Don't Forget About the Fishies!

I absolutely adore aquariums. I love everything about them: the people, the animals, the atmosphere. They might, in fact, be my favorite type of attraction! So, as you can imagine, I was extremely excited to visit the Shedd Aquarium, my favorite aquarium of all time, last week during our spring vacation.

As you might imagine, while gazing through the glass into the underwater world of the smiling and swimming sea otter, my innate histrophile struck me: this little marine mammal also has a history. He has a mother and father, grandparents, and a whole lineage of other sea otters. They come from different places, have done different things, and have made an impact on the greater sea otter community. We, as humans, are not the only species who have a history, that can trace back our existence for hundreds and hundreds of years. So can Mr. Sea Otter here, as he flips on his stomach and smiles at his many spectators.

Ergo, I thought about the history of animals in comparison to our own history. Every species on our planet has their own unique story with their own unique past. And although most species have no way of recording this story, it is still of utmost importance. A pack of wolves is just as devastated when their head wolf is killed as our nation is when a president is assassinated. A herd of giraffes suffer just as much as a town of people would during a famine. Global warming can have the same effects on a pod of dolphins as it can on us.

We are not the only ones with a history or a meaningful past. Ergo, it seems necessary to learn to respect and appreciate the histories of others. What would life be like if Mr. Sea Otter wrote could write down his story, his history? What would it say?

But most importantly, what would we have to learn?

< Histrophile >