The Life-Death-Life Cycle
We are all surrounded by life and death every day, but here in the jungle we experience it on an accelerated scale. In the U.S. most things in nature have a breeding season, a peak time of activity. In the tropics wildlife breeds year-round, plants bloom and grow at will, things flourish and die before your eyes. One of our tasks lately has been to remove an invasive plant that out-competes the native plants. We cut it down, pull up the roots, and burn it. We bring death in order to create space for more life.
Right now, we are experiencing a burst of life; the Torrent ducks have ducklings, there is a mama Agouti with two babies, a tree that has been bare the past four months is bushy with leaves, many of the birds can be seen feeding their chicks, and an Orange-bellied Euphonia nest is being built off the back porch.
But you cannot have life without death, preservation without ruin, growth without starting over. The tree that falls allows new plants to grow out of it and snakes to make burrows. The banana tree that has fruited will never fruit again, but seeds, creates space, and provides nutrients for the next banana tree. The chick that doesn’t survive provides food for another creature to live.
It can be hard to watch sometimes and working in wildlife conservation has given me a front row seat. Many species have multiple babies and at some point must choose one or two to support and let the others fail. It feels brutal. Sea turtles produce hundreds of eggs, creating hatchlings meant to be sacrificed, so that a few can make it past all the dangers and survive. When I worked in a tern colony, I watched a parent tern feed one chick repeatedly and ignore the other despite it crying for food. Sometimes there are limited resources and there isn’t time, energy, or ability to support multiple offspring. What is better? To feed both knowing neither is getting enough, or to choose one and know it has enough to grow, to survive, to succeed?
Death doesn’t always mean something dies. Death can represent an end of a relationship, the loss of a food source, or maybe a natural disaster. For instance, we’ve seen an adult Agouti with two small babies. In the area there are also smallish Agouti’s not accompanied by a parent. At some point, both with the Agoutis and with birds, eventually mom says enough is enough and, metaphorically, pushes them out of the nest. These young animals have lost this relationship and now can only depend on themselves. They may follow mom around a bit longer, might go hungry for a little bit, but eventually they learn to fend for themselves.
When we found that there were no longer three Torrent Duck babies, we were sad and couldn’t help thinking of the Fasciated Tiger Heron that had been hanging around. But we know the other two now have a higher likelihood of surviving. The parents can give more attention to two ducklings and can defend two better than three. Now, almost a month old, they appear to be thriving! This is the way of the world in nature. It’s all about balance of energy and honestly it’s an honor to be so in tune with it. To be able to see and experience finding an Orange-billed Sparrow nest, watch the two eggs hatch, the two chicks fledge, but then only ever see the parent with one chick, feeding it chunks of plantains or insects, watching the chick learn to feed itself and venture further and further from mom.
In our lives back home we can be so removed from the natural processes of life, the systems we are meant to be a part of. We fill that void with technology, social media, superficial things. I have always found so much joy in learning a new environment. Seeing new species, being able to recognize the plants and flowers, and knowing how everything interacts with each other is special and makes me feel a part of the world. I can see how things provide for me, how the world I live in functions, and how I can provide for this world in return.
Life-death-life cycles are necessary. Both within ourselves mentally as well as externally they allow for growth and change. It may not always be easy, it may not always feel good, but it always leads to something new.
