Transcript:

Heres a program from our archives.ambience, Nara deerBelieve it or not, the sounds we're listening were produced by deer. They were recorded in Nara, Japan at a park where deer are not only protected, they're considered sacred. Today, a cross-cultural glimpse at our attitudes towards deer and other animals. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Richard James is the executive director of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.James: That sound represents a real cultural dichotomy between the Japanese and the cultures of the west. In the eastern cultures, there is a relationship between all the animals that live in the natural world. And in Japan these deer are given sacred qualities simply because they represent an ethereal part of the environment that the Japanese sense, but they can't touch, they can't taste it and they can't feel it, but they're aware it's there. In the west we have a much different philosophy. In the west the philosophy clearly is that of human dominance. To the West, a White-Tailed Deer is just another thing in nature to be conquered. We haven't found that mutual relationship between us and the White-Tailed Deer.You often hear people in urban areas say, 'Oh those lousy pigeons and those rotten rats, and those crazy squirrels.' What you're really hearing in reality is a list of survivors. As we moved into natural habitats, most of the previous occupants voted with their feet. They got up and moved. They simply got out of the way. There were a few left behind who chose to stay with us and to make the adaptation to living in an urban world. The white-tailed deer clearly has done that. And as a result, we don't like them, just the reason we don't like the rats, and we don't like pigeons and we don't like squirrels: they've moved in with us and they make us very uncomfortable.This archival program is part of our thirtieth anniversary celebration. If you want hear more, check out our podcast.