Man, predatory animals and the balance of nature

The balance of nature is a phenomenon much written about, but of which few people seem to have a clear idea. There are four essential elements in the balance of nature: water, soil, flora and fauna. The latter group also includes man. Each of these components is of fundamental importance for the three others. The balance, as a whole, is immediately influenced by a change in any one of these groups. The factor which most often disturbs this state of equilibrium is man. His actions can be of a more destructive character than sudden natural catastrophes. The latter may, it is true, cause an immediate upheaval, but it is usually of relatively short duration, and a new state of equilibrium is comparatively quickly attained by nature, herself, based, perhaps, on other presumptions than formerly. On the other hand, man’s repeated, and often unnecessary interference, through his stubbornness, press down the scale still deeper, and thereby block nature’s spontaneous attempts to restore the biological equilibrium on which man, too, is dependent.