Is it that these attacks are becoming more frequent, or is it merely our consciousness is more attuned to these animal attacks on major infrastructure? This week in the news already three major cases of animal attacks are being broadcast as infrastructure finds itself under attack from underground, in the sea, and from the air.
First, the UK is expecting to spend millions on repairs as rats chew holes through wires carrying high voltage from terminals to the trains. On average over a hundred trains per week have been canceled due to the non-stop gnawing at the wires. Workers are hoping strengthening the wires will stop the constant breakdowns due to rat chewing. Though the cost of replacing cables is expected to be in the millions, overall workers are expecting the long term investment will be a prudent one. One commuter said that in the 26 years he had been working on the tracks he had never heard of anything like it, after the entire West Coast mainline went down after a mouse chewed through a section of cable. It's still unknown why the attacks have been so drastic lately, although weather is being considered as a factor.
A French pipeline was disrupted when a swordfish pierced it, which is not unheard of. As a result, French Oil company Total declared Force Majeure on the supply, declaring that they would not be held responsible for interruption in world supplies as a force outside of their control had been the cause. In addition, ships were delayed by the incident as well. Swordfish have occasionally "attacked" Angolan crude oil lines, which are not metallic pipes, but rather softer and vulnerable to swordfish attacks on the rare occasion that they actually happen.
And if attacks on infrastructure by land and sea aren't enough, it seems Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" is becoming a reality as residents of Newsham near Richmond in North Yorkshire are terrorized by a ferocious bird that is taking every opportunity it can find to attack residents as they pass through the streets. The bird's attacks have become so brutal that it has wounded several residents, and reportedly stalks the mailman as he enters the area. Delivery-men and public service workers are allegedly afraid to even enter the area for fear of clawing attacks that have the potential to be dangerous. Though the bird can easily be pushed away, its claws are feared by parents who say the fowl foul could pose a hazard to their children.
Are these animal attacks truly increasing in number, or are they merely in our consciousness now in light of the continued increase in consciousness about the planet? The majority of these stories, don't necessarily denote an increase in aggressiveness, but rather suggest trials of an infrastructure that finds it difficult to keep out the memories of a wild world that refuses to stay tamed as man battles for supremacy. What stories have we yet to hear from this world from beyond the smoke stacks and concrete?
