Dear Editor,
I am a regular reader of National Geographic magazine, and I am writing this letter to express my praise for including articles related to animal behavior. I was excited to read the article, “Why an Eagle Really Grabbed a Kid” by Rachel Becker, published on 12/7/2016. It was about a wedge tailed eagle swooping down to prey on a young boy, at the Alice Springs Desert Park in Australia’s Northern Territory. It was an interesting event and I wished the author provided a more elaborate account of the events, rather than passing around what is already known from Instagram and Facebook. (Becker; Crane)
The new behavior of wedge-tailed eagle is quite interesting and I am not surprised about its fearless and confident act. I felt the expert’s opinion that the behavior of the eagle was either an act of preying or an act of defense, was thoughtless. Can’t eagles kept as captives amuse themselves with humans, just like the way humans use them for amusement. Just like we seek amusement, it is quite natural for animals to seek amusement with us. The park authorities and the tourist cannot take the behavior of the animals for granted and are responsible for their safety. It is so imprudent to blame an eagle’s behavior for the harm caused to the child. As humans, we are concerned about our own species and it is a good thing. I expect that in the future, NG journal will provide a more scientific account of animal behavior, rather than reciting what most people guess or imagine. The idea of presenting weird animal behavior is really fantastic and it will be even more when you can explain it in more scientific terms.
Dear Editor,
This is a comment or opinion letter to the article “Testing the Rule of Law in the South China Sea” (NYT 12/7/2016, Editorial page). The article clearly talks about China’s dissatisfaction on the judgment given by international court in this matter (Board). The UN has provided a responsible judgement and the article identifies China’s stance as a threat and criticizes the country of being irresponsible. The South China Sea is an important business and military ground for China. China refused to participate in the proceedings of the case from the beginning. It refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal over the case.
It has been two years after the legal case was filed and from then, China has been hostile to Philippines. China has been a dominant ASEAN country on the South China Sea, and by partnering with Philippines, U.S and Vietnam are planning to take over this dominance. More than 50% of merchant ships of the world, pass across this sea. Thus, control over the sea will ensure supremacy in power and economy. I agree with China’s stance that the problem related to the sea should be solved through negotiation, rather than involving third party super power. Chinese fishmen were arrested by Philippines for fishing in these waters. South China Sea is as important for China, as it is for Philippines. The countries must have first sought to settle the issue through negotiation, before seeking the international tribunal.
The main reason for China to refute the tribunal judgement are: i. The south china sea is an important source of ocean resources for the country and secondly, it needs to set up a naval military base to handle threats that arise form conflicts in East China sea (Wu). The editorial opinion sees China as a threat and superpower, but forgets it rightful argument of settling these matters through negotiation.
Work Cited
Becker, Rachel. "Why an Eagle Really Grabbed a Kid". News.nationalgeographic.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 July 2016.
Board, The. "Testing The Rule of Law in The South China Sea". Nytimes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 July 2016.
Crane, Emily. "Boy, 7, Attacked by Huge Wedge-Tailed Eagle During Birds of Prey Show". Mail Online. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 July 2016.
Wu, Shicun. Solving Disputes for Regional Cooperation and Development in The South China Sea. Burlington: Elsevier Science, 2013. Print.
