Tigers, Oh My!

           One thing I have enjoyed about being a parent is the beautiful perspective I've gained when looking at the world through my son's eyes.  The way dandelions become wonderful sprites of freshness and sunshine; the way tucking under the covers reading picture books becomes priority number 1; the way a day's worth of worries can be washed away by one soft, gentle smile; and the way Dylan's recent obsession with tigers reminds me that I have the responsibility to protect the world he will grow up in.  

       About two months ago Dylan became obsessed with tigers.  We have tiger figures, tiger books, tiger paintings, tiger stripes painted on sheets so that we can pretend to be tigers, tiger mugs, tiger rescuer vests, tiger stuffed animals, and stones serving as tiger teeth.  When I say obsessed I truly mean fanatical; he will tell you about the 3 subspecies that have become extinct, about the 6 subspecies that are still living, and how humans are killing tigers and destroying their habitat.  His beautiful blue eyes implore you to help save the tigers so that they "can be still around".  When he's talking about the tigers disappearing his face takes on a small pout, his voice a serious, urgent tone, and his eyes a piercing sadness.  His tiger tutorial is always followed up with a hopeful reminder:  "Don't worry!  You too can help to save the tiger."  A piggy bank sits in our living room collecting our spare change that Dylan plans to send into the "tiger savers".

          This picture was taken at the Animal Kingdom in Florida on our recent family vacation.  It has stayed with me as an eerie reminder of the tiger's fragility and the possibility of tiger extinction during Dylan's lifetime.  Some experts predict that without effective conservation efforts wild tigers could be extinct by 2021- Dylan would be in high school.  Other experts estimate the tiger's extinction to be 20 - 30 years away; regardless, in my son's lifetime.  It saddens me to think of this happening; to think of tigers not being a part of Dylan's children's lives. 

      Understandably, we can not all quit our jobs and leave our families, heading off into the wild to be tiger rescuers. Individually, we can not educate the tiger poachers, fund the families who are killing tigers for meat, or dissipate the housing crisis that growing populations are experiencing requiring them to destroy the tiger's habitat.  I am a realist; I know this.

         

 

             We CAN educate our own children about the importance of animals in the world and of the value of protecting our natural resources and natural habitats.  We can teach our kids to care for others, to practice acts of kindness, and to stand up for those people and animals who can stand up for themselves.  We can help them fundraise for organizations that are acting on our behalf to save endangered animals and habitats around the globe.  We can empower them with helping out in our own communities where they can impact people, animals, and habitat locally.  We can immerse them within nature so that they feel connected to the world as a whole and teach them how their daily actions here, in Maine, effect the entire globe.  

      Still struggling with the concept of time, Dylan Thomas always asks me, "Mommy, is today yesterday's tomorrow?"   We have the power today to help our children impact their own tomorrows.  With great power, comes great responsibility.  It's really made me reflect upon my daily actions and how I am actually-as opposed to wishing for or talking about- making the world a better place.  I can do better; for the tigers, for Dylan, for other people's Dylan's.

For more information about tigers, check out http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/tigers/index.html.