With fascination I’ve followed this week’s breaking news. (Well, here in Sweden. Keep in mind that we’re a small country) In a horrid act of pillage, a group of British scientists are planning on abducting one hundred – yupp, one hundred – of our bumblebees and taking them back to the UK. Okay, so we’re not talking about any old kind of bumblebee, no we’re talking about the Short-haired Bumblebee (in difference, I assume, from the Long-haired Bumblebee, or the Curly-coated Bumblebee or the Long-legged Bimbobee) The species is extinct in the UK, while here in Sweden we have a thriving population. Or not, depending on whom you talk to… Major hullabaloo has broken out among the eco community.
I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. We’re expending energy (ink, paper, time) over one hundred bumblebees???? It seems to me that whenever I lie down on my modest lawn I always disturb one of these aerodynamic impossibilities, with an irritated droning as a consequence. Yes, I must admit that I’ve never looked close enough to ascertain whether the insects in my garden are Short-haired, but they don’t exactly seem in need of a haircut…
Dear British scientists; please help yourselves to the required bumblebees. And then let’s concentrate on the really important stuff in life instead, okay? Like eradicating starvation, or child prostitution, or nuclear warheads, or … Boy, can I make this list long!
I was pointed to your blog by a friend, and have to say first and foremost that I absolutely adore your style of writing. 🙂
All that fuss about bumblebees seems awful strange indeed; I understand how important they are for keeping our forests growing and flowers blooming, so on, so forth, but there are indeed more urgent matters to attend to in this world of ours.
Personally, I do appreciate all the work World Wildlife Fund and similar organizations do, but us human beings tend to have a very selective view on what’s precious and worth opening our wallets… One good example is the logo animal of WWF, the Giant Panda. Humans were (and still are) at fault in causing them to go near extinct, so now to alleviate our guilty consciences we pour money into saving the few that are left, whether they’d really just need us to leave them alone in their forests or not. Other, less fluffy and cuddly animals, unfortunately end up disappearing from right under our noses simply because they weren’t adorable enough to raise cash.
One can easily see the same problem extending to other causes, such as human trafficking: it’s just not as posh, not as easy to solve, (and not as close to home) as those bumblebees!
Hi Mellowmau,
Thank you for a thought provoking comment. I guess it’s time to own up to the fact that humans have a pretty short attention span – both time wise and geographically.
Anna