In Cole’s organism presentation we learned all about the
caimans in the Pantanal. Upon hearing that they are in Portuguese they are
often referred to as jacarés, I was reminded of a short story we read in my AP
Spanish Literature class in high school called “La Guerra de Los Yacarés” by
Quiroga. Quiroga, an Uruguayan writer, spent some time in Parana near the
Pantanal. While the story is in Spanish and has no definitive location, the
themes discussed in the story are extremely relevant to the issues facing the
Pantanal today.
“La Guerra
de los Yacarés” is the tale of caimans living in the wilderness that encounter
humans for the first time, and the resulting confrontation between the two
groups. The humans arrive with their boat, disturbing the lives of the caimans
and making it difficult for them to find food to eat. While the caimans try to
fight back, the humans continue to come back with more powerful boats and
weapons.
Given the
current and persisting questions about weighing human interest against that of
animals and plants, it’s particularly remarkable to see that this story,
written in 1918, is still extremely relevant today, almost a hundred years
later.
If you want to try your hand at reading the Spanish version,
below is a link:
Or, if you want to watch some YouTube adaptations, see
below! (Beware, some are weird.)
yes
ReplyDelete