The Editor, Sir:

"What is joke to you is death to me. I suppose this might be what the lizard would think, if we were able to deduce the animal's state of mind while it was under direct attack by stones, slingshots, and physical pursuit."

I read Robert Lalah's article with a feeling of bemusement and sadness, much like my response to the episode with the snake on the wharf several months ago. In this case, we have several adult men who have set aside whatever it was that they were doing to single-mindedly search out and attempt to destroy a creature with which they share a habitat.

And many will greet this account as a joke - the hijinks of groups of men - while upholding the core aspect of the story - that they were entirely right to be trying to kill this creature.

disastrous society

The fact of the matter is, this kind of irrational fear of reptiles is cultivated and reproduced in our society in ways that are disastrous for everyone. Our educational and cultural institutions have done absolutely nothing to dispel these ridiculous ideas of reptiles as 'nasty' and fearsome creatures. And so children - and as we see - adults, have come to learn that it is entirely acceptable to engage in killing sprees of snakes, alligators, snails, lizards, etc.

That a lizard of that size exists in that particular place is a good thing, and tells us something about what it takes to sustain populations of indigenous wildlife. Persons interested in the preservation of wildlife habitats in Jamaica should immediately follow up on this story.

We have yet to learn and internalise that all of these creatures are essential to managing our environment. They eat the mosquitoes, flies and other pests that would otherwise feed on us and on the plant life that we treasure. The absence of these creatures actually makes our lives more unpleasant.

But these men did not know these things and come across in this story as ignorant buffoons or cruel, childish pranksters. I also suspect that Robert Lalah did not share any alternative perspectives with them.

I am, etc.,

VERNA KITSON

verna.kitson@gmail.com

Montego Bay