Ngululu the Wild and Free porcupine from The Meerkat Magic Valley Reserve of The Meerkat Magic Conservation Project ( http://www,meerkatmagic.com ) - a very shy and secretive nocturnal resident of the reserve that I filmed at 1 am. South African porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis).
As a professional wildlife research biologist and Nature Conservationist I (Grant M. Mc Ilrath - A.K.A - The Meerkat Man) often stare in complete wonder at the natural world around me, and often feel inspired to try and capture the essence of what I experience, by painting it in words.
Countless times over the decades I have upset certain audiences with my eco- journalism and conservation inspired poems and passion for nature - I hope these poems reach a positive and receptive audience as nature conservation, although my profession should be a concern of every citizen of this incredible planet we all call home.
This poem is called: Pied Delight by Grant M. Mc Ilrath - A.K.A - The Meerkat Man - A Conservation Through Education awareness poem about the plight of the porcupine...
In the moonlight
Glistening bright
Snorting, snuffling
Through the black velvet light
Your pied cloak of bristles rattle
You stamp your feet
Gnawing, chewing, natures feast
Roots, bulbs you search for and eat
Who mocks your defensive beauty now?
They wear what is not theirs by right!
Your ancestors have walked on this silent path
Generations past
Who now arrives to plunder your Ancient splendour?
Your own defensive measures
Now become human pleasures
Trinkets, necklaces, oh so grand they feel
Around their necks, and hands, lamp stands
Can they not feel, your pain…
As your lifeblood is drained?
To fuel their desires,
To quench your rodent life fire…
But what is the true cost of this pied ivory treasure?
When seen in nature
It has value beyond measure
A living, protected treasure
Humans rage about you chewing on water pipes
Yes, you sometimes dig these out,
Gnawing on them it is true
If only they raised these pipes up,
Along a fence…
You could not chew on these,
If beyond your reach
No longer would you damage what they put there
Nature and humans
Living together in harmony,
And understanding…
Then perhaps they would not kill you,
Then sell your defence, and lay a snare!
They could protect you,
Oh crater plough on legs
Breaking up that hardened soil,
So new life and water can become entrenched.,
Previously barren, dry soil can now become drenched
You are a pioneer farmer mammal of ancient wisdom
You live in balance with life around you…
But still humans mock your natural wealth
They do not use stealth
They rip and tear
They have no care
But to lay their snare
Destroy your ancient earthy home
When will this madness cease?
When will they begin to care?
It is too late when you lie in agony
In their unselective snare
Then they come,
To pull out,
Pluck you clean
What used to shimmer and gleam
A Pied Delight, your quills become
A perverse lust…
Now your quills lie in shops to be sold
Is it now your curse,
This once proud prickly cloak,
Gathering dust…
Now you are hunted day and night
Do none care about your plight?
Who will be your voice?
Who will be your champion?
You should have a choice
To live in peace
To be left alone, in nature’s home
Humans mock your beauty when they support a demand
That can’t be sustained
The porcupine population,
Is being needlessly drained
Until none shall remain
Who will champion your plight,
Precious, harmless forager of the night?
Nature needs you to dig, and plough
To distribute new seeds as only you know how…
To maintain the balance
To live free of fright
Fifteen years or more you may live
Following ancient footprints
We wish to experience your delight
Understanding that you are a priceless treasure
When alive and free
Nowhere are you farmed or bred for your quills
Simply killed to pay the bills
We hope that those who read these verses understand
So many have no voice who live off the land
Without your support of their plight
Without you saying no
They have only one place left to go…
Extinction is forever, darker then night
When you support unsustainable products
You end up killing the very source of the beauty
That once roamed alive and free…
