’’I Don’t Like That Animal!’’

By Manoshi De Silva

"A crocodile!" Sadhini's little brother shouted, looking out of the window.

Sadhini stopped what she was doing and ran near the window. "Where? Where?" she looked around, but all she could see was Rosy their cat, snarling and hissing angrily at something hidden in the tall grass.

When Sadhini looked more carefully, she too saw an animal that looked like a crocodile!

"A crocodile is trying to eat Rosy!" she screamed. Their grandmother, who was them, also hurried to the window. "Oh no," she shouted and ran outside, shooing it away while keeping her distance.   

Sadhini also came out holding her little brother's hand tight. But she was careful not to go anywhere near it. Their grandmother clapped and made loud noises and chased the animal away. Watching it slowly crawl away, towards their fence, Sadhini took a stone to throw at it.

"No! No! Stop, don't hit it!" shouted their grandmother and the girl dropped the stone to the ground. "But the crocodile might come back," said Sadhini. "It's not a crocodile. It's a water monitor lizard. It must have wondered into our garden from the nearby paddy field," said Sadhini's grandmother, who picked up Rosy, their cat.  

"But why did it come here? Will it bite us?" asked Sadhini, watching the water monitor crawl out, through their fence. "No, they don't bite us," said Sadhini's grandmother, "But we must be aware of their long tails! They sometimes hit with their tails and there are sharp spikes on it. And those can cause injury and hurt us!"

"I wonder if it will be back," said Sadhini, following her grandmother back inside their house with her little brother. "If it comes again, it might eat Rosy's babies in the garden shed. We'll have to bring the kittens in and keep them safely inside the house till they get bigger," said Sadhini's grandmother, walking near the door again.

"Oh no, Achchi!" shouted Sadhini feeling very scared and angry at the same time. "I didn't know they eat small animals. Then why didn't you let me hit it and teach it a good lesson, so that it never comes back this way again?"

"I'll tell you why, after I bring the kittens inside the house," said the children's grandmother, walking back into their garden shed.

After arranging a place inside their house for the kittens, their grandmother came near Sadhini, who was still very upset. "I can't believe that you didn't let me hit that water monitor!" she said angrily. "Now tell me, why do you want to hit it?" asked Sadhini's grandmother. "Because it eats other animals and also because it's very ugly!" replied Sadhini.

"So, do you think that only good looking animals should live on this planet and that ugly animals like the water-monitor and crows shouldn't be here?" asked Sadhini's grandmother, looking surprised. "Yes, I don't like them!" replied Sadhini frowning. "This world would be beautiful with nice looking animals, like our Rosy!"

"Well, animals like the water monitors and crows are scavengers. They eat the decaying flesh of dead animals and also certain types of rubbish and by doing that they provide benefits to the ecosystem. You see, they remove germ causing, infectious things and clean our surroundings." "Ew!" said Sadhini wrinkling her nose, "but I guess that's important to our environment!"

"Of course," agreed her grandmother. "But that's not all. Because they also feed on small animals, water monitors and other big lizards control the population of serpents and certain pests. So not only do they keep our environment clean, but they also balance the ecosystem. They are especially important to the wetlands like marshes and paddy fields!"

Sadhini thought for awhile. "Well, it sounds like they are very important after all!" she said shrugging her shoulders. "Of course, scavengers are an essential part of our ecosystem. If they are not here, the population of pests will grow. And that will lead to the spread of many diseases. We should understand the importance of all animals and remember that this world also belongs to them, whether they are nice looking or not!" said Sadhini's grandmother.

Sadhini nodded her head in agreement. "I didn't like them because they are ugly. But now I understand their importance to our environment!" Sadhini's grandmother smiled and said, "We must also remember that we have no right to hurt or kill any animal unnecessarily. We are humans and we are much more intelligent than animals, because we know what is right and wrong. So we must act responsibly!"       

"It is our duty to protect all animals and not to interfere with nature and cause harm to the ecosystem. So we should protect ourselves and our pets from animals like the water monitor. But that doesn't mean that we should hurt and harm animals unnecessarily, just because they look ugly," explained Sadhini's grandmother.

"Wow! I never realized that scavengers are this important to the environment!" said Sadhini. "I am going to write an essay about the importance of them and share it at school. I am sure that most of my friends don't know about this too, as they also don't like ugly looking animals. I am going to create awareness about the importance of animals like them to our environment!"