In Praise of the Quiet, Unsung Heroes for Animals

Liliana feeding hungry geese at frozen and snow covered Jackie Onassis Reservoir a couple of weeks ago.

Newly arrived American Black ducks at Reservoir.

The geese have now departed to spring breeding sites,but the hungry mallards remain.

 

Every now and then a story comes along that makes you stop and say, "Wow, there are true heroes for animals in the world!"

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Such a story (below) is of three men in Branford, Connecticut who, upon noticing geese starving to death in their community due to the brutally harsh winter and frozen shoreline, took decisive action to save them:

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http://www.nhregister.com/lifestyle/20150310/branford-men-work-to-save-canada-geese-hit-hard-by-harsh-winter

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This blog entry today is dedicated to all the unsung heroes of this winter who, like the three men of the article, trudged out on bitterly frigid days, navigated ice and snow and dug into their own pockets to feed and ensure that the strays, birds and other wildlife trying to endure this unusually punishing winter somehow made it through.

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Most of them don't get stories written about them in newspapers. Most don't have cameras to document their efforts, facebook pages to elicit "likes" or organizations behind them to raise money. Many don't even have cell phones.

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Usually, but not always, they are senior citizens usually living quiet lives who have a particularly kind heart and open eyes to the homeless animals in their neighborhoods or the wildlife struggling through a tough winter.

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One such person is my friend, Liliana who has been inspiration for me.

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Rediscovering New York: Liliana Bobo – A Patron of Central Park's Feathered Se

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Liliana lives a very simple life without luxury and frills.

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But, don't let that sparton life devoid of adornment, high tech devices or pretense fool you.

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Because underneath the plain clothes and lack of financial and wordly assets of my friend is a very sharp, resourceful woman who knows how to get what she wants and needs -- particularly for the animal friends she so fervently loves and respects.

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Liliana is not above searching out or even asking for handouts and price-cut, day old bread and bagels from local stores or trudging out to a small, out-of-the way, Queens pet supply store where she gets a "special deal" on cracked corn from the older, immigrant store owner.  

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A couple of weeks ago, Liliana even fenangled a free ride on a NYC bus to get to the CP Reservoir with her shopping bag full of bagels.  "Please, I am just an old woman with no money, trying to get to feed some hungry birds in the park. If you can take me a few blocks, fine. If not, I will get off."

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The bus driver allowed Liliana to stay on for the roughly ten block bus ride. He too, was a hero.

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This has not been a kind winter for my friend.

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Liliana suffered through a bout of what seemed flu in February. But since she didn't go to a doctor, it's hard to know what kept her bed ridden and weak for nearly two weeks.

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Recovery has been slow and sporadic. Some days, Liliana is well and on the go. Other days she is lacking in strength and energy.

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Liliana hasn't been able to get to her Irish friend in Queens for the cracked corn since her illness and he doesn't deliver. But, mostly she has been apologetic to me for not being able to supply me with the cheap bird feed that she had been bringing over the past two years.

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"Liliana, please!" I admonished. "I am able to buy the black oiled sunflower seeds at Petco. Don't worry about it. The main thing is for you to take care of yourself and get your strength back!"

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If ever there was a person who perfectly embodies the term, "resourceful," Liliana is the one. Nothing stands between Liliana and a sick bird needing rescue or just a handout of a little sustenance to help the birds get through a particularly brutal winter -- even her own health.

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The temperatures have finally warmed in New York City to seasonable levels and we have had no new snow in more than a week.  But, the watercourses remain iced over, new grass is yet to bloom and the birds remain ravenously hungry.

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I have yet to see the flocks of migratory geese flying into and temporarily resting at the Central Park Reservoir, though the 40-50 geese I had been feeding through the last leg of winter all departed this past week -- perhaps the first real sign that spring is actually on the way.

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Still, the mallards remain and new ones seem to have joined them over the past week. There are currently at least 200 ducks at the Reservoir, including some newly arrived American Black ducks.

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Despite the feeding of myself and people like Liliana and unnamed others, geese, ducks and other water birds perished over this winter in Central Park. And while we can feel gratitude and relief that there were true heroes like the men described in the opening article, the reality is that countless waterfowl have starved to death all over the country this winter that we will never know about.

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Unlike many of the quiet, unsung heroes going out in the dead of night to feed homeless cats, dogs or navigating ice and snow covered parks this winter to feed starving water birds or other wildlife, I am lucky to have a computer, a camera and access to social media sites.

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Each day I'll spend a couple of hours on Facebook reading about the efforts of some Animal Rights activists to "free" animals from virtually any care, work or interactions with humans. There seems to be this idea that animals living free "in the wild" live a kind of utopian life, "free" of stress, suffering or hardship.

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 http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/jeffrey-masson-elephant-trunk-tent-article-1.2147330

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One can't help wondering if many of these same people have actually spent time observing (or trying to help) animals "living free" in the wild?

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Sure, animals in the wild enjoy special times of relative peace, fair weather, courtship and procreation.

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But, most of their time is spent in searches for food, safety, protection from elements, position in flock, herd or pack, securing of a mate and protection of young from predation or starvation.

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I am not sure if animals have actual concept of "freedom."

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But, if so, freedom actually comes at cost and the stress of constant decision making, some of which doesn't always work out well for the animals (as it doesn't always for humans).

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The bottom line is that whether "free" and living in the wild or domesticated and under the care and responsibility of humans, life for any animal is rarely free of any and all suffering or stress, as it rarely is for humans regardless of whether they are rich or poor.

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The only way to end all suffering on earth is to end all life on earth.

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My personal philosophy is rather than work to remove animals from our world, it is more productive to work to keep them relatively safely here.

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For that reason, I choose as my personal animal heroes, those people working to save animals through veterinary or rescue work, those like Liliana and the men feeding starving geese (and other animals) and those otherwise working to keep animals in our world while at the same time, working for laws to better protect and ensure their safety and rights.

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The other stuff, leave to the rantings of social media, little of which actually plays out in the real world where a laptop or cell phone is just another piece of disruptive, disposable and meaningless plastic in a landfill. 

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The real world is an old woman asking for a free ride on a bus to go feed some starving birds. 

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But, oh how that made a difference to those hungry ducks and geese on that frigid and snowy night in New York City!  -- PCA

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