When Our Bite (& Ego) is Bigger than Our Roar

The death of Zimbabwe's infamous lion, Cecil, has impassioned many an animal advocate. Cecil's tragic death was a call to action, a call answered by millions around the globe, one which has held activists and citizens alike on the edges of our seats, awaiting the outcome for Cecil's killers. In other words, Cecil's death took the world by storm and rocked the lion-advocacy community. The murder of Cecil took place over a month ago; and yet, many of us across the planet are still waving black flags, signaling that we are and have been ready for the fight necessary to save Africa's lions. It will clearly be a chilly day in Hell before lion advocates hoist a white flag.

In the midst of all of the Cecil-induced chaos and frenzy, which quite literally swept across the globe like a plague of angry, vengeful locusts, some have taken it upon themselves to partake in vigilante-like justice: naming & shaming the individuals involved in Cecil's murder, exposing Parks and Facilities for their cruel, exploitative practices, and even viciously going after businesses across Africa whose financial models revolve around, you guessed it, lions. Whilst I am a strong believer in the "truth" and love some good ol' fashion retribution just as much as the next girl, I never joined the lion-advocacy community having signed up for a battle in which many fight simply for the lions whilst a few wave around badges of heroics & honor. At some point, some of us were led astray like the proverbial sheep; no longer must we worry about sheep in wolve's clothing, but, rather, wolves in sheep's clothing. A turn has been taken in which, suddenly - for some of us - our bite is now bigger than our roar. And that isn't a good thing.

You know how, in Orwell's 1984, everyone is monitored by this dictatorship where a few watch over the many and essentially dectate everyone's behaviour, tell everyone what to think, what is right vs. wrong, etc etc. You'll may even remember the phrase "Big Brother is watching you." Orwell's 1984 presented readers with a dystopian world in which the issues & dangers of a totalitarian society were clearly laid out as a warning. Basically, when few possess absolute authority whilst many are subject to such authority, there's a lot of danger and opression, yadda yadda yadda. The point here? Our community has become somewhat like a dystopian society, in which a few have taken it upon themselves to act as the "authority" over everything - and everyone - else. "This Park is bad, because we say so;" "this charity is full of people we dislike, don't donate to it!" "Hey, this is a good "fund" to donate to, we recommend it so you should, too." Suddenly, a few are "experts" without ever having gotten a degree in animal behaviour, without ever having been to Africa, without having spent 20+ years in the field studying lions...you get the idea. And yet, somehow, others who do have such experience, who work for reputable organizations, who have spent decades of their lives studying large cats, are degraded or slandered...for what? Personal bias? Ego?

Because I didn't sign up to be subjected to the "authority" of a few advocates vs. a community filled with knowledgeable, experienced, passionate, kind, happy people, I can't help but wonder why a community with the exact same goal (that is, the goal of saving Africa's lions) is fragmented by personal bias, ego, narcissism, and jealousy. We are meant to work together, so what's up with all of the hero complexes? I thought this was about the lions; I guess I was wrong. I shall bow to the supreme "authority" of these self-proclaimed "experts" (mostly because not bowing is a lot more work and, hey, who needs that extra work-load when the fight to save lions is already so heavy to begin with?).

When we openly criticize the work of others, yet push and promote the work of people we personally like or have befriended, how do we truly know which work being done is viable/legitimate/worthy of attention & focus? If we slander one organization with years of experience and legitimacy, yet encourage others to donate to an unregistered fund created just two days before, how are people supposed to fully understand where their monies are going/to whom they are donating/who is legit & who isn't? When we publicly attack others/orgs/facilities/projects and do so with abandonment and a lack of foresight, when do we ever really learn the consequences for such negative impacts that these attacks can have?

The self-proclomations of "I know these people so I am right" or "I have done this or that am therefor an 'expert'" are dangerous claims-to-expert-fame. Many times have I seen these self-proclaimed pros jump the gun with information, referring to other sources for secure info or even being proven wrong by many others who leave their egos at the door. The real experts are out there doing what they do best with expertise. When we bite and snarl, we forget to roar. And when we roar about our own achievements whilst waving our own hero-flag, our roar becomes so much more meager than those roaring for the lions. An important lesson that perhaps some still have yet to learn. Lest we forget that we are part of a community, this is a joint effort. Saving lions is no job for one solitary (wo)man. After all, one person with a hero complex does not a successful fight make.

When our bites become bigger than our roars, when do we finally realize that we have stopped advocating and have simply begun pushing our "authority" (see personal bias and ego for further reference) on others? When do we finally realize that we aren't helping save lions, but are simply biting for the sake of biting? When will we get back to roaring?

Our role as advocates, animal rights activists, safari workers, company owners, tour company operators, etc. shouldn't entail biting at the heels of others; we're meant to roar for lions. We're meant to use our voices for the better, to actually effect change and create positive results. Our bite has become bigger than our roar, and that's a problem. Let's leave our teeth-sharpening instruments at home - along with our torches and pitchforks - and quit the biting. It's time to get back to roaring.