On Behalf of the Species, Speak!
By Rania Belayate
A piece inspired by Nature’s Gifts, a Wimbledon BookFest event with Chloe Dalton & Ruby Free
Animals don’t live in our world. We live in theirs.
Most people can’t tell a rabbit from a hare, though both inhabit fields and forests that extend beyond human-built boundaries. These creatures live within a fragile ecosystem, one we disrupt carelessly with every road paved and fence raised. Nature is on the receiving end of humanity’s expansion, leaving animals with fewer choices as our cities and industries encroach upon theirs.
If I were to begin from a human-centred view, it might go something like, “Humans aren’t evil, just disconnected from nature.” In fact, we often impose human attributes onto animals—but seeing friends or foes in them is based more on instinct than understanding. Anthropomorphising animals can sometimes build empathy but limits our respect for their intrinsic, wild nature.
In the early days of the pandemic, many people reconnected to nature, finding peace in the outdoors and tapping into an innate rhythm. Hares, for instance, remind us of nature’s untamed side, as they remain beautifully wild, never domesticated despite humans having conquered and controlled so many other aspects of the natural world.
Yet respect for shared territory remains something we struggle to reciprocate. Hares, unlike dogs or cats, don’t leave a mess in the house or demand much from us. When we block natural pathways, which is today deemed to be acceptable, we disrupt nature’s equilibrium, confusing animals out of spaces they instinctively recognise as home. Environmentalists today describe the phenomenon of “shifting baseline syndrome,” where each generation normalises a diminished world, and therefore becomes desensitised to further decline.
Our role, then, is not merely to observe but to bridge the gap between the human and animal world. By imposing fewer man-made barriers and finding beauty in the presence of the species who share this land, we can learn to live in harmony with those who once roamed freely.
