluntarily.
where oh where is the
rest of me
We can tend to think animals
lead a charmed life, doing what they like when they like, but watch any
documentary of the animal world and it’s obvious that is a very romanticised
notion. It’s dog eat dog, well maybe not so much in the canine world, but it is
definitely survival of the fittest. Unless you get out there and feed yourself
you’ll starve, and unless you’re on your guard you’ll find yourself swiftly
becoming someone else’s prey.
Thank goodness we have a few
more safeguards in the human world, though for many life really is that tough.
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