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The Lion and the Gazelle

I find many things in the world very fascinating. For example, I learned that the word "gazelle" in English comes from the Arabic word "gazal" meaning of course gazelle. What was interesting is that the word seems related to the word "ghazal", which is a type of Arabic love poetry. They point to the grace and beauty extant in gazelles and note that the poetry would try to emulate these characteristics.  It may be a bit of a stretch, but I find even the possibility of something like that very fascinating.

I used to be a big fan of nature films. The Thompson's gazelle was one of my favorites, watching the herds move and play and things was lovely. And those things can run!

So I say "used to" because it seemed like the scenes that were most frequently portrayed were things like this:

http://youtu.be/dZFP8Wwrl9o

What bothers me about this is not the killing per se. What I find heart rending is that there is invariably a point in such videos when the gazelle knows it is dead, that there is no possibility of escape, when the lion's jaws ad fangs are firmly clenched around it's throat. And the gazelle cannot muster the strength or will to continue the struggle. It goes from this graceful, beautiful animal to being a meal. And you can almost watch the will to live ebb from the gazelle's eyes. Maybe it's neck is broken. Maybe a leg. Maybe it's just too tired to continue the struggle. Maybe it thinks that if it could just get its feet under it again it could escape the clutches of this terrible bitey thing. Just rest up a bit. Just a bit. And then the inky black coldness of death creeps into its consciousness and it becomes a meal.

Again, I don't hate the lions. They're doing what they do, and they are working for their survival. I just hate seeing the gazelle eaten, hate seeing that life and will drain away with its blood into the sands of the Serengeti.

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