Victims of Tourists: Tricks and Treats – The Himalayan Marmots

We don’t want your tricks or treats,

Tourists must consider us as wild beasts and not pets,

We are Himalayan marmots,

Large ground squirrels and quite different from other tiny rodents,

Another name for our species is Tibetan Snow Pig,

As burrowing animals, we love to dig,

We are generally herbivores,

Who feed on plants and grasses,

Preventing their overgrowth is one of our ecological roles,

We are also an integral part of the food chain for carnivores,

During intense winters we hibernate inside our homes,

In summer we try to stack up food to reduce our hunger woes,

Climate crisis is causing trouble,

We have to adjust and work on the double,

Our activities are quite time-bound,

Human interventions may hamper them and that’s what we say out loud,

We might look cute to you,

But we are wild and that respect is due,

Kindly step away from our homes which consist of those pristine meadows,

The burden of your treading feet or vehicles will harm the delicate passages among our burrows,

Don’t feed us your preserved sweets, biscuits and fruits,

These foods harm us as we are evolved to eat natural plants with roots,

Don’t treat us like a household pet,

If we get sick we can’t visit a vet,

Those products that you throw for us are made at confectioneries and bakeries,

This forces us to get addicted to them and adds more to our list of worries,

Don’t attempt to touch us and never try to tease,

Please allow us to live in peace,

The closer you interact with us; the more we are at the risk of getting your disease,

Please maintain distance so that we can meander with ease,

Clamouring and crowding by you will put us under undue stress,

Most of those fake smiley group selfies with us are taken in duress,

Some of these images on social media have turned into a bane for us,

Coercing and enticing us to get more and more pretty pictures is a pain and causes a lot of fuss,

Wish these humans realize how we are affected when our home ‘The Mighty Himalayas’ are subjected to desecration,

Pollution and population are driving many of the wild species into the brink of extermination,

Very few people understand about the loss of habitats and hardships that we face,

Here we stop our plea for you to decide, and for now we rest our case…

Published by sciencenextdoorblog