Spring 2018 NCC Magazine

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ENCOUNTERS
A chance to thrive
By Senator Diane Griffin, former NCC program director for PEI
From the nearby windows of a Jeep, we watched
the gazelle gently clean her tiny newborn and then
walk away. The newborn was too weak to move,
so the mother came back and walked away again. Back in
the Jeep, we were quietly cheering for the baby gazelle
— “Get up! Get up!” — because we had seen lions and
hyenas in the area, and knew the calf wouldn’t last long
where it was, out in the open. The mother came back and
this time the newborn tried to nurse — and the mother
walked away again. Finally the baby was on its feet, moving
on wobbly legs, and we breathed a sigh of relief, knowing
its mother would soon find a good hiding place for it.
I and a group of friends had been travelling across the
Serengeti savannah, when our eagle-eyed guide and driver
spotted a Thomson’s gazelle lying down in the grass.
Although I’ve had many wonderful close encounters
with wildlife, this experience on my African safari is one
of the most memorable. I suppose it reminded me of the
newborn calves I saw growing up on my family’s dairy farm.
If not for the care of their mothers, and of course their
human caretakers, they would not have survived. Growing
up on a farm inspired me to study biology in university
and I was fortunate to take courses in ecology — a new
and exciting field in the 1970s. From my ecology professor,
I learned about the interconnectedness of habitats and
species, which led me to conservation and the Nature
Conservancy of Canada (NCC).
While I have been fortunate to see wildlife in many
places throughout the world, it never ceases to amaze me
how rich Canada is in wildlife. Without habitat, there
would be no wildlife — it is that simple. The work done
by NCC helps to ensure that our country will continue to
maintain habitat.
Although we saw many other animals on that trip
— and even had one of our camp chairs nibbled by
a hyena outside our tent — it was that birth, and the
vulnerability it exposed, that impressed me the most.
I remain extremely proud of my work with and
connection to NCC. We all have a role to play in conserving
and caring for natural areas, to allow our Canadian
species — including moose, mountain goat, Blanding’s
turtle and many species of birds — the opportunity to
be born and raised in the habitats they require to survive
and thrive.1
HEATHER COOK.
18 SPRING 2018 natureconservancy.ca