It’s a Snap: Webcams for People, Not Just Eaglets
By Shlomo Maital
Snap the Eaglet
A new series in the New York Times Opinion section, called “Menagerie”, launches today (June 21) with a fine story by Jon Mooallem about Snap, Crackle and Pop: Three bald eagle eaglets, shown on a webcam installed in a nest somewhere in Minnesota. The webcam is called the Decorah Eagle cam. It was put in place by the state’s Department of Natural Resources, and is aimed at increasing empathy and consideration for wildlife.
Great idea! Except – inadvertently, Snap’s mom or dad stepped on her and broke her wing. So many people watched daily on their screens as little Snap suffered. The wildlife experts on principle will generally not intervene, because that interferes with Nature. That’s reasonable. Except viewer outrage was so enormous, the Department finally had to use a lift to extract little Snap and euthanize her (she wasn’t strong enough to be saved).
It’s quite amazing how much empathy, sympathy, love and concern can be aroused for animals (dogs, cats, dolphins, whales), especially if they are cute and furry. When our little mixed-breed Yorkshire, Pixie, went missing for a few anxious moments recently, the sense of panic we felt was indescribable. A webcam on a bald eagle’s nest can arouse immense public feeling, among millions.
So, I have a modest suggestion.
Can we perhaps install a webcam in the hut of a Darfur or South Sudan family, struggling to find water and raise babies?
Can we install a webcam in the shack of a Syrian refugee family, in the Jordanian refugee camp that houses untold thousands of them?
Can we put a webcam in the home of an illegal immigrant family in Italy, or America, or Israel, where authorities threaten deportation daily?
We do need to treat animals humanely; it’s part of treating ALL living things humanely. But we especially need to treat suffering HUMANS humanely, especially children.
Sorry, Snap. We do feel for you. But I wish the same passion and empathy could be aroused for human babies and children, even though they don’t have fur or feathers.
TIMnovate 
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
June 22, 2014 at 9:43 am
Eelker
Many thanks Mr. Maital, for that reminder,
Just this week, we were confronted with the numbers.
Around 51 million people around the globe are refugees; every single one fleeing to escape misery, most of the times finding misery presenting itself in a different form in refugee camps. Of course one would expect the richest countries around the globe to be the ones picking up the biggest tab on this disastrous deal. It turns out the poorest between us do that. But the most staggering number in this hole ordeal; half of them are children. Kind of the people we agree upon, they can’t be held responsible for the misery they’re running from or that’s happening to them along the way.
But I do believe both both our empathy and resourcefulness can run a long way; we would have never called it humanity if we couldn’t. So maybe it’s time we all start running and find out why we’re called the human “race”.
June 22, 2014 at 7:13 pm
Lily
Also: the decorah eagles are not named. Snap, crackle, and Pop are eaglets from another nest far away. I believe the picture shows a Decorah parent and eaglets 18, 19, and 20.