Playing the Game of Evolution

Natural selection means survival of the fittest. Survival of the fittest means that the stronger species survive and the weaker do not. This is evolution at its core, and one of the natural laws of the Universal Clockwork. It is what has made us into the species we are today. This is what I think most conservationists tend to overlook on a fundamental level. We are animals as well. Not only that, but we are by far the most intelligent, sophisticated and strongest species on this planet. In other words, we are calling the shots. Part of the reason why this is, is because we have developed the intelligence to create tools and habitats that enable us to survive in any type of environment. This has made it possible for our species to spread from its initial conception in Africa all across the globe, some places later than others. Modern civilization originated in Europe which is why that primary forest was the first to go. Because everywhere civilized people have gone since then, the pattern remain the same. We harvest any resource our new environment has to offer to make our own survival and reproduction easier. This is what makes us the dominant species. Here is the catch. Being dominant NECESSARILY means that other lesser species will have to move aside and give way to the stronger species. This, again, has been going on long before we ever walked the Earth and continued unabated after we did, regardless of our presence. How many species like the dinosaurs, mammoths, mastodonts, sabretooth tiger, and numerous unsung others have come and gone before and when we came along. Many of these played the game of evolution and lost without interference from humans but most likely as a result of geological and climate changes, others as a result of our increasing dominance as the Earth’s leading species. Unfortunately, to ensure the further evolution of a dominant species and get to that point other lesser species have to become extinct, there simply isn’t enough room for all of us. This even works within our own species. Whenever a dominant and stronger civilization made contact with a weaker and less developed civilization, over time - sometimes weeks, sometimes decades or centuries – the weaker civilization eventually died. It is simply natural selection at work. It is a law as old as time. Yet because today, right now, it is happening before our eyes and directly as a result of our own existence, it makes us sad. Humans are developing a guilty conscience, we feel sorry for our own dominance of this planet. 

But here is the flipside. Without these developments, without this evolution, hard bought as they may be, we wouldn’t even be thinking these thoughts. If we were still hunter/gatherers we would struggle to barely survive. Creating cities and agriculture and industrial harvesting of natural resources have enabled our species to rise higher than ever before and given us time to create a fuller picture of existence than any other living being on this planet and to our knowledge so far, in the entire universe. How many orangutans have gone to the moon? How many sunbears go to the doctor if they have a tummy ache? How many sharks can tell you how many planets our solar system has? Our species have been continuously moving forward in evolution since it developed, leading to exactly where we are right now. Transcender after transcender have helped carry our species higher up the evolutionary ladder to a point where we now have the freedom to influence and potentially destroy our entire planet. If our planet suddenly faces another global extinction event similar to the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, (in total there has been 5 major ones with probably more to come) which advanced species stand the better chance of survival? Obviously us. But only because of our current technological level, not because of living in pact with nature. Some refer to our very presence as the sixth major extinction event which could very well be the case. But even if we cause one, would it also mean our own end? Would such an event simply be an inevitable price of progress or could it be avoided altogether, without relinquishing our current level of civilization? This would be the ultimate goal of conservation.