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https://theconversation.com/why-dont-people-care-about-australias-native-rodents-the-problem-could-be-their-ugly-names-219608>
"The common names of Australian animals often originate in Aboriginal
languages, and beneficially so. Continuing use of names such as kangaroo and
kookaburra helps to honour the wealth of knowledge possessed by First Nations
peoples, to appreciate the natural heritage of a place more deeply, and to
naturalise English to this continent.
Some 30 years ago, I and colleagues published a paper calling for this naming
practice to extend to native rodents. This group of animals contains many
handsome and fascinating animals among its many species.
But sadly, native rats and mice don’t usually evoke sympathy among the
Australian public. The unappealing common names for the species – such as swamp
rat or long-haired rat – do little to help the problem.
Public sentiment towards an animal matters. It can affect whether their habitat
is protected, if they are prioritised for research and conservation, and the
amount of funding devoted to protecting them. So among the many other good
reasons to ascribe Aboriginal common names to our species, it might mean the
difference between their survival and extinction."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
