ThirstyFish

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge has become one of my favorite places to visit. The refuge has a diverse set of accessible habitats allowing visitors to watch and photograph wildlife.

Watching wildlife in their natural habitat has always been a pastime enjoyed by many, but in the recent years it has also become a multi-million dollar tourism industry. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has an interesting pamphlet about the benefits and risks of wildlife tourism, and its impact on wildlife.

Although photographs and documentaries bring wildlife right to our computers and television sets, they don't really give us the experience. To observe wildlife we don't have to go on safaris; most of us are a short drive or even a walk away from an experience that is calming and educational. Don't forget, not only can we learn about wildlife, we can learn from wildlife, especially those of us that are stuck in cities...

Quoting the great Physicist Richard Feynman: "You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something". You can see Richard Feynman on a YouTube video making this point.