The cirlce of life

Last night I decided (after a rather food-filled weekend thanks to my husband's cousin coming to visit, as well as the birthdays of 2 good friends - of which the celebrations are going to continue tonight might I add) to have a nice long cycle on our exercise bike, just to feel a little more human again. To speed up the time of this tedious exercise (I rather prefer cycling outside than in our living room), I watched the (customary) nature programme on 3. At the moment there's a series called "Be the creature", hosted by 2 (crazy) brothers who really get up close and personal with the animals. I recall a rather memorable episode where they were very close (a little too close if you ask me) to the Comodo Dragon... So last night they were getting cosy with Macaques in Japan.

Woah. These monkeys are really clever! Won't bore you with the details, but there was one particularly cute monkey (Limpet) who had lost his mom, and had to try and fend for himself. He was so tiny, yet had these huge eyes and wrinkly skin that made him look like an old man. At the end of the show, there was a dedication to Limpet, as he had died 2 weeks after filming.

I was really sad for the little monkey. Made me wonder where we humans should draw the line in terms of interfering in nature. The problem is, though, that we have already interfered. We've already pushed species to extinction - some to the brink thereof. Now it's a matter of controlling it I guess. Was it right for Limpet to be left alone and to (inevitably) die when scientists knew about his affliction?

I really can't make my mind up about this one.

Maybe this is just the circle of life. Monkeys (like people) die. Even young ones. This is the reality we all know we must accept one day (yet often live in utter denial until the day we are personally affected by death).