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In retrospect
Forged from the early years of turmoil and struggle when its very existence was precariously sustained by the sheer tenacity of a hand ful of people, the Kruger National Park today stands as a viable and flourishing monument to their memory — people like Paul Kruger and James Stevenson-Hamilton. They had the insight, they had the force of conviction, and they had the persistence not only to implement, but to maintain unwaveringly their belief and subsequent efforts to place an area of wilderness under legal protection as inviolate heritage for future generations. What sets them apart is that in an era where the untamed bushveld was regarded as land to be forcibly entered and recklessly plundered, they had the foresight to know that in times to come even remnants of these areas would be cherished for education and relaxation.
And so it is today. Kruger Park remains one of the few places on our earth where we can look back in the mirror at our past. Here nature re-enacts its daily life just as it did 200 or even 2 000 years ago. Though situated in and administered by South Africa, in essence it belongs to all people in all countries, for conservation should know no national boundaries, and benefits accrue not only to one country. So rapidly and vastly are we exploiting and modifying our earth today, that it is only to these small islands of artificially maintained natural wilderness that we can turn to remind us of our origins. More important, infinitely more important, it is only to these areas that we can refer to research the interdependencies and inter-relationships of organisms with which we share our earth, to see which essential links in this intricate web of life we dare not sever lest we cause our own downfall. Nature has existed over many millions of years, but man’s present technology enables him to disrupt and modify that stable environment in moments. We are hurtling ahead with that process at an astounding rate. Only by having available these wildlife areas — to use correctly as little dictionaries or reference books — may we avoid making a tragic series of miscalculations in Man’s future history.
Wildlife management and research < In retrospect
