I will never forget my first day in the United States when I stood on the balcony of my apartment and looked out over the lush, green yard at the back of the building. A big, gray rabbit suddenly appeared and started on a large meal without any concern about his surroundings. He stayed in one place for a few minutes and jumped to another area for new food. It took a while for him to finish his dinner before disappearing. If I hadn’t been so tired and afraid of a virus that a wild animal could give me, I would definitely have grabbed him and kept him as a pet, treated him as I treat myself. His care-free, leisurely hour in the grass behind my apartment is still fresh in my memory. Since my only encounter with animals in China were in the zoos, watching that rabbit made me feel lucky to be here.
Rabbits weren’t the only animals that this animal-lover saw. It got even better. On campus, I saw squirrels! Here was an animal that I only saw in cartoon movies, with his fluffy tail and mumbling talk. Those cartoons cannot capture how cute a squirrel really is. In my opinion, a squirrel behaves like a real human being. For example, he eats like us, using his “hands” to hold food and he stands and puts his palms together, which appears to be his thinking pose.
Quite often, the squirrels keep their heads down, looking at the ground here and there for food, and they occasionally stop to dig. Compared with the rabbit, they are faster and smarter. They can sense the presence of a human from a long distance and will run quickly to disappear in the trees. Those that are not so intimidated will look down at you from the branches. Also, they seem to be selfish and greedy, never wanting another squirrel to eat in the same area with them. Even though they are not particularly friendly to humans, they are my favorite friends on campus.
When I moved to Iowa, I met the most beautiful and elegant of my animal friends–the swans! Our school keeps two swans to represent a yearly festival held on campus. Every day they swim happily in the lake. Sometimes geese join them. During April to June, the swans will lay many eggs and keep them warm continuously. During those days of spring, I went to the lake every day, anticipating the swan babies’ arrival.
Surprisingly, one day the eggs were gone! The mother swan shouted sadly to me. In her confusion, it seemed like she thought that I had stolen her eggs. So, I emailed the campus service to ask what happened to the eggs. The answer was quite disappointing. The two swans are both female, so their eggs were not fertilized. Because of this, they removed the eggs to avoid the swans’ futile laying of eggs throughout the summer.
How unbelievable! On one hand I felt better that nobody had killed the swans’ offspring, but on the other hand, I had empathy for the “mother” swans. How would a mother feel when anticipating every moment with her would-be babies only to find out they no longer exist? With a mother’s instinct, she couldn’t help but have hope that those eggs would be her new family and she their beloved mother.
I share my love for the animals because these encounters are part of my cultural experience in the U.S. This country provides the environment for us to live side-by-side with wild animals. Animals are part of nature and play an important role in maintaining the balance of the environment. They probably think and behave like human beings, but due to their limited resources, they cannot survive as we do and must take a subordinate role–even endangered at times due to human activity. I wish for a world that treats the animals as equals and as our friends who deserve both our attention and respect. In the meantime, I appreciate the opportunity of living here and the chance to experience life with them.
