Wildlands
Don’t Exist There
by Tod Bacigalupi
When we go to places like the Himalayas in Nepal or the
Andes in Ecuador, we believe we’ll see wild places. Huge mountains, places of great beauty and
maybe a snow leopard or a spectacled bear.
I’ve seen the beauty, but not the predators or the wild.
I’ve been lucky to have been in Nepal and in Ecuador
during the last year, and the thing that stands out most to me is that
wildlands don’t exist there. Representative of the majority of second and third
world countries, both have incredible mountains, glaciers, and high peaks.
 |
| Crystal Mountain from monastery, Nepal |
But wildlands as we understand them in the United
States don’t exist. Wild open spaces
where predators and prey interact in a mostly natural way don’t exist. The only areas of either country without
people are those areas where there can’t be farming or habitation. In other words, rock and ice. The big predators are virtually gone from
both countries, and neither has a concept of a land ethic.
