I sat comfortably in the backseat, with my rifle in its case and across my lap, as I stared out of the window at the outside world. At first, I saw only plains, then a few farms, then a few shopping centers and hotels. I saw less dirt roads and more suburbs as we sped further south down the highway. Pretty soon, I saw city skyscrapers as we slowed down in a traffic jam. My grandpa accidentally made a wrong turn, forcing us to drive through the heart of Denver, where so many people swarmed the paved streets and sidewalks of the brick and concrete jungle. 

Seeing those people and buildings, and being stuck in that endless Denver traffic, made me think about how far removed we've become from the wilderness. Barely even 120 years ago, Denver was just another small western outpost in the middle of the plains. But very quickly, Denver went from a small riverside town to a booming city, where today, millions of people live and work. So many people in Denver have no idea what lies beyond the city's streets and distant suburbs. So many people have no idea what the wilderness is really like. So many people don't even think about what they're eating, or how their lives impact the world around them. So many people are oblivious to the things I experienced on the day of the great pronghorn hunt, and would live their entire lives without ever seeing more than a few hawks and deer outside of the zoo.

That thought alone made me incredibly proud of being a hunter, but at the same time, I was very humbled by my experience. So many people think that humans are somehow better and smarter than the rest of the wilderness. My experiences as a hunter have taught me that just isn't so. I've learned that I'm just as successful as any other natural predator in the wilderness, and my rifle and camo are simply tools, but don't give me an advantage. A human is just as predatory as a wolf, only we evolved to develop tools rather than use our teeth and claws to hunt things down. Even chimpanzees and orangutans use tools to hunt and fish, which further proves to me that we're not much different from the rest of creation. 

I'm no more successful than a mountain cougar or pack of wolves, even if it seems like I should be with my rifle and camo. In fact, in some ways, predators like the mountain cougar and a pack of wolves are much more successful at hunting than I ever could be, as they too hunt for sport, a behavior known as Surplus Killing. Predators who engage in surplus killing have wiped out entire species from certain regions before, which makes hunting predators just as important as hunting prey animals. 

Clearly, I'm not smarter than nature either. After all, it took me eighteen hours to hunt that damn pronghorn. And while I was on my way home, I was still trying (and failing) to pick out a few tiny cactus needles out of my itchy left hand. 

When people claim that humans are somehow smarter than the wilderness and/or are biologically and ontologically different from other animals, I always think back to my adventures in the wilderness, which have shown me otherwise. Sure, as a Christian, I do believe God picked us out from the rest of creation to do greater things. That is rather obvious, considering we are the only ones (as far as we know) building houses with plumbing and electricity, and coming up with advanced theories to explain how the universe works.  

But despite this, we shouldn't think we are any better or smarter than the rest of God's creation. We still rely on the wilderness to live. People don't freak out about pollution and climate change for no reason. While I think many people take it way too far and believe the world will literally blow up tomorrow if we don't ditch gas cars today, the roots of their arguments still have merit. We do need to change the way we do some things on this planet, or else we'll soon suffer the consequences. We are already seeing mass die-offs in our rivers and oceans due to agricultural pollution and other man-made biotoxins. We have already poached plenty of species to extinction including the Northern White Rhino, and if we don't work to preserve other endangered species of wildlife, they too will become extinct. And many cities and towns across the world are permanently stuck in a cloud of dangerous pollution, that has caused all sorts of respiratory issues for the citizens who live there. We do need to be conscious about what we eat and do, and how that affects our world around us. Our actions are a lot more powerful than we think. 

Before I started hunting, I was blissfully unaware of all of this. But hunting opened my eyes to how fragile our world is, and just how much impact we have on our environment. Now, I'm certainly no tree-hugger. I don't shame people who drive gas-guzzling diesel trucks or cry over fallen trees. I actually don't even like today's electric cars, and don't see myself ever owning a Prius. But I'm at least aware of my actions and how they impact the environment, and I do put a lot of money and time each year to try and help the wilderness through hunting, fishing, and endurocross.

I have more to say, I just lost my train of thought. It will come back to me eventually...