I have just watched an article on BBC Breakfast about the reintroduction of a species of flower that had become extinct in the wild in Wales. It has prompted me to write once more on the subject. Not to say anything new but to remind interested readers of the short-comings of the current view held by most scientists on the question of extinction and preservation of the species.
I want to use an example from the world of music and dance with which I am most familiar.
In the 1960s the erstwhile widespread use of the hurdy gurdy in Hungarian music was reduced to a single master musician. The hurdy gurdy is not to be confused with the barrel organ, nor with the piano accordion which has come to replace many of these traditional instruments.
The hurdy gurdy has been described as the only continuously bowed instrument we possess. It has, usually, two or more drone strings and two melody strings which are sounded by the turning of the wheel, acting like a bow of a fiddle or violin. For more details on the hurdy gurdy wikipedia has a page devoted to its history and usage. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurdy-gurdy)
Had it not been for the enthusiasm of a few nationally minded students the tradition would have died out completely in Hungary. As it was several young people gathered around the master and learned his technique. It is to be considered that since he was the only surviving hurdy gurdy master it is quite likely that other regional styles of playing have been lost completely. Once a tradition, or we may say culture, of playing has been lost, it cannot be reconstructed with any certainty. We can only guess at what it may have sounded like, which embellishments may have been used and when.
To return to the re-introduction of species, a lot of noise is made concerning the retaining of DNA from species on the brink of extinction, and indeed of breeding programs in zoos and parks around the world. Such creatures – here I am speaking most specifically of animals rather than plants – are not typical examples of their species. Many have been hand reared or are familiar with humans in other ways. In many instances of filming such creatures, the keepers repeat often ‘it is necessary to remember we are dealing with wild animals’. But in truth they are not. They are dealing with semi-domesticated animals, even though these may have unpredictable responses.
The culture of any group of animals will vary within the species. Yes, all dogs hunt. Humans call it playing when they observe it. But just as human families have particular qualities, of integrity, of ambition, of emotional blackmail and so on, so too, all creatures have their cultures, which they pass on and enforce to their generations. An elephant reared in captivity cannot be expected to behave like an elephant reared in the wild by its own species.
Science is only now beginning to awaken to the significance of culture among other species besides our own. This is not to suggest that some scientists have not recognised this important facet in the makeup of an individual species. A recent example concerns the use of a medicinal plant by an injured orangutan who chewed leaves of a plant and applied them to his face. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LotIelkiZHM)
It is to be hoped that further observations will become widespread and, most importantly, that the commercial world will begin to realise the importance of biodiversity for far more than its own profit margin.
