Once upon a time, a hunter in a rural village in Nigeria went out to hunt. In this part of the country people hunt animals for food and there are no regulations whatsoever on the species to hunt or not. He sharpened his cutlass, took his hunting bag and his double-barrelled gun and made his way to the forest. It was a customary belief among the local people that hunting is forbidden on certain market days because of the belief that their ancestors could reincarnate as an animal in the wild. So this hunter observed the local custom. As he was moving with optimism down the pathway that leads to the forest he was greeted by local people who wished him good luck and requested that he would give them some meat from his catch of the day.
It had rained the previous night, so tree leaves and grasses were still wet as he pushed them aside to make his way through the forest. As he moved slowly with eyes scanning the forest like a reconnaissance military drone, he heard some strange noise at his back. He wasn’t terrified because hunters are used to the wild and aren’t afraid when they are on their hunting expedition. He paused his movement to look back, with hands-on the trigger ready to shoot at sight. Unfortunately, it was the sound of monkeys feeding their young. Monkeys are not considered edible meat. They are in the category of animals that are not hunted for food. It wasn’t because of wildlife conservation but because customary beliefs had it so.
It seemed a disappointment for him, as he had hoped it was the sound of an edible animal. Still, filled with optimism, he continued his search. Three hours had already gone into his search without any luck. Hunting requires a lot of patience.
As the day went by inside the forest, the hunter stopped to rest under a tree. He took bottled water from his hunting bag and gulped some down his throat. He was certainly hungry and getting weak but he had to feed his family and pay up some debts he owed if he succeeded. As he was resting, he caught sight of an antelope coming in the opposite direction. It was indeed the hoped for opportunity. However, he couldn’t shoot from the distance where he was, because chances are that he could miss the target. So, he repositioned himself, moving away quietly from where he was, waiting for the antelope to move a little closer before he could pull the trigger. 10 mins…20mins… nothing happened. It seemed the antelope wasn’t coming any closer, but he kept waiting,now with his gun set to the target and his hands on the trigger. All of a sudden another antelope came out from nowhere in pursuit of the other antelope. As the first antelope tried to escape, the hunter targeted and brought it down with his bullets. He was filled with so much joy as he quickly ran to pick up the badly wounded antelope. I know you are already counting the hunter as lucky and thanking God he made a catch, but wait! The hunter was so sad as he picked up the already dead antelope when he discovered it was a female still nursing the young ones. He combed the forest to find where the fawn(s) lay hidden, to no avail. Though he had made a big catch, he went home feeling badly and guilty that he had orphaned another animal.
From that day, the hunter stopped hunting and started petty trading.
You can imagine how we humans endanger various species of animals and decimate them in a bid to make money. As a little child, there are some species of animal that I saw, that are no longer seen anywhere today. Please stop killing wild animals for food. It is animal cruelty. Let them multiply and add beauty to God’s creation. Let the wildlife conservation authorities in Africa, wake up from slumber. Our grandchildren need to see squirrels, antelopes, foxes, and a myriad of animals. Stop killing dogs for meat; that is even more horrible.
#Just an appeal on behalf of our wild friends#
Storytelling is a pedagogical method that is gaining acceptance in the academic circles. It is one of the most engaging ways of communicating ideas, but also a very challenging one. If this story engaged you please give it some star rating or drop a comment.
