Circle of Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife

What did I say about universe being a cruel and unforgiving place? I'm pretty sure I mentioned it.

In the superb book The Devil's Teeth the author tells a great (true) story about ah elementary school class in the SF bay area that participated in nurturing an injured baby seal back to full health. Yay for learning! After rehab they released the seal into the wild near the Farallon Islands so it could be with others of its ilk. You know what else lives, laughs, and loves near the Farallons? Things that eat seals, esp. White sharks.*

So they boated these third graders out to the Farallons and released the cute critter back into the wild. Parents and children were smiling and waving and snapping photos and watching it swim away and then this happened. As life lessons go it doesn't get much better.

Bonus circle of life: Golden eagle killing a sika deer. The universe is cruel and unforgiving, but also terrifying. And awe inspiring.


* Only plebs call them 'Great White sharks'.