Twilight of the Wild
Foreword
By Jim Fowler
of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom

There are many reasons why certain people grow up with a tendency to want to work or associate their lives with the natural world, just as some children know that they want to be firemen, a pilot or an Olympic swimmer. One's direction in life can often be guided by instinct from within, or from the effect one's environment such as the likes and dislike of the people around you, or from the examples set by your parents. Special experiences can also trigger a tendency to travel down a particular road in life.

In Rusty Johnson's case, he was probably guided by instinct. Knowing how he has always been devoted to learning about nature and its importance to his quality of life, there is no doubt that his devotion has been genetically programmed into his DNA. Rusty has been "hardwired" somewhere along the line to raise animals, enjoy the outdoors, and want to be an educator.

He may never know exactly how this happened. Did he get it from his parents, an uncle, an ancestor, or from one of his relatives generations ago? In my case, I became a professional trainer of "birds of prey" long before I realized that my name "Fowler" actually comes from the Anglo Saxon name that means someone who trains falcons, eagles and other birds of prey. I wrote a paper on the subject when I was in fourth grade, never knowing that I would eventually be invited by Marlin Perkins, to appear on the pilot film of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, with my harpy eagle over twenty years later. I too had a compulsion to work with animals.

At a time when our world is becoming more and more disconnected from the natural world, it is critical to our future that we learn how to enable people, the voters, to care about the existence of wildlife, wilderness and open space. Not to imply that the incredible ability that we have to pursue knowledge, create unimagined technology, create comfort for ourselves and unravel the mysteries of the universe aren't miraculous and beneficial, but if we fail to learn and respect the secrets of nature that affect and control our lives, we are not as intelligent a species as we think we are.

Paul McCready, a scientist who dares to comment on the bigger picture of life and the directions in which we are going, after engineering the first human powered flying machine and solving many environmental problems through his extraordinary inventiveness, ranks "working with nature" in his book, as the number one challenge of this century. He points out that only two hundred years ago, a flick of an eyelash in geological time, nature was in control of this planet. Now, we humans are in control of nature, which is an awesome responsibility whether we understand it or want it or not. Clearly, staying connected with the world of nature today is more important than any other human endeavor, once you understand the possible consequences of our ignorance or lack of interest in the subject.

This places education and personal experiences at the "head of the class" for those people who have a desire to educate with the help of "animal ambassadors for the natural world", as Rusty Johnson does. In his book, The Twilight of the Wild, it is obvious that he became dedicated to sharing his love and knowledge of wildlife and the outdoors as a result of having a personal experience with animals. That is all it took for him to embark on his life's work; becoming a "spokesperson for the natural world". By doing so, he is helping thousands of people of all ages to stay connected with the importance of nature in spite of the overabundance of shopping malls, golf courses, sporting activities and other places to "hang out"; all formidable competitors for our increasingly limited leisure time. Although other people may have tried to place limitations on what Rusty could do, he never told himself what he couldn't do. There is nothing as important as first-hand experience, once you find a worthwhile path to be on. After growing up where there were a few forests and fields, he traveled to Africa as soon as he could and organized most of the trip himself - a dream come true for a naturalist. I suppose that once you have become wise in the ways of the jungle of New York City and its environs, you are more apt to be able to adapt and survive elsewhere. Africa opened his eyes even further to the meaning of nature and natural things big and small. He also, along the way, writes about the people he met from different cultures with different customs, some of whom did not think very highly of American tourists.

Rusty writes well from his viewpoint and experience, which is refreshing. Many writers believe that they must always reflect the ideas of others in order to be successful, but it is also important to combine academic knowledge with one's own personal experience in order to gain perspective to one's beliefs. Daring to draw conclusions from that which you have personally seen or heard by using your own mind, is even more important than using someone elses. As does a good sponge, Rusty soaks up information. Then, he builds upon it and delivers something of value to his audiences as does every effective writer. This is combined with a mission and messages of the future, not the past. He is a powerful spokesperson that can affect the attitudes of the public in a positive way. I hope that I have had something to do with Rusty's awareness of these messages of the future, or else I am not an effective spokesperson. I have enlisted him and the help of his animals in my lectures many times. Oddly enough, the message of the future, in my opinion, is to not just talk about animals and how amazing they are, but to use the inherent interest in live animals to hold the attention of the audience long enough to talk about why open space, wildlife and wilderness are important to us. To put it mildly, we humans are oriented very strongly to judge the value of things within the framework of our own self interest, and if we do not explain "what's in it for us?" we may not learn to make the saving of the natural world a priority in our lives.

Adventure is another way to gain people's attention. Audiences, whether at a lecture or while reading a book, enjoy being led down an adventurous path. In fact, unpredictability in storytelling is an ancient art. Long before radio and television, it was the way information was handed down, often around a campfire.

So, if you are already strongly connected to the natural world or your busy life does not allow time away from the one we have created, attend one of Rusty's lectures. Otherwise, read this book and see what it is like to embark on a road that compliments your genetic programming and benefits society as well, preferably while sitting around a campfire.

Hopefully, Rusty's book The Twilight of the Wild will not be judged as just another pessimistic view of the future, but will help bring a new day and new light to all life on earth, including our own.

 

-JIM FOWLER