It is nearly impossible to count or even recognize what gifts and assets we possess. We watched a nature video on PBS called "Kalahari: The Great Thirstland". Water holes in the Kalahari desert suffer long droughts. Some web pages say that what we saw was episode 2 of season 22.
Parts of the Kalahari were very dry, to the point that herds of zebra could drink at one site but the nearest thing to eat was an all-day trek away. Walk to eat, eat, walk to drink, drink - over and over. The animals could tell where water had been and was still fairly near the surface. They pawed with their hooves until they had dug down to a little water. But it was a very challenging situation.
Some of the water holes were mud. We watched as some animals trooped into the mud and could not get out. A foal was caught in the mud and struggled wretchedly. It looked as though he didn't have the strength to get out but he did make it. However, by that time, the herd had moved on. This baby was left behind and was terrified and disoriented. In the clip below, you can see him try to get adopted by a bull elephant nearby but is rejected.
http://www.corelight.org/sacred-activism/elephant-prayer-circle/articles/articles-and-stories/zebra-foal-and-gentle-giant/
He hears members of the herd calling to him and finds them but since he is covered with mud, they don't find him acceptable. He is the wrong color, the wrong scent and unrecognizable. Beyond the end of the clip, in the full episode, he is shown trying to get close to his mother and othersa but they keep trotting away. All he needs is a waterfall or a hosing down but they are not available. Then, a little rain does fall and he is cleaned off, saving his life, making him acceptable to parent, protect and associate with.
The program certainly made clear to me how iffy life is, how many tools and opportunities humans have that most animals don't.
In searching for a good link to the entire episode, I looked at many possibilities but was never successful. Just as with books, the situation of what is available where is in flux these days. The computer still seems to most powerful and versatile tool for finding tv and movies, which may be for sale by places like Amazon, streamable from Amazon, Netflix, HuluPlus, Vudu and many other sites. I imagine better search tools and better databases of what there is will be constructed eventually but right now, things are messy and sketchy.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
