Part One: In the beginning, there is possibility.
Charismatic Megafauna: Large animal species with widespread popular appeal that environmental activists use to achieve conservation goals.1
In the field of conservation biology, there is a group of animals so popular, appealing, and captivating they’re used by conservation groups to promote ecological preservation and environmental policy. These Charismatic Megafauna dazzle with their power. Think lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!). Think elephants, whales, and gray wolves. Think symbolically significant creatures, like bald eagles, penguins, and alligators.
Humans are another species altogether.
Charismatic magnetism means charm. As in: She finds him charming.
Machismo means an excess of masculine pride. As in: He’s full of himself. He tries dominating the field. It’s Machismo if you come on too strong.
Think of the Bambi Effect. Leave me the megafauna alone.
I choose the bear.
Part Two: The Disclaimer of Charismatic Megafauna
May be subject to taxonomic inflation.
May be subject to oversimplification.
May be subject to competition.
May be subject to extinction.
May be subject to crosswinds.
May be subject to unjust laws.
May be subject to subjugation.
May be subject to opportunistic capitalistic advances.
May lead to suffocation.
Then again, maybe subject matter jurisdiction never meant the entire ecosystem.
See also:
Reproductive
Protection
Agency
Federal
Regulatory
Statutory
Assault
Weapon
(not) Banned
And
Decomposition
Deforestation
Disturbance
See also: Trophic cascades.
Then see also: El Niño, La Niña, and Santa Maria Nina Pinta.
Also, I must ask you directly: Did you See Also the threat display of charismatic megafauna politicians wielding power indiscriminately? Answer yes or no.
Is it possible that with their indirect interactions they are planning to control entire ecosystems?
Could this be true?
See also: Ecopoiesis: The hypothetical shaping by human action of a sustainable ecosystem on a currently lifeless sterile planet.2
Hypothetically, they want to put their hands on everything. Hypothetically, even a lifeless sterile planet. Hypothetically, is that Machismo?
Part Three: It Was Never Really Possible
Gause’s Law: May also mean “I Will Compete With You to the Death.”
The competitive exclusion principle which asserts that no two species can exploit the environment in exactly the same way and coexist. Two species which compete for the same limited resource cannot coexist at constant population values.3
Charisma does not answer.
Where have the women gone?
I need to know. Where are they? Because I am they.
I do not believe the women are competing with each other.
I do believe the megafauna want us to think we must compete for food, or we must compete for living space, or we must compete for reproductive success.
Reproductive success: a subjective term that may be subject to megafauna interference caused by inappropriate displays of charismatic machismo in the Capitol. And the White House. All of this is further complicated by megafauna interference with my bodily autonomy. Leave me the megafauna alone.
See also:
Competitive Exclusion: When one species has even the slightest advantage over another, the one with the advantage will dominate in the long term. This leads either to the extinction of the weaker competitor or to an evolutionary or behavioral shift toward a different ecological niche. The principle has been paraphrased in the maxim “complete competitors cannot coexist”.4
See also:
Rain Shadow: Land that becomes desert because of its location in the mountain range.
Rainstorm: Don’t rain on my parade.
Brainstorm: Votes for Women.
Rainbow: God’s promise. Self-explanatory. But subject to misinterpretation.
And finally, extinction of a language, of a people, of a planet, is always a risk some are too willing to take.
Endnotes:
1. Large animal species with widespread popular appeal that environmental activists use to achieve conservation goals…
Though I should probably be ashamed that I chose to lift this definition verbatim from Ecology Wiki, I am not ashamed at all. This was the inspiration for this poem. Thank you, Wiki.
2. The hypothetical shaping by human action of a sustainable ecosystem on a currently lifeless sterile planet…
Another Wiki banger here. But also leads to a rabbit hole inhabited by Carl Sagan.
3. The competitive exclusion principle which asserts that no two species can exploit the environment in exactly the same way and coexist. Two species which compete for the same limited resource cannot coexist at constant population values.
From a linguistic/language perspective, I find it interesting that sources begin explaining this theory by stating, “Gause’s theory, not to be confused with Gauss’ theory.” There is a certain disharmony with our process of naming theories with the surnames of scientists who first claim to have come up with them. It is also poignant that in this particular case, there might be confusion with a theory that involves considering the idea that competing species will fight to the death for finite resources.
Works Consulted:
“Glossary of Ecology.” 2024. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Glossary_of_ecology&oldid=1209715631#C.
Mueller, Laurence. 2020. “Competitive Exclusion Principle – an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.” Science Direct. 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/competitive-exclusion-principle.
Shellie is an editor for Literary Mama, a reader for In Short: A Journal of Flash Nonfiction and a reader for Phoebe Journal’s Incarcerated Writers Project. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from George Mason University. Her work has been recognized by several contests and has appeared in Feminine Collective, Literary Mama, Madison Review Extended Cut, Seaside Gothic, and elsewhere. She recently completed a memoir that centers around her middle daughter’s brain tumor diagnosis. She lives and writes in New Jersey.
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Picture Credits: Musa Ali Chaudhry
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